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rm41400
05-06-2020, 10:36 PM
Well Ive been attempting to make nova lox or cold smoked salmon. The first fillet is complete and it turned out kind of mushy... what did i do wrong?

Here is the general recipe i used.

Fresh sushi grade from Sams

DRY BRINE-
3parts/cups brown sugar 1 part/cup table salt
Recipe for 2 full filet.
Covered filets in dry brine. Wrapped in serene wrap and vac sealed. Placed in cooler with a little ice.

1st filet went overnight In the cooler in dry brine

Next day I removed 1st filet and rinsed well.. couple minutes. Pat dry with paper towels.

Then placed on elevated rack and back in the cooler on a rack overnight. Temp was probably 35-40* in cooler for duration

The next day cold smoked 9-10 hrs at 80-85*

What did I do wrong? What should I change for the 2nd filet?

rm41400
05-06-2020, 10:57 PM
I followed fairly closely a couple recipes from YouTube/here.

I haven’t cooked much Salmon so I’m not familiar with the of a good filet. The only thing that jumps out to me is the larger of the two filets was a little fragile to handle out of the package.

They both had 10 days left on the sell by and smelled fine. Should a skinless sushi/sashimi grade salmon be that fragile to handle?

Whumpa
05-06-2020, 11:34 PM
First off, as for the mushiness. Do you know what type of salmon you have? Some salmon are more firmer than others. Pink salmon especially is a very soft fish, where as Chinook, or Coho are much more firm. Also you may want to up your salt content and lower your sugar. As far as the bigger fillet being more fragile than the smaller one, that is not a big deal. Salmon just do not hold up well to much handling. Just the unsupported weight alone will tear and separate the muscle tissue of the fish. I hope this helps some. People say cooking a good brisket can be challenging, smoking salmon is just as much a challenge. The biggest hurdle is getting your brine where you want it.

LongTong
05-06-2020, 11:52 PM
Yes, the species of salmon is crucial. Alaskan King or Atlantic is what you need. Also, the curing process is 3 to 5 days. There are many recipes out on the wire so look for one with a longer cure. The length of the rinse or fresh water soak dictates salt levels. After several days in the brine, you should rinse or soak in water for several hours changing the water often. Then, pat dry and let a cuticle form before the cold smoke. When done, rub with a little oil to bring out a beautiful shine when your present the finished product.

rm41400
05-07-2020, 12:38 AM
Thanks for responses.

They are labeled “ Norwegian Atlantic Salmon” and farm raised sashimi grade. I do t see anything else specific...


I have a second filet that has brined for an additional 24 hrs (48+ hrs) I plan smoking tomorrow

Sid Post
05-07-2020, 01:31 AM
Thanks for responses.

They are labeled “ Norwegian Atlantic Salmon” and farm raised sashimi grade. I do t see anything else specific...

I question marketing 'farm raised Salmon' as sashimi grade. While in the Netherlands, Scottish Wild Salmon definitely tasted better than the Norwegian farmed fish when eaten raw or very lightly prepared and seasoned. That being said, the Norwegian fish were good fish, just not ones I would eat raw or very lightly seasoned. Sauced, baked, stew, etc. hide the differences and is where a cheaper farmed fish makes a lot of sense.

The wild caught Salmon have a different diet from their farmed cousins. Farmed fish are fed a lot of soy (and antibiotics) and aren't scavenging smaller fish and other things from the ocean. Think of it like the difference between grass raised beef versus feedlot corn fed beef or battery hen eggs versus family farm fresh eggs from TRUE free range hens. :wink:

All that being said, farmed Salmon is used a lot for lox and other cold preparations so, I suspect your issue is mainly one of technique and time similar to the "What did I do wrong with my BRISKET" threads that we see here periodically.

I'm not huge Earth hugger animal rights fanatic but, the indiscriminate prophylactic use of antibiotics in normal animal production in such massive quantities isn't a good thing. If something becomes drug resistant being used on sick people, I can accept that but, losing antibiotics because they are being fed to otherwise healthy animals to train and build antibiotic resistance is absolutely crazy if you ask me! I personally try not to support producers who abuse antibiotics. Most people either don't care or are oblivious so YMMV.

thirdeye
05-07-2020, 09:05 AM
Both grade and freshness of salmon are important for regular lox and Nova lox. Here are a couple of possible answers.

1. Table salt is usually not used for curing, one because it's iodized and second because of the grain size. If the recipe you followed used Kosher salt, table salt is finer so you would have added more salt. If the recipe called for canning salt (which is similar to table salt in size), disregard this.

2. After curing you might not have had enough air circulation in the cooler to get a good pellicle.

3. I always cure skin-on fillets. When your skinless fillet felt mushy, that could be hard to correct.

4. 80° is on the high end of cold smoking, especially for 8 hours in one sitting. For cold smoking, you can break up your sessions. 3 or 4 hours one day, overnight rest, 3 or 4 hours the next day. (same holds true for cold smoking bacon).

5. What did the finished Nova lox look like? A photo would be great if you have one.

I use a double cure for NOVA LOX (http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/08/thirdeyes-nova-lox.html), dry and wet. Give my article a read, I've made a few changes over the years. Here is my Nova on the left and hot smoked (dry cure only) on the right. The Nova almost has a candied appearance.

https://i.imgur.com/pgL8QKI.jpg

rm41400
05-07-2020, 02:03 PM
Both grade and freshness of salmon are important for regular lox and Nova lox. Here are a couple of possible answers.

