Smoked Sockeye "Storage" ??

[Iron Glove]

Have a smoker full of sockeye finishing off on the deck, wondering what folks feel is the best way to store it?
Vacuum bag it then freeze or how long will it last just vacuum bagged.
Last load we did years ago didn't last long enough for any to be left to "store." :p

[honeyman76]

Well my wife and I smoked then vacuum sealed a bunch last year, then froze it. Its as good as new still this year)

[adriaticum]

Vacuum sealed and frozen.

[lip_ripper00]

Jeeze did I miss the sockeye opening again this year?

[MB_Boy]

IG.....we smoke ours, vac pac and then freeze. In saying that we'll pull a piece of vacu-packed out of the freezer so we have some thawed "on hand" and have had it in the fridge for a few weeks with no problem at all.

[835]

at my place.

too late now but... i have smoked Vac packed and froze... but i fint the texture degrades with the freezing,,, sooo...

now i Smoke it in Bradley for 2 hours with the heater un plugged.. then can it.
The texture is in my eyes way nicer.. and it lasts way longer.

[albravo2]

at my place.

beat me to it.

[tomahawk]

1) smoke and then 2) freeze individually on trays and then 3) vacuum pack. I do all my meats in this order as the vacuum seal is much tighter.

[goatdancer]

As long as you take the skin off and clean off that ugly brown shit, it will keep a long time when vacuum bagged and frozen. I'm finding elk and deer from many years ago that managed to hide in my freezer and it had no degradation at all.

[Iron Glove]

Well, a few more hours and it's ready to eat and bag. :)
Looks like bagging and freezing will be the method.
It's year old Sockeye that we bagged and froze and it survived pretty well.
The best part of smoking salmon is the required taste test every hour - even the dogs have figured out what the timer going off means. :)

[fuzzybiscuit]

I like to store it in my belly.

[markomoose]

I can it!All my smoked fish gets canned .Ya it takes a little longer but lasts way longer.A couple tablespoons of your favorite oil in each jar and it will last for a couple years and tastes as good as the day you pulled it from the smoker.

[M.Dean]

I'm think'in, why don't a bunch of us grab a couple 2 four packs and drop by your place tonight? We could sit around, eat your smoked fish, drink, talk hunt'in, and by morn'in you wouldn't have to worry about what to do with your smoked salmon!!! But, if you don't want us there, we'll understand, maybe! I smoke my fish, then with my vacuum packer all ready to go, I place each piece of fish on a small saucer with paper towel, lightly brush Soy sauce, salt to taste, if there wasn't enough salt in the rub, then nuke it for about 40 seconds, slide it into the vacuum bag, then Suck and Seal! Let cool and freeze, I've still got about 3 or 4 chunks of smoked sockeye from last fall in the freezer, took some out last weekend, and it was like brand new! And I like to can lots too!

[adriaticum]

1) smoke and then 2) freeze individually on trays and then 3) vacuum pack. I do all my meats in this order as the vacuum seal is much tighter.

I beg to differ that it seals better.
There is no physical way a seal can be better around a hard item vs the soft item.

[Iron Glove]

Smokers empty now, trays in the dishwasher, fish cooling down in the fridge after considerable "quality testing and sampling" by me, wife and dogs.
Bagging tonight or tomorrow after further qualitative testing.
Just had a call from the local Adult Hockey League who need a goalie tonight but I declined due to back and hip problems but also I was afraid that all the sampling might cause some interesting bowel activity half way thru the game. :mrgreen:
Thanks for all the advice and help and of course M. Dean's kind offer to organize an HBC Salmon Festival in my house. Maybe next time.