Hi all...

So, I did the dry-brine thing using Kosher salt, brown sugar+regular sugar, and
crushed peppercorns for 24 hours.. I then removed it from the fridge, cleaned
it very well under running water, dried it with some paper towels and put it
on a plate in the fridge again with a few papertowels underneath. So, How long
should it remain in the fridge before I should start it up on the smoker? I've
read about it drying for a few hours to a few days and am not sure which is
better.. I'm currently planning on leaving it in the fridge for ~30 hours
since I put it in the fridge at noon today..

Also, I gather a lower temp is better for smoking than the higher temps --
particularly if I can keep the smoker ~150 or so.. Sound reasonable?

MTIA!

Rick F. wrote:

> Hi all...
>
> So, I did the dry-brine thing using Kosher salt, brown sugar+regular sugar, and
> crushed peppercorns for 24 hours.. I then removed it from the fridge, cleaned
> it very well under running water, dried it with some paper towels and put it
> on a plate in the fridge again with a few papertowels underneath. So, How long
> should it remain in the fridge before I should start it up on the smoker? I've
> read about it drying for a few hours to a few days and am not sure which is
> better.. I'm currently planning on leaving it in the fridge for ~30 hours
> since I put it in the fridge at noon today..
>


The answer is: until it's dry and tacky to the
touch. It's called a pellicle.

This can be accomplished in as little as 90 minutes
in front of a fan. Either that or overnight in the
fridge.

> Also, I gather a lower temp is better for smoking than the higher temps --
> particularly if I can keep the smoker ~150 or so.. Sound reasonable?


I keep it low, around 160-180 F. If the fat melts and runs out, it
was cooked too hot. It's similar to smoking sausage in that sense.

--
Reg

"Reg" > wrote in message
. ..
>
>
> Rick F. wrote:
>
>> Hi all...
>>
>> So, I did the dry-brine thing using Kosher salt, brown sugar+regular
>> sugar, and
>> crushed peppercorns for 24 hours.. I then removed it from the fridge,
>> cleaned
>> it very well under running water, dried it with some paper towels and put
>> it on a plate in the fridge again with a few papertowels underneath. So,
>> How long
>> should it remain in the fridge before I should start it up on the smoker?
>> I've
>> read about it drying for a few hours to a few days and am not sure which
>> is
>> better.. I'm currently planning on leaving it in the fridge for ~30 hours
>> since I put it in the fridge at noon today..
>>
>
>
> The answer is: until it's dry and tacky to the
> touch. It's called a pellicle.
>
> This can be accomplished in as little as 90 minutes
> in front of a fan. Either that or overnight in the
> fridge.
>
>> Also, I gather a lower temp is better for smoking than the higher
>> temps --
>> particularly if I can keep the smoker ~150 or so.. Sound reasonable?
>
>
> I keep it low, around 160-180 F. If the fat melts and runs out, it
> was cooked too hot. It's similar to smoking sausage in that sense.
>
> --
> Reg
>

I've had good luck using the following technique on salmon. I smoke with
apple wood for the first 3-4 hours, then heat only after that.

Cut fillets into strips and then wet brine overnight, then romove and allow
to dry.
After the pellicle forms, usually 4-6 hours or so, the salmon goes into the
smoker.

1 hr @ 100F
1 hr @ 120F
2-3 hr @ 140F
(apply glaze)
1 hr @ 175F

I apply a glaze to the salmon before the final hour @ 175F. I prefer a
sweet glaze to finish it off.

comes out like candy.

On 2007-03-14, Matt > wrote:

> I've had good luck using the following technique on salmon. I smoke with
> apple wood for the first 3-4 hours, then heat only after that.
>
> Cut fillets into strips and then wet brine overnight, then romove and allow
> to dry.
> After the pellicle forms, usually 4-6 hours or so, the salmon goes into the
> smoker.
>
> 1 hr @ 100F
> 1 hr @ 120F
> 2-3 hr @ 140F
> (apply glaze)
> 1 hr @ 175F

Cool.. Thanks for the info.. I actually cooked ours the other night -- took
about4.5 hours from start to finish.. However, the last 10 degrees took a
really long time and it was getting late so I bumped up the fire a bit.

I did mine on my Kamado and will probably start fewer piece of lump next
time I do this.. I started only 3 pieces of Koal and for the first hour
or so the temps were <110 with the rest of the time being about 130-140
or so and then bumped up to 160-170 near the end to finish it off..

Unfortunately, the fish is a bit too salty and I believe next time I'll not
brine it for the full 24-hour like I did for this batch. I think 24 hours
might be good for a thicker fillet but this one was perhaps ~1" thick and
probably sucked up too much brine. I think next time I'll only brine for
12 hours as you indicated..

I found it difficult to put the small pieces of smoking wood on the 2-3
koals I had started -- something I usually don't run into.. Anyway, once
they caught on, the smoke started nicely and it worked like a charm.. I
bet I could probably (on a hot sunny summer day) smoke for most of the
day in my K7 at temps barely over 100 with perhaps a small piece of
koal lit up for doing the smoke -- my Kamado is textured black and picks
up the sun's heat quite nicely -- perhaps I could even make lox if I
found a way to pipe in the smoke w/o any coals. A science experiment for
another day..

Matt wrote:

> I've had good luck using the following technique on salmon. I smoke with
> apple wood for the first 3-4 hours, then heat only after that.
>
> Cut fillets into strips and then wet brine overnight, then romove and allow
> to dry.
> After the pellicle forms, usually 4-6 hours or so, the salmon goes into the
> smoker.
>
> 1 hr @ 100F
> 1 hr @ 120F
> 2-3 hr @ 140F
> (apply glaze)
> 1 hr @ 175F
>
> I apply a glaze to the salmon before the final hour @ 175F. I prefer a
> sweet glaze to finish it off.
>
> comes out like candy.

Pretty cool. Keeping the temp that low, in range, for long
periods like that ain't easy. Hat's off to you.

--
Reg

"Rick F." > wrote in message
...

<snippage>

>
> Unfortunately, the fish is a bit too salty and I believe next time I'll
> not
> brine it for the full 24-hour like I did for this batch. I think 24 hours
> might be good for a thicker fillet but this one was perhaps ~1" thick and
> probably sucked up too much brine. I think next time I'll only brine for
> 12 hours as you indicated..
>
When I'm brining/smoking fish I break out this link, complete with brining
times (24hrs= way salty, but you knew that ;>), recipes, smoking times and
lots of tips. The brining time called for is 5hrs for a 5lb. fillet.
HTH- Brian

http://www.3men.com/threemen1.htm

Do you smoke the fillets whole, or do you cut them up at all? I cut my
fillets into one inch strips, before putting them into the brine. I've
found doing so results in a more flavorful end product compared to when I do
whole fillets. Cutting the fillets into strips allows for more surface area
for the brine to adhere/absorb into.

Even when doing this, I still have never gotten a salty end product, but
that may be because I don't use a ton of salt in my salmon brine to begin
with.

The brine recipe that I use for salmon is:

32oz Terryaki sauce/marinade
1 Gallon cold water
2 lbs brown sugar
1 cup salt (I use curing/pickling salt because it dissolves easier)
3 Tablespoons cayenne pepper (more if you like your salmon with some heat)
2 Tablespoons garlic powder

I mix everything up good in a clean plastic 5 Gallon bucket, add the salmon
to the brine, then place a plate or strainer over the fish to keep all the
salmon fully submerged in the brine. I try to give the bucket a good stir
every few hours till I go to bed.

I normally brine overnight, maybe 10-12 hours, then pull the salmon out of
the brine, and place directly onto my smoker racks. I've brined for as
little as 8 hours before using the above recipe, and I couldn't tell any
difference in the end product between an 8 hour brine and a 12 hour brine,
so I don't think it matters too much. I don't rinse or even pat them dry,
just pull them from the bucket shake it off a bit and right on the rack it
goes. Then I let them dry a bit, usually 4 to 6 hours until I get a
pellicle, then its into the preheated smoker. For smoke on my salmon I've
used apple, alder, and mix of apple and alder before but I prefer straight
apple when possible.

good luck,
Matt

"Rick F." > wrote in message
...
> On 2007-03-14, Matt > wrote:
>
> Cool.. Thanks for the info.. I actually cooked ours the other night --
> took
> about4.5 hours from start to finish.. However, the last 10 degrees took a
> really long time and it was getting late so I bumped up the fire a bit.
>
> I did mine on my Kamado and will probably start fewer piece of lump next
> time I do this.. I started only 3 pieces of Koal and for the first hour
> or so the temps were <110 with the rest of the time being about 130-140
> or so and then bumped up to 160-170 near the end to finish it off..
>
> Unfortunately, the fish is a bit too salty and I believe next time I'll
> not
> brine it for the full 24-hour like I did for this batch. I think 24 hours
> might be good for a thicker fillet but this one was perhaps ~1" thick and
> probably sucked up too much brine. I think next time I'll only brine for
> 12 hours as you indicated..