CTBoss wrote:Looks great, I'm going to cure some salmon today with some lemon, orange rind, cracked black pepper and fennel. But I am going to to use 2.5% sugar and 4.5% salt which is much saltier than your version. I'll see how it turns out.

I'd also be curious to hear how the orange rind effects the finished flavor. That sounds intriguing.

stevez wrote:

CTBoss wrote:Looks great, I'm going to cure some salmon today with some lemon, orange rind, cracked black pepper and fennel. But I am going to to use 2.5% sugar and 4.5% salt which is much saltier than your version. I'll see how it turns out.

I'd also be curious to hear how the orange rind effects the finished flavor. That sounds intriguing.

Definitely. I'd like to hear how it turns out, too. It sounds great.

Hopefully, you will be starting with some good, fatty, wild fish because the more I do this, the more I've come to think that is -- by far -- the single biggest factor in the quality of the finished product.

Good luck!

=R=

My wife and I cured about 2 lbs of Faroe Island Salmon (from The Fish Guy) over the weekend (we did not smoke it). We tried a little of the salmon raw before we cured it and it was among the best I can remember.

I don't recall the full ingredient list for the cure (we made it up on the spot, with a little inspiration from Charcuterie), but it did include brown sugar, white sugar, salt, pernod, orange rind, a little grapefruit rind, and a variety of toasted spices. The orange and grapefruit rind gave it really nice citrus essence to the finished product.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Hopefully, you will be starting with some good, fatty, wild fish because the more I do this, the more I've come to think that is -- by far -- the single biggest factor in the quality of the finished product.

Any suggestions on where you get your fish?

lougord99 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Hopefully, you will be starting with some good, fatty, wild fish because the more I do this, the more I've come to think that is -- by far -- the single biggest factor in the quality of the finished product.

Any suggestions on where you get your fish?

Locally, I've had reasonable success year-round at Burhops in Wilmette (definitely not Glenview) and at Foodstuffs, specifically during Copper River season. As for Foodstuffs, I used the Evanston store but I suspect that their Glencoe location would be equally accomodating.

Last time out (in mid-December '08), I was making it for a large party and sourced it via the internet from Pure Food Fish Market at the Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA. The wild Alaskan King salmon I got from them produced excellent results -- possibly my best ever. If you're making it for an occasion and you have some leadtime, I highly recommend them.

=R=

Burhop's - Wilmette
1515 Sheridan Rd
Wilmette, IL 60091
(847) 256-6400

Foodstuffs - Evanston
2106 Central St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 328-7704

lougord99 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Hopefully, you will be starting with some good, fatty, wild fish because the more I do this, the more I've come to think that is -- by far -- the single biggest factor in the quality of the finished product.

Any suggestions on where you get your fish?

The Fish Guy
4423 N. Elston Ave. Chicago, IL 60630.
Phone: 773-283-7400
http://fishguy.com/

I made some lox a couple weeks ago. It turned out great, but I had forgotten that I don't really care for lox!

razbry wrote:I made some lox a couple weeks ago. It turned out great, but I had forgotten that I don't really care for lox!

I guess that makes you a very dedicated chef. I still can't get the vegetarian in our office to cook me a steak, though.

=R=

I made a cold smoker which I modified suggestions from here

First I took a cardboard box and cut an opening in the front and a round hole in the side. I bolted a dryer vent fitting into the round hole on the side.

IMG_0093

On the other side I cut a round hole and bolted a computer fan that I got at Fry's

IMG_0094

I replaced the opening on my WSM with a piece of cardboard that I bolted the other end of the dryer vent fitting.

IMG_0095

I put a hot plate into the box and put a piece of aluminum foil on top of the hot plate. I laid the hard wood directly on top of the foil and closed the box up and turned on the fan. My first attempt was homemade andouille sausage, which I brought to the cajun exchange at Jen's yesterday.

IMG_0096

lougord99 wrote:I made a cold smoker which I modified suggestions from here

First I took a cardboard box and cut an opening in the front and a round hole in the side. I bolted a dryer vent fitting into the round hole on the side.

IMG_0093

On the other side I cut a round hole and bolted a computer fan that I got at Fry's

IMG_0094

I replaced the opening on my WSM with a piece of cardboard that I bolted the other end of the dryer vent fitting.

IMG_0095

I put a hot plate into the box and put a piece of aluminum foil on top of the hot plate. I laid the hard wood directly on top of the foil and closed the box up and turned on the fan. My first attempt was homemade andouille sausage, which I brought to the cajun exchange at Jen's yesterday.

IMG_0096

And it was delicious...great smoke flavor (but still subtle) --I was cursing you later though because I definitely ate a few pieces too many considering how much other food I wanted to try

Loved the chicken and dumplings too by the way (going to be my lunch today as well!!)

Awesome, Lou! I love that Weber Bullet modification and may just have to try it out myself. Thanks, for the inspirational post.

=R=

This method was actually quite easy. It cost about $35 and took maybe 2 hours once I had the parts.

What I really liked was finding these dryer vent couplers. One end attaches to the dryer vent and one end bolts to the box. Then, all you need to do is twist on and twist off the dryer vent. The web site suggests using 2 different dryer vent tubes and putting the fan directly into the vent. I saw no reason to do that.

This method also allows you to have the food in the WSM rather than the cardboard box where you have more options for places to put the food. Also if you need it very cold, you can put ice in bowl of the WSM where you normally put water.

Hi all,

Per multiple requests I've received (some very recently), I've gone back and restored all the pics to my original posts in this thread and well . . . I've learned a tremendous amount since I threw this thread up here over 9 years ago. I've cured and smoked salmon at least 4 dozen times since then.

Moving forward, I'll start posting some updated notes. For now, all I'll say is that the fish I used when documenting this process wouldn't even make the cut today. Since then, I've become an insufferable snob for wild, line-caught Alaskan King Salmon because the fat and marbling are so tremendous, and they produce the ultimate unctuous, lush and silky final product. For this type of project, I'm not sure I'd even bother with anything less at this point. I suppose there are exceptions, though.

=R=

Ronnie,

I have made your/Ruhlman smoked salmon many times. Tonight, as I put together my cure, I realized that I no longer had any pink salt, which Ruhlman calls for, but you do not mention. As I think the process through, I cannot see the need for pink salt if everything is kept cool enough through both the curing and smoking process. Do you agree?

lougord99 wrote:Ronnie,

I have made your/Ruhlman smoked salmon many times. Tonight, as I put together my cure, I realized that I no longer had any pink salt, which Ruhlman calls for, but you do not mention. As I think the process through, I cannot see the need for pink salt if everything is kept cool enough through both the curing and smoking process. Do you agree?

Yes, completely. I have never used pink salt for this and see no need to.

By coincidence, last week, for the first time ever, I made this using a couple of previously-frozen king filet pieces, rather than whole sides. The fish was from our monthly Sitka Salmon Shares box; so very high quality and cryovacked very well. With the smaller pieces, the cure time was shorter - just under 24 hours (and I was careful to check it frequently during that time). I'm happy to report that the final product turned out just as nice as it typically has when I've used larger pieces of fish.

=R=

When you check it, what are you looking for . I assume, it is the stiffness. I have always let it go 36 hours without checking it.

I used to do equal portions of salt and sugar, but eventually I reduced sugar by half. Spices are matter of personal choice, of course.
Restaurant Depot has sockeye for $7.95, approx just below 2Lb pieces.

lougord99 wrote:When you check it, what are you looking for . I assume, it is the stiffness. I have always let it go 36 hours without checking it.

With pieces this small, I was looking for some minor stiffness and some surface tackiness, almost like soft leather. I wanted to avoid anything even approaching desiccation on the exterior because with pieces this small, I knew that would cut significantly into the yield. With whole sides I generally go 36 hours without concern but that just seemed like too long in this case.

On the plus side, using these smaller filet sections, unlike with whole sides, they were pretty uniform in thickness, so I didn't have to worry about uneven curing. With a whole side, the tail end typically cures much faster than the head end, which creates a bit of a ballet.

=R=

Lenny007 wrote:Spices are matter of personal choice, of course.

So true. I've continued to cut back the white pepper in mine. I probably use less than half of what I used to use. A little goes a long way and even a bit too much can be way too much.

=R=

Hard to believe it's been more than 13 years since I first documented this process. Not much has changed but I did recently 'upgrade' some of the tech in my process, so I figured it might be time for an update. I typically make this a couple times a year, in the winter months, because there are annual events at which I serve it. But it's wild salmon season right now and with this year's annual events very much in question, I figured why not make an August run . . .


