MAN pendoreille 35 pounds of fillets
that old smoker would be just a smoken,,lol
Yeah I stole this and it works grand
Cool Smoked Salmon with Citrus
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Helpful Information
Prep Time: 8 hours
Cook Time: 4+ hours
Smoker Temp: 160°F
Meat Finish Temp: 130°F (medium)
Recommended Wood: Alder or Apple
What You***8217;ll Need
2-3 lb side of salmon, filet (pin bones removed)
1 gallon of cold water
1 cup coarse kosher salt
1 cup dark brown sugar (light brown will work)
3 each of oranges, lemons, limes
Memphis rub or what ever kind you like
Parchment paper
Step 1: Make Brine Solution
Fill a 1-gallon container with cold water
Add 1 cup of coarse kosher salt (Morton***8217;s works for me)
Stir until the water returns to near clear.
Add brown sugar and stir until well dissolved.
Squeeze ½ lemon, ½ lime and ½ orange into solution and stir to combine.
Note: don***8217;t worry about the seeds.. won***8217;t hurt at thing.
Step 2: Brine Salmon
Note: Make sure the salmon does not have any pin bones. Run your fingers over the top of the fish, pressing down slightly and you will be able to feel if there are any pin bones still present. If you find any, pull them out with clean needle nose pliers.
Place salmon into large plastic, glass or other non-reactive container. Ideally the salmon would be laying flat with skin side down but as you can see, I used a large mixing bowl with the fish slightly folded and it worked just fine. Use what you have available.
Pour brine over fish to cover and place in refrigerator for about 4 hours.
After 4 hours has expired, remove bowl from fridge.
Step 3: Rinse and Dry
Remove fish from brine and rinse well under cold water. This is to remove any excess salt.
Lay fish on several layers of paper towels then lay paper towels on top of the salmon to soak up excess water. You may want to do this several times to expedite the drying process
Leave the fish on the cabinet or cutting board to dry for 3-4 hours. This time can be lessened by directing a fan at the fish to speed up the drying process.
The salt and sugar in the brine retards the growth of bacteria and drying fish at room temperature is considered by most experts to be completely safe.
If you do not feel comfortable doing this, then it can be placed in the fridge to dry but it may take longer with the increased humidity and decreased air flow over and around the fish.
The point of drying is to allow the fish to form it***8217;s own glaze or pellicle which works to help seal in the white flavorful fat called albumin. This fat is best when it is left intact inside the fish and will help the fish to end up extremely moist, tender and flavorful.
Another way that we ensure the albumin stays intact is by cooking it over very low heat. I will get into that in the ***8220;Smoking the Fish***8221; section below.
When the pellicle has properly formed, the fish will be shiny and it will feel tacky to the touch.
Once this has happened, we can move on to adding some extra flavor to the outside of the fish.
Step 4: Season the Salmon
In seasoning meats we usually like to add a little moisture or something stick to help the rub to stick. On this salmon, I decided to use orange, lime and lemon juices to introduce some citrus flavors as well as give the rub a good base to stick to.
You do want to be careful and not brush the juice onto the fish and disturb the natural seal that we have spent the last several hours creating. Just squeeze the juices all over the fish and let it fall where it may to moisten the outside of the fish.
Sprinkle rub onto the top surface of the salmon .
When the rub mixes with the citrus juices, the flavors are incredible as the sweet and spicy from the rub combines with the sweet and tangy of the various juices. It almost has a hint of cuban mojo to it.
Leave the seasoned salmon on the cabinet or cutting board for a few minutes while you go get the smoker ready.
Step 5: Smoking the Fish
Setup your smoker for cooking at very low temperatures if possible. 160°F is optimal in my opinion. I used an electric smoker for this cook and, as with many things, different smokers excel in different areas.
Electric smokers such as the Bradley and even the Masterbuilt, and many other cabinet type electric smokers will excel at smoking fish at these low temperatures.
Charcoal smokers will also work just fine but you will need to use less charcoal than you normally would and watch it very closely to make sure it does not get out of hand.
Propane smokers sometimes are not designed to cook lower than about 225°F so you may have to resort to cooking the salmon hotter and, in turn, it will get done much quicker. This is not a deal breaker by any means and it will still end up tasting very good.
Salmon, as with most fish, is delicate and works best with lighter tasting woods such as alder and apple. Most fruit woods will work just fine.
Once the smoker is ready, place the fish, skin side down, on a piece of parchment paper and lay it on the smoker grate. The parchment paper ensures it does not stick to the grates and makes it really easy to maneuver inside the smoker in case you need to rotate it. It also makes it easy to remove once it***8217;s finished cooking.
Note: I like to carefully tear the parchment paper to the shape of the fish for good presentation.
Let the fish smoke cook until it reaches about 130°F in the thickest part.
Note: Some folks recommend, as have I in the past, to cook fish to 140-145°F however, the fish will be drier than it should be and pulling it at a lower temperature makes a huge difference.
I know that many well known restaurants and chefs employ this method to make sure the fish is the best it can be and is not dried out.
As long as you make sure the fish is fresh and it comes from a good reliable source, then, this is a fine way to serve salmon.
Step 6: Resting
Place the fish on the cabinet with a little foil tented over the top and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
Step 7: Serve it Up
Salmon is one of the those things that is just as good, if not better, at room temperature than it is hot. I even eat it cold sometimes and it is delicious.
The salmon can be sliced up and served in portions or it can be flaked apart and mixed with cream cheese and herbs for a tasty dip. I even like to eat some atop some scrambled eggs for a great breakfast treat.
My favorite: Add pieces of the smoked salmon atop a bagel or piece of toast with a poached or fried egg, avocado wedges, slice of tomato seasoned with coarse black pepper and sea salt.
***8203;
