Slow and Low Salmon in my Limo Jr

[Roadpir8]

Love how well my fairly new Limo Jr can maintain consistent temps, my only regret is not buying one 5 years ago!! I have found that lowest temp I can keep it at is about 145, which seems to work great for salmon. I brined these in my solution for about 9-10 hours then let them sit overnight in the fridge on racks to form a pellicle. Fired up the smoker in the morning setting my guru at 145 and threw them in when it was ready. I basted them every hour with blood orange juice and maple syrup baste. After a few hours I start notching up the temp 5 degrees finishing with a top temp of 185. I cook the salmon to internal temp of 140. Total cook time was about 7 hours. Turns out very moist with a great glaze. Next cook I want to try ramping temp up faster to try to shorten cook time, any thoughts?

 

[Chester]

No thought on the Salmon for your next cook. These look amazing though.

I also have a Limo Jr. on order from Scott. Getting excited and I’ll definitely be cooking some salmon on mine when I get it.

Good to hear about the low temp capability of these. Planning on doing lots of jerky on mine. Have you tried any higher temp cooks yet?

 

[Roadpir8]

Hi temps

No thought on the Salmon for your next cook. These look amazing though.

I also have a Limo Jr. on order from Scott. Getting excited and I’ll definitely be cooking some salmon on mine when I get it.

Good to hear about the low temp capability of these. Planning on doing lots of jerky on mine. Have you tried any higher temp cooks yet?

You won't regret it... I ran the temp up to 375 when I cured it... haven't cooked anything at higher than 275, but I have only had it for about 4 weeks now. Of course, I did these using by BbqGuru, haven't tried cooking without it yet. I did opt for a quarter-turn ball valve so I could cook manually should the need arise.

 

[Chester]

You won't regret it... I ran the temp up to 375 when I cured it... haven't cooked anything at higher than 275, but I have only had it for about 4 weeks now. Of course, I did these using by BbqGuru, haven't tried cooking without it yet. I did opt for a quarter-turn ball valve so I could cook manually should the need arise.

I remember your earlier thread. I’m getting the ball valve also. What model Guru did you go with?

 

[gtsum]

Very cool cooker and outstanding looking salmon!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Roadpir8]

BBQGuru

I got the UltraQ... because I wanted the ability to use it via my Wi-Fi. The blue tooth only goes so far and when I try to using the app only it disconnects in the house. I did initially have a problem getting it to hook-up to my Wi-Fi. I ended up doing a reboot of my Wi-Fi router and that fixed the problem... and addressed some issues I was having streaming Amazon and Netflix on my TV! With the Wi-Fi connection I can even go to store and keep an eye on my cook and raise or lower the temp!

 

[Big George's BBQ]

That looks amazing Hoping to do the same this weekend on my Egg

 

[ronbrad62]

If technology helps you get salmon that looks like that, then I'm changing my mind about it:wink:
The color and glaze on those filets look fantastic! Nice job.

 

[ModelMaker]

A 7 hour hunk 'o salmon? Still tender and moist?
Good.
Ed

 

[rwalters]

That looks beyond good!!! Very nice work!! Do you keep the smoke profile fairly light?

 

[thirdeye]

That looks great, really nice color. You didn't mention if your brine has any curing salts, so the only potential problem I could see is the fish being below 140° for a few hours longer than recommended. HOWEVER, you do have some protection because of the salt in the brine, and having a good pellicle, and being in a smoky atmosphere. Bacteria lives on the surface, so during the time you are slowly bringing the internal to 140° (which is how I do it), the surface will likely be >140° at the 3 or 4 hour mark.

 

[Roadpir8]

A 7 hour hunk 'o salmon? Still tender and moist?
Good.
Ed

Yeah, very. These particular fillets are farmed, and therefore more fatty so that helps... those farmed salmon live a life of leisure, unlike the wild salmon who are living the struggle of survival which makes them leaner. But last batch I did with local caught wild salmon and still came out moist and tender, just not as oily because there is less fat rendered.

 

[Roadpir8]

That looks beyond good!!! Very nice work!! Do you keep the smoke profile fairly light?

I normally use alder but was all out... so used a combo of cherry and apple adding a chunk every 45min to an hour.

 

[Roadpir8]

That looks great, really nice color. You didn't mention if your brine has any curing salts, so the only potential problem I could see is the fish being below 140° for a few hours longer than recommended. HOWEVER, you do have some protection because of the salt in the brine, and having a good pellicle, and being in a smoky atmosphere. Bacteria lives on the surface, so during the time you are slowly bringing the internal to 140° (which is how I do it), the surface will likely be >140° at the 3 or 4 hour mark.

I use a brine that includes kosher salt, brown sugar, soy sauce, white wine, tabasco, and dried onion and garlic. Found it on the interweb years ago and it is my go to salmon brine... I copied it and saved it on my computer, otherwise I would give credit to who I got it from. I have not gotten myself or any friends sick yet!! I think you are right the high salt content in the brine, the pellicle and the smoke environment have been effectively protecting me from myself.