Candied Salmon

[Johnnybear]

Well I cut up the whole 19 lb spring salmon I caught on the weekend and made it into candied salmon. I basically used the Salmon Universities procedure.

Quantities of incredients varies with the amount of fish you have.
I used 5 cups of Best Brown sugar, 2 cups of Koscher salt, 2 teaspoons of Garlic powder and 1 table spoon of cracked black pepper. Mix it all in a bowl.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/Coal_miner/Cooking/2009fishing028.jpg

The cubing method I saw online works great with larger pieces and helps the brine cover for surface area. Leave the skin on and don't cut right through.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/Coal_miner/Cooking/2009fishing029.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/Coal_miner/Cooking/2009fishing030.jpg

Start layering the fish and brine material until totally covered.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/Coal_miner/Cooking/2009fishing031.jpg

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/Coal_miner/Cooking/2009fishing032.jpg

Alot of recipes I have read about candied salmon say to leave in the fridge for 6-8 hrs. This is the third batch I have made this way and I leave it for 24 hrs. I take it out every few hours and stir it up and flip the pieces etc. The brine starts melting within an hour and looks like thin molases in a few hours.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/Coal_miner/Cooking/2009fishing033.jpg

Rinsed lightly and put out to dry. I transfered them from the paper towel to the smoker racks and turned a fan on in the kitchen and let it sit for a couple of hours.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/Coal_miner/Cooking/puppies029.jpg

I upgraded from a Big Chief to the Bradley Digital last year and I absolutely love it. You can control the temperature, smoke time, and oven time and the insulated body and door works great if you have a breeze or what have you outside with out a lot of temerature fluctuation.

I put ice cubes in the bowl at the bottom to help keep the smoke time cooler. I smoked this fish with Alder for about 2 hours without the oven on just the smoker.

http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/ii297/Coal_miner/Cooking/puppies030.jpg

When the smoking is complete I baste the fish with maple syrup. I turn on the oven at 150 for 2.5 hrs then baste again. I then turn it up to 200 for another 2.5 hrs or until I get the firmness that I like. I feels moist when I take it out but it is just about right after being in the fridge overnight.

There are tons of good smoking recipes out there. I'm going to try some new ones this year. So far everyone that has tried this stuff says it's real good.

Here's some links to some good sites.
http://www.salmonuniversity.com/rs_htss01_index.html
http://www.justsmokedsalmon.com/alderrecipes.htm

[duckhunt]

my mouth is watering, it looks awesome.

[nomad]

Very nicely done! pics of your process are nice to see too! That will be some premium salmon for sure! instead of the maple syrup at the end I tried a few others like teriaki and tabasco. The tabasco turned out to be the majority favourite! Doesn't stay real hot just gives a nice zest to it!

[Johnnybear]

Very nicely done! pics of your process are nice to see too! That will be some premium salmon for sure! instead of the maple syrup at the end I tried a few others like teriaki and tabasco. The tabasco turned out to be the majority favourite! Doesn't stay real hot just gives a nice zest to it!

I was thinking of trying something a little on the spicy side. Thanks for Tabasco tip:D.

[ferndogger]

Looks amazing, everything except that O'douls. lol. just kidding.
cant wait to make some of my own.

[goatdancer]

I used the same method except I sprinkled brown sugar on the fish just before it went in the smoker. The brown sugar melts and glazes lightly on the fish. Only bad thing is it makes an awful mess in the smoker. The oven method would be a lot easier to control and a lot less messy.

[bow_tech_kaldan]

my buddie makes the CNC machines that make those pucks :D I love it when they have to make "test" batches of them...

[houndogger]

JB that looks awesome! If you don't mind how much for one of those bradys? pms are fine.

[6 K]

Great job Jb, looks very nummy.
I use tobasco in mine as well and is liked by most people who try it.
The Guy who taught me to smoke fish told me never to use anything metal with the brine. Not the mixing bowl or even a stiring spoon. Just curious if you or anyone else may have heard that or not. Regardless your photos make me want to start a batch now.:smile:

[Roots]

That looks so good.... I will have to try this! :p

Oh, I just noticed that you and I have the same spice rack....hahaha

[Dirty]

Great job Jb, looks very nummy.
I use tobasco in mine as well and is liked by most people who try it.
The Guy who taught me to smoke fish told me never to use anything metal with the brine. Not the mixing bowl or even a stiring spoon. Just curious if you or anyone else may have heard that or not. Regardless your photos make me want to start a batch now.:smile:

Absolutely, never ever use metal to brine fish. The salts have a reaction with the metal, and give the meat a "tinny" taste. Only use plastic, glass, etc. I usually buy tupperware or rubbermaid containers to brine it. Pyrex also works well if you have a large enough set.

[JRG94]

That looks so good.... I will have to try this! :p

Oh, I just noticed that you and I have the same spice rack....hahaha
X2 i will have to try for sure
will it work with frozen salmon?

[Dirty]

X2 i will have to try for sure
will it work with frozen salmon?

Salmon can be previous frozen, but it has to be fully thawed to marinade/brine before smoking.

[Johnnybear]

Great job Jb, looks very nummy.
I use tobasco in mine as well and is liked by most people who try it.
The Guy who taught me to smoke fish told me never to use anything metal with the brine. Not the mixing bowl or even a stiring spoon. Just curious if you or anyone else may have heard that or not. Regardless your photos make me want to start a batch now.:smile:

Thanks 6K. I hear you on the brine container. I had to use this stainless pot for this batch as the wife threw out all my big rubbermaid containers over the winter when we renovated the kitchen:roll::D. This was the first time I have brined fish in a pot and I haven't noticed any tinny taste(it's already half gone). Makes sense about the salt reacting with the metal though. Thanks for bringing that up:wink:.

[BearStump]

Bought some pure maple sugar at a fruit stand in Keremeos this summer. I put that on just before turning up the heat to finish it off. it made almost like a candy shell on the salmon. worked out perfect.

[Th0r]

Looks great. Thanks for posting the pics.

[Doe]

regarding frozen fish......smoking, candy, jerky.....best was to get rid of the not so new stuff......

[huntcoop]

O'Doul's.....your killin me.

[sir_brady]

awesome pic's. bought a new digital bradley last week, and did my first ever batch of smoked salmon. turned out pretty good in my opinion. going to have to revisit my plans on leaving the fish frozen whole until i smoke though!.... definatly need another set of racks too!

[Johnnybear]

O'Doul's.....your killin me.

Why? You want one? They sell em in Grocery stores you know:lol:.


awesome pic's. bought a new digital bradley last week, and did my first ever batch of smoked salmon. turned out pretty good in my opinion. going to have to revisit my plans on leaving the fish frozen whole until i smoke though!.... definatly need another set of racks too!

Congrats on the Bradley sir_brady! I turn out way better smoked product with the Bradley and it is worth every cent:cool:.

Oh yeah I did a little research about using stainless steel pots for brining (which I had to do this time) and it is a common item used in brining salmon etc. as well as plastic and (I agree the best) glass containers.