Smoking salmon help!!

[tigger]

Smoked some sockeye the other day, but found it to be too salty.
Used a brine of 4 cups brown sugar, 1 cup pickling salt, garlic, spices, etc... and let sit over night. Salmon was in 1.5"x1.5" strips, skin off.
Smoked it with applewood in a medium heat smoker for only about 4hrs. great texture, just too salty. Does the longer you smoke it change how salty it is, or is it purely how long it sits in thr brine? Most recipes call for soaking it for 1-2 days, mine was just over night. Anyone have suggestions? If I use less salt will it still cure properly?
Frustrated!!!:confused:

[warnniklz]

Just use less salt... I'm not sure what other spices you used but that may have added salt. I know my G-pa likes to use the 2:1 ratio as well with sugar and salt as well... I'm more a mix something together and try something new. I brine mine over night and hit it with 4 to 6 hours of smoke checking/tasting regularly.

[d6dan]

Check this out..

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=50837

[blacklab]

We use 1/2 cup coarse salt, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 10 peppercorns, 4 cloves garlic, 1 1/2 quarts boiling water (let cool).
Brine overnight. works for us.

[rugeer]

you should try rinsing before you air dry it that should help

[lilhoss]

I've always used 1 cup regular table salt,3 cups brown suger,10 cups water.Soak overnight or about 12 hours."Smoke" time in my bradley digital about 1 hour "or" 3 pucks,then finish baking in the bradley for about 2-4 hours at about 200, or your desired texture.Always been a great result.

[Sitkaspruce]

I take it this was a dry brine??

If so, make sure you rinse it off, just lightly, then let air dry to form a sticky feel to the surface, then smoke.

I tried the dry brine once, but was not pleased with the results as much as with other wet brines.

Also, make sure that anything else you add does not have a salt content. if it does, the reduce the salt you add.

Cheers

SS

[tristanmac]

I use a 2:1 sugar to salt ratio. brine for 12 hours then rinse fillets off thoroughly. I also putt a light honey glaze over the salmon every couple hours while smoking. Did some last week and it turned out great.

[tigger]

Does a wet brine yield the same results firmness wise?

[winchester284]

I use a dry brine as well as I have never had any success with the wet brines. The biggest difference is that the dry brine seems to leave the center of the fish more moist than the wet brines. For sockeye, coho or pink sized fillets I leave it in the dry brine for a maximum of 3.5 hours. Longer than that and it's too salty. Larger fish like springs I will brine for as much as 5 hours. If you take the skin off I'd suggest shortening the brine time. I always leave the skin on as similar to baking chicken with the skin on, I like the fats from the salmon skin melting into the flesh as it smokes.

As suggested a good rinse is required after the dry brine is finished. My brine is just demerera sugar and course kosher salt, about 50/50. I add my spices after the fillets are rinsed, dried and sitting on the racks. If I use honey or maple syrup I add that after the smoke time, before the drying time.

Because I freeze/refrigerate the product after it's smoked, there is no need to "cure" it like they did before refrigeration was invented. The brine is only necessary to add flavor and draw out some of the moisture.

[guest]

I also just did a wack of sockeye and also found it too salty. Skinned it too.

I used 3/4 cup of coarse salt to 2 cups demerara sugar and many other tasty fixins.

That said, I think it's just the thinner flesh of the sox that can make it too salty as I usually use big springs, but with the windfall of Sox thats what I smoked.

Lesson learned.

CT

[krazy]

Once removed from the brine are you rinsing and letting it set up before smoking? If that doesn't work then try this real simple but delicious dry brine recipe (http://flyguys.net/blog/2010/04/21/flyguys-famous-simple-smoked-trout-recipe/) (I know it says it's for trout but it works great for salmon too!)

[Phoneguy]

this is the recipe I have followed with great success:

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=107.0

[ahlsy]

I use a 3:1 sugar/salt ratio dry brine but I let it sit in the fridge for 12 hours or so. Then I'll pull it out, rinse the brine off and squeeze the fillet at the same time, let it soak in clean water for an hour, remove from water and rinse/squeeze a second time as I place it on the smoker rack. Never too salty.

[moose2]

I got frustrated using my own brines . I never new what to expect. I bought one from the sport store followed directions and it was perfect. I won't use my own reciepe again . I think it was hi mountain but not sure.
MIKE

[Jed]

1/2 to 3/4 cup salt max per bag of Demerera Sugar. Thats it nothing else. Layer in container or Zip Lock Bag let sit in fridge over night. Smoke in Bradley Smoker, cold smoke an hour finish with heat approx 1/2 hour. mmmmmmm Indian Candy.

[Peters Wildlife]

you should try rinsing before you air dry it that should help
X2 That will do it

[tomahawk]

Been smoking fish, meat and sausage for 30 yrs, for fish i use a dry brine with 4 cups of brown sugar to 1/3 cup of coarse salt along with other spices. This is what it should look like in the end.
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj230/tomahawktom/Sept09005-1.jpg

[dukester]

Smoked some sockeye the other day, but found it to be too salty.
Used a brine of 4 cups brown sugar, 1 cup pickling salt, garlic, spices, etc... and let sit over night. Salmon was in 1.5"x1.5" strips, skin off.
Smoked it with applewood in a medium heat smoker for only about 4hrs. great texture, just too salty. Does the longer you smoke it change how salty it is, or is it purely how long it sits in thr brine? Most recipes call for soaking it for 1-2 days, mine was just over night. Anyone have suggestions? If I use less salt will it still cure properly?
Frustrated!!!:confused:

re-soak in honey water in the fridge for a couple days, more moisture you take out of the meat concentrates the salt that much more. . thickness of meat also determines how far, how much salt has entered.

[r106]

this is the recipe I have followed with great success:

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=107.0


I started using that recipe this year ( with a little tweaking ) for sockeye and it's great.

X10 on the rinsing off after brine, then let air dry for a couple hours before smoking
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[coquitlam]

this is the recipe I have followed with great success:

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=107.0

This is the same recipe that I use and everyone that has tried it says it`s the best that they have ever tasted. The biggest mistake that most people make is that they over cook the fish in the smoker. Take it out when it is still moist and is cooked to the doneness like you would eat it if it was cooked in a BBQ or oven. Remember that the salt in the brine cures it which in a sense is precooking . When I do lox I will rinse it after it has sat in the brine and the best way to get the salt taste correct is that I eat a small piece and spit out and if it is still too salty I will rinse some more. Before it goes into the smoker you need to put it on a rack and get a fan in a cool room and air dry until you see a sticky sheen called pellicule , that make the smoke stick to the salmon better and seals in the fish oils from coming out and looking like yellow goo (for the best visual presentation).