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[Clarki Hunter]

I've never smoked salmon before and was curious what your recipes are and if a simple little chef can do it?   I had a coworker that used to ship it off to St. Jean's on the island, then sell some of it off to help pay for it.  I absolutely loved it.  Any chance I could do it myself and have it turn out close to that?

[Fishawn]

Try this:

5:2 brown sugar to kosher salt ratio
Brine for 8-12 hours depending on thickness of fillets
Rinse, then pat dry with paper towels
Dry on racks in the fridge for 8-12 hours or until gummy
Pop in the smoker

[Easywater]

There's a candy thread on that here: http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=33734.0
IronNoggin has a great post somewhere that has pics and all the details but I think it is on fishbcforum.com that is dead.
This may be it: https://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/index.php?threads/new-candied-salmon-recipe.67187/

Another decent one here:
https://flyguys.net/recipes/fish-recipes/candy-smoked-salmon

More expensive to make because of the extra ingredients - lots of honey and maple syrup.
It's a lot of work too - you have to put a toothpick in every piece if you want to air dry it for the translucent look.

[fishingwithjohn]

Drying is the most important part of the process...

Of course you can over salt and spoil the taste but as long as you have enough to cure and add a little sweetness or spice youll be ok...

Dry em on the racks for a duration that depends on the thickness of your cuts preferably with a fan to speed up the process and add cool air flow...

Throw em in any smoking device you have and ENJOY!

[clarki]

I've been using this wet brine for years with my Little Chief. I love this recipe for coho, but prefer a simpler dry rub of salt and sugar for pinks.

The bottom recipe is "as-is" when I took it verbatim off Fishbc many years ago. The top one is the same recipe, just a bit less confusing.

What the recipes don't mention is drying time. I rinse the strips, pat them dry with a paper towel and air dry them on the racks in front of a fan before smoking.

I vacuum pack and freeze the strips and later put them into a garlic white sauce over pasta. Killer.

A word of caution though. Make sure your Little Chief is set on a non flammable surface. It will burn your grass (me) or the vinyl decking on your porch (buddy)   

[Robert_G]

I've been using this wet brine for years with my Little Chief.

Do people actually wet brine their salmon still? Dry rub is in another league.....will never go back...…….

[DanL]

I'm also a proponent of the dry brine, though once they suck out the water it basically becomes a wet brine by the end. Though I do think wet brines can sometimes be a bit more consistent since there's less risk of uneven coating from the start.

As for candied style salmon, I also agree with a dry brine. It draws out more water and really firms it up.

+1 to a good drying process to getting a good glaze

[Clarki Hunter]

Wow this is fantastic!  Looks like we have a lot of "smoking" pros

Thanks for the responses.  How long on avg does the smoke process take?  I would cut into strips of around an inch or smaller.

[DanL]

You mentioned you have a little chief, so I would guess 4-8 hours depending on how thin you prep the pieces, how dry you like the final product, and how cold it is outside (and if you insulate your smoker). As you know, the chief's dont have temperature control so you have limited control as to how long the smoking process takes.

You're going to have a good time experimenting with recipes etc. The first time you try it, maybe consider doing a small batch and/or scaling down a few different recipes on several small batches and smoke them all at the same time to see what flavours/process you like best.

[Hike_and_fish]

Do people actually wet brine their salmon still? Dry rub is in another league.....will never go back...…….

Wet is very popular south of the boarder. I have been wet bringing fir a long time and will always do so. I use gallons of honey and maple syrup every year to brine Coho. Wet or dry it doesnt matter. Wet is just more expensive

[clarki]

Wow this is fantastic!  Looks like we have a lot of "smoking" pros

Thanks for the responses.  How long on avg does the smoke process take?  I would cut into strips of around an inch or smaller.

I will add that once I cut the filet into strips length-wise, I then cut each strip in half. The thinner strips that come from the tail area go on upper racks and the thicker strips from the shoulder area go on the lower rack. Just ensures more even drying.

     

[Robert_G]

Wet is very popular south of the boarder. I have been wet bringing fir a long time and will always do so. I use gallons of honey and maple syrup every year to brine Coho. Wet or dry it doesnt matter. Wet is just more expensive

Wet brining with honey and maple syrup is fine. I was referring to old school brining with just sugar/salt and water. It makes the texture of the fish like stew meat.

[firstlight]

Wet brining with honey and maple syrup is fine. I was referring to old school brining with just sugar/salt and water. It makes the texture of the fish like stew meat.

Are you sure it was water that you used?

I use nothing but wet brines now and would have a hard time going back to the dry.

[Easywater]

Latest batch - 5 hours smoking with 2 honey glazes:

[Clarki Hunter]

What do they mean by heat?  Take out the chips?  Use a oven?  This part is not clear.

Thanks Clarki

I've been using this wet brine for years with my Little Chief. I love this recipe for coho, but prefer a simpler dry rub of salt and sugar for pinks.

The bottom recipe is "as-is" when I took it verbatim off Fishbc many years ago. The top one is the same recipe, just a bit less confusing.

What the recipes don't mention is drying time. I rinse the strips, pat them dry with a paper towel and air dry them on the racks in front of a fan before smoking.

I vacuum pack and freeze the strips and later put them into a garlic white sauce over pasta. Killer.

A word of caution though. Make sure your Little Chief is set on a non flammable surface. It will burn your grass (me) or the vinyl decking on your porch (buddy)