Alright guys, here we go.....and I'll apologize because I can't get the pics to show, only links and pics below....but you'll get it
I used to buy my salmon at Costco but pricing has gone way up! I found the best deal at Smart & Final, each skinless side is about $22-$25. This is Atlantic salmon that has been farmed. Oddly, the wild-caught just doesn't seem to taste as good or cook-up as nicely....go figure!
Remove from package, give it a good rinse, lay on cutting board and usually you can get about 6 pieces. I try to cut them into equal weight sized but let's be honest....the tail section is going to be tighter and have less fat content. It still taste great but the 'money cut' is towards the front, no doubt!
Now here's the deal with the brine: if you make it too salty, you end-up with a salt lick! If you leave it in the brine too long, you end-up with a salt lick! Not enough salt or not enough time and the flavor just isn't there. Getting the salinity and timing right is big-time critical. A general formula is to add enough salt so that a raw egg will float...but I dunno, I just roll with this:
8 cups water
1/2-cup kosher rock salt
1/4-cup apple/hickory/cherry smoked salt
about 1.5 cups brown sugar
You don't have to use the smoked salts, you simply want to use about 3/4-cup salt altogether. I usually start with about 4 cups hot water and then add all the salt & sugar, then I use an immersion blender to mix it all up....then add the remaining 4 cups of cold water. Add salmon, looks like this:
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After it cools (because you don't want to put something warm into the fridge) you want at least 6 hours but preferably over night. Do not go more than a full day, you'll get a salt lick! And yes, I use a wet brine. I realize most people go with a dry brine but have you noticed how the pieces shrink, darken and tighten-up? Sorry, I prefer my salmon big, fluffy and full of moisture....we're not making jerky here. Wet brine hands down!
Remove from brine and rinse each piece really well. Do not be concerned that you're rinsing off the flavor....you can not rub it off! Give each piece a complete wash-down letting your hands touch all the surfaces, about 6-9 seconds each piece. Definitely rinse the thinner sections really well, otherwise the salt may be overwhelming if you leave a film of the brine.
Same as any other recipe, put the pieces on a rack, pat dry with a paper towel and allow the film to develop on the surface, it's called a pellicle. You can put a fan (on low) near the salmon to help facilitate this process....BUT it's better to err on the side of too moist rather then too dry! Drying will shrink the meat and we all know that smoke is attracted to cool/moist surfaces. Honestly, I've skipped the whole pellicle step and had no loss of quality! Still, let it dry a bit but don't fear some moisture.
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Also, do note the use of teflon-coated baking racks, not easy to find! I found these on Amazon, made by Calphalon, about $17/each. Important: before you put the racks & salmon into the smoker, you must remove each piece of salmon, dry the rack, spray the rack with release and then put the pieces back. Even with non-stick the salmon will still manage to cling so yes, use spray release along with non-stick racks.
Now look, we all have different equipment. I have a Pitmaker Vault but I actually use a DCS gas grill that I have at home. I modified it. This is the backside, it has a long open slot:
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So I got a piece of metal, some hinges and basically made a damper
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For the first hour I'm not using any heat from the grill. I used to use the internal smoker tray but recently switched to the A-maze-ing smoker tray and pellets, it's just too easy:
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You can do whatever you want. I used to take some wood chips, get them moist, wrap them in foil and perforate with some holes made by a fork. It doesn't matter, just expose the salmon to some smoke.....but remember,
we're making smoked salmon, not an ashtray! Avoid the temptation to over-smoke the meat. A little smoke goes a long ways.....it's very easy to overdo it so keep it light.
After an hour, I turn on all the burners and set to low.....it may only take 10 minutes but you're looking for 2 things: a temp of 120F and some white stuff to surface.....this is called the Albumin, as the meat cooks it expels some protein so it's actually not fat. Some people refer to this as sweating the salmon.
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Next, get yourself a teflon coated skillet with grill lines. Again, Calphalon rocks! I used to use my DCS grill but good luck getting any grill to be nearly as non-stick as teflon! I roll with medium heat but my stove is a bit kick-ass so you may need a bit more but don't get too hot....
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I do 2 pieces at a time. Put them down, wait about 30 seconds and give them both a 90-degree twist....wait another 30 seconds and flip them both over, 30 more seconds and another twist....then remove. It's going to get oily, do NOT over-cook. What we're doing here, besides making it look awesome, is achieving the maillard reaction....behold:
The Maillard reaction (/maɪˈjɑːr/ my-YAR; French: [majaʁ]) is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavor.
To be open about it, when you see the fat sizzling, it's becoming trans fatty acids and the fats become joygasmic on the taste buds. When you see the sizzle, you know it's gonna taste the schizzle!
A few tips:
For the first piece, you can use a bit of oil just to ensure some instant sizzling. Clean the skillet between pieces or when grizzle develops. I use a dry paper towel. Also, it's best to use 2 spatulas to manipulate the pieces, definitely use some thin plastic spatulas and if one can be a long/thin one, all the better!
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Next, protect the thinner sections! These thin sections are often the belly cut and these are the money meat. I slip the spatula under the thin sections to prevent them from over-cooking....like a crutch or something. It's a bit of surgery but it's worth it, otherwise the thinnest pieces can overcook, dry, darken or fall off.
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Salmon is soft & delicate, don't be ashamed to use a skillet and teflon. Allow to cook a bit and then seal into individual vacuum bags. I'll admit to finding these sealed bags in the fridge MANY months later and it's still perfectly good!
Get yourself a fresh bagel from a legit bakery. Get some whipped light cream cheese.....toast the bagel to a perfectly light golden texture, let cool enough so the cream cheese won't run, add some salmon and we call this the Diet Breaker....because I don't care how disciplined and determined a person is; the taste is so damn good that you will be anticipating having another half bagel as you eat the one in your hand. The taste is complex, buttery, flawlessly salty/savory and yet simple & divine at the same time.
Lastly, if you somehow made it too salty do not despair! Get a tub of whipped light cream cheese, break-up the salmon, add into the tub of cream cheese and mix: serve with wheat thin crackers and people will gather around it, like a troft, and stand there shoving crackers into their mouths and proclaiming that they can't stop themselves. I'm sorry if it seems I'm building it up but I've seen it happen again and again and again. Last week some women drove up in her fancy Mercedes and dropped $150 on me for 7 pieces! She took the biggest pieces and the best looking ones...but still, she paid it! :becky:
And don't start trying to get jiggy with it....don't spray some Kentucky bouron cinnamon over the salmon while it cooks or adding molasses to the brine. No paprika sprinkled over the top or pink Himalayan rock salt right before it goes into the vac bag. Like AF's Salt & Pepper, the recipe is flawless just the way it is.....but no, go ahead and 'fix' it and tell me how you made it better, LOL
So let's review: buy the skinless salmon, rinse, cut into pieces, brine with 8 cups water to 3/4-cup salt for 6-16 hours, rinse very well, paper towel and let dry a bit, cold smoke for an hour, apply heat until 120F, finish on the grill. Post pics....oh, and enjoy! :thumb:
