Squire
Well-Known Member
Looks delicious! How do you prevent the albumin from seeping out of the fillets of fatty fish?
Let's see your smoked salmon
- Thread starter tubber
- Start date
Squire
Well-Known Member
I bought a set of tweezers with a fish scaler from Amazon as well. I concur that the tweezers suck. I tried pliers for pulling pin bones but found it to be an onerous process. I will do it for baked or BBQ’d salmon for guests but not for processing fillets for smoking. I just cut off the tail section of a full fillet that has no pin bones then cut a thin strip of flesh containing the pin bones out of the remainder.
scott craven
Well-Known Member
It happens sometimes regardless, this batch wasn't a problem though.
Tomic Slayer
Active Member
It’s completely avoidable, it’s caused by temperature. If your smoker or your fish becomes too hot, the fat will come out. When this happens to me I give it to my neighbors and those who hound me for fish throughout the year.
It takes time and patience to properly cure and smoke fish. Some people rush it, and in the end the result can be personal failure. Then there’s those guys who are just lucky sometimes.
It takes skill to properly cure and smoke fish
Marley
Well-Known Member
It is all about temperature. https://blog.thermoworks.com/key-te... a method,becomes denser without being cooked.
scott craven
Well-Known Member
Show me someone who has never had an issue with smoking fish and I'll show you someone who doesn't do it much
tubber
Well-Known Member
Two things:
Pretty sure the white blobs are proteins. Yes, from too hot and maybe too fast.
After 40 years of sometimes breaking pin bones with pliers and other tools, just lately I figured out to squeeze them softly and then gently ease them out. It's more like removing a sliver out of a genital than pulling a porcupine quill out of a dog. Cheap fish tweezers work fine this way.
Pretty sure the white blobs are proteins. Yes, from too hot and maybe too fast.
After 40 years of sometimes breaking pin bones with pliers and other tools, just lately I figured out to squeeze them softly and then gently ease them out. It's more like removing a sliver out of a genital than pulling a porcupine quill out of a dog. Cheap fish tweezers work fine this way.
Squire
Well-Known Member
Thanks for responding. As helpful as that was I was hoping for something more constructive like salt content of the brine too high or too low, too little or too much time in the brine etc...
I am retired and there was no hint of rushing any part of the 3-1/2 day process. I see others with product smoked at higher temperatures without the issue and hope to narrow down the cause.
I start with heat only and don't put the racks of fish in the smoker until the temperature has stabilized.
My Bradley does keep the temperature stable with very little fluctuation.
Tomic Slayer
Active Member
Let me see what I can do to help you here.
First, I would suggest selling your Bradley for multiple reasons. There’s always somebody wanting a Bradley. There’s a sucker born every day and it shouldn’t be too hard to find one, especially around here. Just posted it in the buy sell trade.
I prefer top loading, chief smokers, or similar.
Bradley really has zero air circulation, they create their own moisture and steam inside, and if you use them without water, they catch fire.
I also assume you have it set way too hot. You’re also probably using the internal element which is also too hot. The inside element of your unit is right in front of your water bowl which is heating the water up creating humidity, and they drip it’s even dripping on the top of your fish as seen in your own photos.
Your fish looked magnificent, right up to the point of using a Bradley. So if you want me to be more constructive, I would tell you to get a new smoker. But if you’re gonna continue to use one wedge the door open an inch and at least get some more airflow and remove the element inside so you never make the mistake of using it or have an accident of accidentally engaging it.
I never smoke my cured fish over say 70-90 degrees, but if somebody wants it to be a little more cooked, bring the heat up right at the end for 10 or 15 minutes but you’re nice clear fish will now look cooked on the inside.
Hope this helps you, Good Luck
Marley
Well-Known Member
I agree. I got rid of my Bradley and rigged up a cold smoking system with a Trager that has worked so much better. I had moisture and heat problems as well. You can save the Bradley for hot smoking, pulled pork etc. Or get the cold smoker attachment for the Bradley smoke generator and pipe into a BBQ or something with more airflow.Let me see what I can do to help you here.
First, I would suggest selling your Bradley for multiple reasons. There’s always somebody wanting a Bradley. There’s a sucker born every day and it shouldn’t be too hard to find one, especially around here. Just posted it in the buy sell trade.
I prefer top loading, chief smokers, or similar.
