Cold Smoking Fish

[pomah25]

I am hoping to attempt some cold smoking (salmon and mackerel) and i am trying to get some tips. I have a UDS and several Webers, not really looking to spent any extra money on cold smoke generators or anything like that (not yet at least). Would be more then happy to build something (would be a fun project) or was thinking just using a very small flame in the UDS or one of the Webers.

My plan is to dry cure fish (equal parts salt and sugar) for 24 hours, drain the access water and give another 24 hours. The question is how long do you smoke the fish for? I know that typically cold smoking takes days if not weeks, but I thought that was done more for preservation. Since both of these types of fish can be eaten raw (think sushi), i am curing it and i am not really worrying about preservation (think it will be so good, it won't last two days). Do i really need to take days, or is this something that a 3-6 hour smoke will take care off?

Any thoughts/comments? Am i just crazy? Thanks for the input!

Also, with these hot summer tempts, can i do something now, or should i just wait until fall/winter?

Thanks a lot!!!

[chad]

According to Ruhlman, pg. 96-97.

a. Cure the salmon
b. Remove rinse under cool water and pat dry
c. Place on rack over a tray and refrigerate uncovered for 4-24 hours.
d. Cold smoke at 54 degrees (I know, that's definitely COLD smoking) for about 6 hours or to taste. Here's the real stuff: Remember the temperature of the smoker and salmon should never go about 90 degrees.

So, after you cure it, put your cooker on the shady side of the house over night and let it cook, put the salmon in it before dawn and use the can 'o sawdust and soldering iron smoke generator!!

Or you might be able to use an old beat up cooler (probably 120 quart size or so and put a bag of ice in there with the smudge pot. I'm just thinking on the fly and YMMV. But, I did see somewhere that some folks do cold smoke in old coolers using external smoke generators like a Smoke Pistol or Bradley. You could cut a hole in the side of the cooler and use dryer duct to move the smoke from the smudge pot into the smoke chamber. A 2" hole in the top would take care of exhaust and use a coffee can lid or something as a damper. Some baker racks with legs would get the fish up off the bottom.

Good luck.

Basic dry cure is:
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. "pink salt" or mortons or prague powder #1 (this is pretty optional if you're using the salmon fairly quickly
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp ground bay leaf
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground mace

So your 1/2 cup salt and 1/2 cup sugar is right on for a very basic cure.

I've done smoked mullet using a brine with Old Bay. But that would probably overpower the salmon.

[chad]

Morton's info:

Page 29 of their Home Meat Curing Guide:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 gallon cold water
1-3/4 cups Tender Quick or Sugar Cure
Prepare 1 gallon of brine per 5# of salmon
Completely submerge the fish and refrigerate for 16 hours.
Rinse and drive the salmon.

They use "hot" smoking where the goal is to slowly get the fish up to 160 internal and held there for 30 minutes. So, with my electric smoker I'd go 150 for a while and then up to 180 or so until completely cooked.

This is just additional information. I know you want to dry cure and cold smoke.

[pomah25]

Thanks Chad! So you think 6 hours should be plenty? Yeah, will have to wait till the temps drop off i guess... low temps down here are still above 85.

Saw dust, never thought about using that, i wonder if i can maybe get that at some hardware store around here...

Thanks!

[Theboz1419]

If you buy salmon at the store, make sure its not farm raised. Its much better if its wild caught. I smoked my first salmon that was wild caught on my old weber and it turned out great. I tried to repeat it using a farmed raised salmon and I got mush.

[chad]

Here's some info on making cold smokers from existing cookers or coolers. It's from the Smoke Pistol folks but it'll give you an idea of what can be done:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forums/s...ght=cold+smoke

or
http://www.smokepistol.com/customertucker.html
http://www.smokepistol.com/customerbarber.html

[chad]

Originally Posted by pomah25

Thanks Chad! So you think 6 hours should be plenty? Yeah, will have to wait till the temps drop off i guess... low temps down here are still above 85.

Saw dust, never thought about using that, i wonder if i can maybe get that at some hardware store around here...

Thanks!