Whole Side of Wild King Salmon
A beautiful piece of fish, and so much easier to procure this time of year than in November/December/January. As you'll see, most of the side was used on this project. The rest of it was used here.


Mise
It's basically gravlax first, and this is pretty much everything needed. Pure kosher salt, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, fresh dill, rum and a plate of seasonings: white pepper, black pepper, bay leaves and blade mace.


Seasonings In The Spice Grinder
Technically, it's a coffee grinder but it's never had any coffee beans in it, so around here, it's the spice grinder.


Making The Cure
Salt, sugars and ground seasonings get mixed into a homogeneous cure.


Cure
Mixed and fish-ready


Bottom Bed
First, an even layer of cure goes into the curing vessel.


Rum
Once the fish is laid atop the cure in the vessel, a splash of rum goes over it. I think you can use just about any liquor -- and I know aquavit is a popular choice -- but I like this rum for this application, even though I'd probably never drink it on its own.


Dill
I lay a light and canopy of dill evenly over the surface of the fish.


Curing
Once the dill is in place, the rest of the cure is applied to cover the entire fish.


Full Coverage
The fish is covered completely with the cure.


Wrapping
Next up, the fish is wrapped up for its time in the refrigerator.


Wrapped Fish
Once, wrapped, it's almost ready for refrigeration.


Pressing The Fish
I purchased two of these vessels because they nest snuggly. So, once the fish is wrapped, I place the second vessel atop the first and weigh it down with a (wrapped) brick. The fish goes into the refrigerator for 24-72 hours, depending on all sort of variables, preferences, prognostications and other omens.


Cured Salmon
Essentially gravlax now, this is what it looked it after ~28 hours. In my estimation, that was enough time. The fish was still supple but slightly firm and there was a large amount of liquid in the curing vessel.


Rinsed and Dried
Because I'm cold-smoking the fish, after it's rinsed entirely in cold water, it's dried off and placed on a rack in the refrigerator to develop a pellicle, which helps the smoke adhere better. In this case, I left it on the rack overnight (~8 hours), which seemed adequate.

Now, turning to the smoking part of the process . . .


Modified Weber Kettle Lid
I retrofitted an old, failing lid from a Weber kettle. The rivet that held the damper to the lid had failed and the damper came off. So, I stacked an HVAC flange on top of it and drilled matching holes through both pieces. I then attached the damper to the flange using small nuts, bolts and washers. Then I reattached the entire apparatus to the lid of the Weber.


Duct Attachment
Using a circular thumbscrew clamp, I affixed an 8-foot length of aluminum dryer duct to the lid.


Starting The Fire
Some lump charcoal and a log of apple wood. Once the log had burned fully and reached ember stage, I covered the Weber with the modified lid.


Laying Out The Fish
With the smoke at a light wispiness, it was time to position the fish for smoking.


Cold-Smoking Rig
Doing its thing, mostly as planned. The fish was far enough away from the fire so that the smoke was entirely cool by the time it reached the fish, only flavoring it, and not cooking it. I let it smoke until the fire burned out, about 2 hours. I may need to add another vent/damper set to the lid because even with the bottom damper fully open, with the duct attached, there wasn't great air flow. A few times, I had to leave the lid ajar just a sliver for a moment or two to maintain the desire temperature. That said, it's far preferable to my former rig.


Old Cold-Smoking Rig
A fairly similar set-up but the new rig provides several advantages:

1) Being able to use a Weber, a device on which I have literally thousands of sessions and innate familiarity.
2) Having capacity to burn whole logs rather than chips or small chunks.
3) Being able to finely tune the fire far more easily.

With the fish cured and smoked it was finally time for a taste test . . .


Cold-Smoked Salmon and Takeda Classic Yanagi, 310mm
It was an honor to be able to cut my amateur-hour fish with such an awesome blade.


Plated Up
Toasted sesame seed bagel, chive cream cheese and homegrown yellow tomato. It really doesn't get much better than this. That said, my baking friend and I are going to swap some of this fish for some of his home-baked bagels in the next day or two. So, maybe it does get better than this.

=R=

That looks so good!

ronnie_suburban wrote:Plated Up

There is little, if anything, more glorious than Ronnie_S Cold-Smoked Salmon. Nice knife, but oy, that Salmon!

Cold-Smoked Salmon by Ronnie_S, count me a Fan!