Bradley really has zero air circulation, they create their own moisture and steam inside, and if you use them without water, they catch fire.
I also assume you have it set way too hot. You’re also probably using the internal element which is also too hot. The inside element of your unit is right in front of your water bowl which is heating the water up creating humidity, and they drip it’s even dripping on the top of your fish as seen in your own photos.
Your fish looked magnificent, right up to the point of using a Bradley. So if you want me to be more constructive, I would tell you to get a new smoker. But if you’re gonna continue to use one wedge the door open an inch and at least get some more airflow and remove the element inside so you never make the mistake of using it or have an accident of accidentally engaging it.
I never smoke my cured fish over say 70-90 degrees, but if somebody wants it to be a little more cooked, bring the heat up right at the end for 10 or 15 minutes but you’re nice clear fish will now look cooked on the inside.
Hope this helps you, Good Luck
Squire
Well-Known Member
Let me see what I can do to help you here.
First, I would suggest selling your Bradley for multiple reasons. There’s always somebody wanting a Bradley. There’s a sucker born every day and it shouldn’t be too hard to find one, especially around here. Just posted it in the buy sell trade.
I prefer top loading, chief smokers, or similar.
Bradley really has zero air circulation, they create their own moisture and steam inside, and if you use them without water, they catch fire.
I also assume you have it set way too hot. You’re also probably using the internal element which is also too hot. The inside element of your unit is right in front of your water bowl which is heating the water up creating humidity, and they drip it’s even dripping on the top of your fish as seen in your own photos.
Your fish looked magnificent, right up to the point of using a Bradley. So if you want me to be more constructive, I would tell you to get a new smoker. But if you’re gonna continue to use one wedge the door open an inch and at least get some more airflow and remove the element inside so you never make the mistake of using it or have an accident of accidentally engaging it.
I never smoke my cured fish over say 70-90 degrees, but if somebody wants it to be a little more cooked, bring the heat up right at the end for 10 or 15 minutes but you’re nice clear fish will now look cooked on the inside.
Hope this helps you, Good Luck
Interesting observations on Bradley smokers. It makes sense that steam wouldn’t be a welcome addition to the smoker.
The temperature I used was 140 degrees, the same as the batch of candy I made as per IronNoggin’s recipe. As with this recent batch I only used the smoker for two hours then removed the water bowl with spent pucks for the rest of the cooking/curing time.
The candy had no fat seep out of it at all while the “hot-smoked” recipe did. This is why I was looking to brine time and brine composition for possible solutions.
Many hot-smoked recipes have even higher temperatures which makes me wonder how they avoid the albumin seepage issue.
I also wonder how much curing in brine is required to produce a safe to eat product when using a cold-smoking process.
Before I toss the Bradley, are there any home fish smokers out there having success with one and if so what is your process?
I may look in to the Bradley cold-smoke adapter as well but it may be hard to regulate the temperature in colder months when I typically have the time (and fish) to do it.
Marley
Well-Known Member
I add a little curing salt to my brine for safety.
ship happens
Crew Member
It's not a ham 
Tomic Slayer
Active Member
Maybe he’s planning on sending it Canada PostIt's not a ham
ship happens
Crew Member
Maybe he’s planning on sending it Canada Post
Well they are on strike and that could take a while. Plus it's Christmas. I'd say turn that into a pepperoni and send it
Marley
Well-Known Member
The recipe I follow for cold smoked salmon uses it similar to what you do with bacon or cold smoked sausages. Smoking creates a low oxygen environment and at low temperatures this carry’s the risk of botulism. The pink salt prevents this. Or at least that’s what the book says. It also gives that slight pink hue like bacon. It’s more noticeable on the white springs. I have done batches without it when I didn’t have any on hand and didn’t die so I am guessing it is a case of better safe than sorry.It's not a ham
Salmon Seeker
Crew Member
I use a bradley, just dont turn on the heat element. I also smoke on a cold day. As mentioned the white stuff comes from the denaturing of protein which happens when the temperature is increased too quickly. If you want to hot smoke you may be able to avoid, or at least minimize it by gradually increasing the temperature.
Squire
Well-Known Member
When you are smoking with your Bradley without the heat element on have you taken note of temperature reading on the display?
I am trying to figure out how to use only two hours of actual smoke while still completely curing/cooking the fish so that it is safe to eat.
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