Recipe(tried): Smoked Salmon

JUST FOUND THESE TWO RECIPES ON THE INTERNET. AS NEAR AS I CAN REMEMBER THESE LOOK RIGHT (IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE DID IT). HOPE THIS HELPS.

E.2.4.3 [Smoked salmon]

From Brian Bigler ...
I recently responded to a thread concerning oily versus non-oily fish by
listing my recipe for smoked salmon. I figured it may be of use to others on
this Usergroup, so I'm posting this to the group. I hope to hear from some
of you who have improvements on this, but be advised, this recipe has received
rave reviews from my colleagues in the salmon business:

First of all, the smoker you use will greatly effect the final product. I'm
not familiar with all the various brands, but the hobbyist smokers that I've
seen tend to be small, for the sake of shipping, and not really practical for
the performance I need. I like to use cool smoking for cheeses, as well as
warmer smoking for salmon or trout. I'll describe my ideal smoker at the end
of this. [I put a copy of this under equipment sources--LEB]

SMOKED FISH
I use the following for at least two-six pound fish

Brine:
1 gal water (at least a gallon, I use a couple)
1/2 lb (at least) pickling salt
1/4 lb (at least) brown sugar
3-4 tbs pickling spice
2-3 tbs paprika

Put the water on to boil, adding the entire 1/2 lb of salt, stir until salt
is dissolved. Add sugar and stir. Add the pickling spice and paprika. You
may not be able to get the sugar to dissolve, but if you can, add more salt.

Irrespective of the amount of water, you want to achieve a super-saturated
saline solution with the salt and sugar. The mixture will be super-saturated
when you have salt granules on the bottom of the pot at a boil. Speaking to
details, the sugar is absorbed by the meat much slower than the salt. I've
used half salt/half sugar mixtures with great success, but the amount I re-
commend here will allow you to reach the point of super-saturation and keep
the salt content down.

Boil the mixture (covered) for five or so minutes, and either set it aside to
cool, or put it in a sink of cold water (change the sink water several times
as it gets hot).

I cut my fish in fillets and then in pieces about two to three inches wide.
Brine the pieces for 3.5 to 5.0 minutes, depending upon thickness. Timing is
important, don't brine longer than 5 minutes, no matter the thickness of the
meat. This brine time imparts salt/sugar/pickling spice flavors to the outer
tissues, that then diffuse through the meat as it dries. I've tried the pro-
ducts of people who leave the meat in brine for so long all you taste is
salt. Don't make that mistake, too little salt is MUCH better than too much.

Take the pieces from the brine and place on a paper towel-covered board.
Allow to dry at least until a pelicle (hard outer surface) has formed. This
could take up to two days if the weather is wet, alot less if you put it in
the sunshine. I like to dry mine for a long time to attain a chewy texture,
but you at least want the excess moisture to evaporate off.

Smoke the pieces, skin side up, alternating the ones on the lower racks with
those on the upper racks between chip loads.

If your smoker is warm, the paprika will cause the meat to darken without
your having to smoke the heck out of it. Too many hobbyists impart a creo-
sote flavor to their meat in the attempt to make it LOOK like it's smoked.
Paprika is a great way to make it look really well-smoked without having to
leave it in too long. If your smoker is cool, the cooking will turn it dark.

Remove the pieces to a cookie sheet and place in an oven that has been heated
to 350 degrees. Put the cookie sheets in the oven, close the door, and turn
off the oven. Leave the smoked meat in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or
until you can see that it's cooked.

I vacume pack mine, one to three pieces at a time, right out of the oven
while it's still hot. At the least, use Freezer Bags to store your fish.
I've had success with Freezer bags by closing the ziplock to one end and
sucking out the air to mimic the vacume sealer. Vacume packing assures
that the salt/sugar/pickling spice flavors will be diffused through the meat.

I hate to have to freeze mine, but I do anyway out of necessity. My vacume
packages will stay fresh if I referigerate, but freezing makes certain.

2 [Alitak Pickled Salmon]
From Brian Bigler :
Alitak is not an incorporated town, although many people can claim it as a
birthplace. It's the location of a salmon cannery on the southern shores of
Kodiak Island (Gulf of Alaska) that was first established around the turn of
the century. The following recipe was actually developed years ago by one
of the many fishermen hired by the cannery to harvest and deliver fish.

This recipe has become the standard for Wards Cove Packing Company, where I
have retained it and pass it to you.

ALITAK PICKLED SALMON RECIPE
Fillet salmon (sockeye works best) and remove skin, cut into bite sized
pieces. For one batch of the pickling mixture listed below, you'll need
three quarts of fish pieces (one fish) and three sliced onions. This will
make 10-12 pints of pickled salmon.

Soak salmon pieces in a stainless steel, plastic, wood, or crockery pot for
8-12 hours in a mixture of half salt and half water. Refrigerate and turn
the mixture with your hands or a soft spatula every few hours. When brining
is complete, gently rinse for one hour, changing the cold water three times.
Air dry about 1 hour to let pieces firm up and a slight glazing will form.

Pickling Mixture:
8 cups white vinegar
3 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
7 tbls pickling spices

Mix all the above ingredients in a large stainless pot and boil for 15-30
minutes, stirring frequently. Let cool to room temperature, placing the pot
in cold water or refrigerating if necessary. Mixture must be cool when
poured over fish.

Slice three medium-large white onions thin and layer fish pieces and onion
slices in pint jars. After each layer or two, add pickling mixture. Stir
the pot of pickling mixture before dipping out a portion to insure spices
are evenly distributed when mixture is spooned into jars. Fill jars and
seal using fresh lids. Refrigerate and turn jars upside down for a day or
two during the first week.

Tastes best about two weeks after pickling, and at Alitak it's gone in one
day!
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LET ME KNOW IF YOU LIKE IT
LINDA :)