1. Table salt is usually not used for curing, one because it's iodized and second because of the grain size. If the recipe you followed used Kosher salt, table salt is finer so you would have added more salt. If the recipe called for canning salt (which is similar to table salt in size), disregard this.

2. After curing you might not have had enough air circulation in the cooler to get a good pellicle.

3. I always cure skin-on fillets. When your skinless fillet felt mushy, that could be hard to correct.

4. 80° is on the high end of cold smoking, especially for 8 hours in one sitting. For cold smoking, you can break up your sessions. 3 or 4 hours one day, overnight rest, 3 or 4 hours the next day. (same holds true for cold smoking bacon).

5. What did the finished Nova lox look like? A photo would be great if you have one.

I use a double cure for NOVA LOX (http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/08/thirdeyes-nova-lox.html), dry and wet. Give my article a read, I've made a few changes over the years. Here is my Nova on the left and hot smoked (dry cure only) on the right. The Nova almost has a candied appearance.

https://i.imgur.com/pgL8QKI.jpg


Man thanks so much for your thoughtful and helpful response. I had actually looked at your recipe and loosely tried to incorporate it with the other two from YouTube.

I’ll follow it closely on the next batch of filets and see if it helps.

Ive re-read your recipe and I have quite an it to think about and tweak but I think the dry brine portion was just too short on the first filet which was the larger of the two. I also think your correct that I smoked too long. I did that to facilitate more drying to hopefully firm up the fish. So that tells me they weren’t stiff enough after the dry brine. I think...

Anyhow I have a second filet that has dry brined for about 50hrs. Then 24 hrs in a cooler on a rack. I took i out today and placed it on a cooling rack (it was cooler temps this morning <50*) with a fan for a couple hours. Its firmed up and feels different than the last filet. I’m gonna try a cold smoke again but go 3-4 hrs and see where that gets me. I’ll rest and repeat if necessary as you suggest.

I used the dry brine this man suggested (which did call for table salt) and everything else is similar except I went lower temps.

https://youtu.be/Jk3xl6H9o94

I also compared against this guys procedure. https://youtu.be/3hELL_0iCHU

I have pictures I just need to get them posted

LYU370
05-07-2020, 05:54 PM
I usually go for a week brining. But I usually make Gravlax, no smoking, but have cold smoked a few.

thirdeye
05-07-2020, 07:26 PM
Man thanks so much for your thoughtful and helpful response. I had actually looked at your recipe and loosely tried to incorporate it with the other two from YouTube.

I’ll follow it closely on the next batch of filets and see if it helps.

Ive re-read your recipe and I have quite an it to think about and tweak but I think the dry brine portion was just too short on the first filet which was the larger of the two. I also think your correct that I smoked too long. I did that to facilitate more drying to hopefully firm up the fish. So that tells me they weren’t stiff enough after the dry brine. I think...

Anyhow I have a second filet that has dry brined for about 50hrs. Then 24 hrs in a cooler on a rack. I took i out today and placed it on a cooling rack (it was cooler temps this morning <50*) with a fan for a couple hours. Its firmed up and feels different than the last filet. I’m gonna try a cold smoke again but go 3-4 hrs and see where that gets me. I’ll rest and repeat if necessary as you suggest.

I used the dry brine this man suggested (which did call for table salt) and everything else is similar except I went lower temps.

https://youtu.be/Jk3xl6H9o94

I also compared against this guys procedure. https://youtu.be/3hELL_0iCHU

I have pictures I just need to get them posted

I started the first video, and the mention of rock salt is unusual. It looks like he is using ICE CREAM SALT (https://www.mortonsalt.com/home-product/morton-ice-cream-salt/) which is best for your driveway,or beer trough, not sure about using for food. Apparently this is something to be continued.

SmokeRingsMatter
05-07-2020, 07:38 PM
Im sure its been posted already, but basicly you are eating raw salmon at those temps. Raw salmon will have a mushy texture if you don't cure it long enough. I would say you used too thick of salmon, didn't cure it long enough to firm up, and maybe you would prefer a hot smoke salmon in the 145F range.


My .02

rm41400
05-07-2020, 10:50 PM
I started the first video, and the mention of rock salt is unusual. It looks like he is using ICE CREAM SALT (https://www.mortonsalt.com/home-product/morton-ice-cream-salt/) which is best for your driveway,or beer trough, not sure about using for food. Apparently this is something to be continued.

Welp... I was trying to use the dry brin recipe he uses at the 2:19 part of the video which actually states “ non iodized salt”... dang I better get my hearing checked!

I heard “regular table salt or iodized” lol...

rm41400
05-07-2020, 10:52 PM
My second batch turned out much better. Same everything but I cut up the large filet prior to cold smoking.

Smoked from 2-4 hrs cold..

It was dry brined an extra day and dried at 50* for several hours longer.

This did make a noticeable difference.


I think you guys have me pointed in the right direction... I love this stuff!

rm41400
05-07-2020, 10:53 PM
I usually go for a week brining. But I usually make Gravlax, no smoking, but have cold smoked a few.

Please tell me more? Do you ferment?

rm41400
05-07-2020, 10:55 PM
Im sure its been posted already, but basicly you are eating raw salmon at those temps. Raw salmon will have a mushy texture if you don't cure it long enough. I would say you used too thick of salmon, didn't cure it long enough to firm up, and maybe you would prefer a hot smoke salmon in the 145F range.


My .02

The mush was something else... not 100% sure what but not the raw part. I agree the first batch was probably too thick or not dry brined long enough My second batch turned out better.

I guess I’ll pay for my free education in cold smoking one way or another... thank you for making the price of entry lower