Odds are there is a cabinet maker around you. Woodshops always have beaucoup sawdust AND they use hardwoods!! Start asking around, I'll be someone knows someone who has a shop!

[Gore]

I've cold smoked salmon. There are no hard rules on anything. We use a 3:1 ratio of sugar to salt and dry cure overnight in the fridge. We tend to find that works well for us. Next day, we rinse, pat dry and let set for a few hours. You can cold smoke in most anything. I use my cheap offset. Build a small fire with some fruitwood (I like cherry). You can smoke as long as you like. I did just 3 hours last time.

[pomah25]

Chad, thanks again, i will check those links out. As far as cabinet shops, don't they use pressure treated woods? Or any other chemicals/glues i should worry about?

Gore, so just cure, couple hours of cold smoke you can eat it without any further preparation, correct? Thats awesome, can't wait to pull this off. I already got cured salmon, but did not think about these tempts. My drums are too hot from the sun before i even ligth the flame :( I guess will have to wait couple of month.

[Gore]

Like you say, you can eat salmon raw. Smoked salmon is easy and the preparations will vary widely. Try it a few times and see what works for you. Ours is very simple, but we like it. Yes, we smoked for only 3 hours, but it certainly could've taken more smoke (again depends on how much smoke you're making and how much you want). Incidentally, after the cure, we will often coat with either maple syrup or sesame oil.

[Wampus]

Alright, I've got a question. I don't intend AT ALL to hijcak this thread, and I think my question directly pertains to the topic. If not, please forgive me, but....


Is there a great difference between cold smoked and just "smoked" salmon? I mean I get that there's a difference in technique. The latter is what's commonly referred to as "HOT smoked" and I understand that the meat is actually fully cooked when hot smoked.

I've done hot smoked salmon, but never any cold smoking.

I'm guessing that with cold smoking you are only introducing the smoke into the flesh without cooking it at all, correct? I also know that the dry cure will extract much of the moisture (the real point behind curing).



I guess I'm just asking what's the big difference......in the final product, not the process? Does the cold smoked fish still have the raw texture?



Thanks, and this is NOT intended to be a hijacking.

[pomah25]

Yes, cold smoking, will have a raw finish, I find it actually similar to lox (i know some disagree with that).

Wampus,
To get some good cold smoke salmon at a store you are paying 15-25 dollars a pound, i figure if i can do that for around 7 dollars a pound, then it should work out well! But was nervous if smoking it for 4 days was a crucial part of the process.

Gore,
Sounds great! Sesame oil idea sounds very interesting. How do you keep your offset so low? i guess only use a couple of briquettes? Do you cold smoke anything else? Do you have to wait for cooler tempts when you cold smoke or do you have a secret?

[Gore]

^^^ exactly! There are three ways to cook salmon. Cold smoke, in which you don't use any heat, produces something very similar to Nova salmon (less salty) or lox (more salty). Warm smoked salmon, in which you do use LOW heat, about 175*-190* (preferably lower), and bring the IT of the salmon up to about 140-150* produces a cooked salmon. These types of salmon are good cold the next day (or for a few days after). Any hotter than 200* and you are cooking the salmon -- it's a completely different product and the result the next day will be like leftover cooked salmon. In the latter case, I prefer to cook the salmon hot, over 400*, for about 1-2 minutes per side. Either type of smoked salmon is easy to make, and is MUCH cheaper and better tasting than the salmon you pay a small fortune for. We've brought smoked salmon to pot lucks and it disappears fast.

When we add sesame oil, we also coat with sesame seeds.

Actually, I just burn a chunk of cherry with a bit of lump or by itself. You can throw a bucket of ice in there too to keep it cool or put the salmon on ice, but I haven't had to do that, but I've made it in cooler weather. If you think about it, an offset is very similar to a cold smoker in design. You could add another baffle to insulate the heat source a bit better, but with a small fire, I don't find it necessary (and I'm lazy).

[Gore]

Was just in the TD Congrats thread and this pic flew by. Here's one example with some details. In this one my wife rubbed with EVOO and coated with ground pepper. The linky is underneath.





http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh....php?p=1642301