Nice work Ronnie, nice documentation.

I, however, have given in to Modern Technology. I have a Texas-style dual-barrel concentric smoker. In the firebox I put a tube containing apple wood pellets smoldering nicely. In the far end of the smoking barrel, I put the fish. Four hours later the tube of pellets stops smoldering and the smoking process is over. The temperature never goes over ambient or 85°F, whichever is higher.

This tube smoker device has, quite simply, changed my life. It really has. Light it, and forget it.

And remember: this is a Kansas Citian talking.

Geo

https://www.amazon.com/LIZZQ-Premium-Pellet-Smoker-Tube/dp/B06ZZRR7XD/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=tube+smoker&link_code=qs&qid=1598996896&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-1-spons&tag=mozilla-20&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExOExXQkdXUzlXSVpCJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODMzMTkyMUVPRUEzNTkwV1dIJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAwNzA3NTUxTEQ3SzZUTlUxWVk4JndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Outstanding, Ronnie. Couple of thoughts.

The blade mace you used is an extremely important ingredient, in my opinion. Its flavor is important and unusual. People reading this may not be familiar with it. It is the part that surrounds the nutmeg as it is growing. You can get blade mace at most spice shops. I highly encourage people to use it.

In my experience, 2 hours of smoking was not enough to get the smoke flavor level that I want. I usually go 3-4.

To me, the biggest problem with summer smoking is keeping the fish cool enough. Did you use any ice around the fish? I would want to put ice near the fish in an attempt to keep it as cool as possible in the summer, though yesterday and today were not that hot if those are the days when you did this.

After setting fire to my old system, ( luckily, I didn't burn down the garage ) I have gone to a system similar to your.

lougord99 wrote:Couple of thoughts.

The blade mace you used is an extremely important ingredient, in my opinion. Its flavor is important and unusual. People reading this may not be familiar with it. It is the part that surrounds the nutmeg as it is growing. You can get blade mace at most spice shops. I highly encourage people to use it.

Yes, as much as it sounds like something cool that you'd want to bring along on your D&D campaign, as you point out, blade mace is, rather unexcitingly, the exterior of nutmeg. I do like it because it's very subtle but distinctive, if that makes any sense.

lougord99 wrote:In my experience, 2 hours of smoking was not enough to get the smoke flavor level that I want. I usually go 3-4.

Of course, this is a matter of taste but it all depends. I don't exactly how but I could tell that after ~2 hours, it had had enough smoke. I think I got it right . . . for my palate, anyway. But on any given day, results can vary depending on a host of variables, known and unknown. There have been times I gave it 6 hours of smoke, so it all depends.

lougord99 wrote:To me, the biggest problem with summer smoking is keeping the fish cool enough. Did you use any ice around the fish? I would want to put ice near the fish in an attempt to keep it as cool as possible in the summer, though yesterday and today were not that hot if those are the days when you did this.

No but I knew I was taking a small risk by not doing so. But between the 35F fish, the curing, the smoking, the cooler weather and the shade, I guessed that I'd be okay. Ironically, I've used ice in the winter when it probably wasn't necessary at all. I was happy that after 2 hours of smoking, the fish was still cool to the touch.

lougord99 wrote:After setting fire to my old system, ( luckily, I didn't burn down the garage ) I have gone to a system similar to your.

Yeah, I was pretty far from the house. Not that something couldn't happen but if it did, the deck would likely be the only casualty.

=R=

Bravo

Nice process!
Congrats on the Takeda!
Shosui makes some of the sharpest blades on the Planet!
-Richard

I think it's kinda funny that you guys have discovered mace and think no one else knows about it. As long-time bakers know, mace is the outer coating (webbing) of nutmeg, mace being slightly more pungent and spicier than nutmeg. My mom always had little jars of both mace and nutmeg, but I have to admit, I haven't bothered to look to see whether you could easily buy mace from the supermarket spice shelves for a long time. Mace blades are apparently what the pieces of webbing are called before they're ground up.

Katie wrote:I think it's kinda funny that you guys have discovered mace and think no one else knows about it.

Please point out to me where I wrote that?

=R=

Katie wrote:I think it's kinda funny that you guys have discovered mace and think no one else knows about it.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Please point out to me where I wrote that?

Big bowl of popcorn. Comfy chair. Diet Dr. Pepper.