Let's see your smoked salmon

[Whole in the Water]

If the fish has been frozen first it will kill most bacteria and all parasites so I would think that completely cooking it is not always needed from a food safety point of view. Not to mention that lots of folks eat lox, cold smoked salmon, gravlax and sushi which is basically raw or only partially cured/cooked salmon. . Obviously the quality and freshness of the fish is key to food safety.

 

[Tomic Slayer]

My friend processed this fish for smoking, covered with course salt for a couple days. He’s now sprinkled it with some sugar it was all he had, so he used some artificial sweetener. I bet it makes a good preservative. What I don’t understand is the fact that he doesn’t refrigerate it during this process.

I’ve never seen anything like this before. I told him I was gonna share this and see if anybody had some suggestions. One of his own buddy had suggested soya sauce from Costco, so they just poured it over.

Any advice would really be appreciated

 

[scott craven]

I wouldn't be eating fish, cured or not that sat out at room temperature for that long.

 

[Tomic Slayer]

I wouldn't be eating fish, cured or not that sat out at room temperature for that long.

I didn’t say anything about room temperature now did I?

Sure It hasn’t been refrigerated, but it has only been 3 to 5° the past few days. I was even thinking of suggesting the pink salt idea why not add some extra nitrate. If it works on meat, why wouldn’t it work on fish. Someone else on here suggested it first.

I think it’s gonna get smoked in the next couple of days. It sure isn’t my recipe or how I would do it but we all have our own opinions and recipes don’t we. Some just happened to be way better than others.

I’ve seen worse, I mean don’t believe anyone’s gonna get scombroid poisoning from this fish for the holidays. It’s a wonderful Christmas present for friends and family.

 

[Samnjoe]

My friend processed this fish for smoking, covered with course salt for a couple days. He’s now sprinkled it with some sugar it was all he had, so he used some artificial sweetener. I bet it makes a good preservative. What I don’t understand is the fact that he doesn’t refrigerate it during this process.

I’ve never seen anything like this before. I told him I was gonna share this and see if anybody had some suggestions. One of his own buddy had suggested soya sauce from Costco, so they just poured it over.

Any advice would really be appreciated

View attachment 113240

Scary. I'll eat anything but I don't like the look of that.
There are so many great simple recipes on here why not tried and true?

 

[scott craven]

What I don’t understand is the fact that he doesn’t refrigerate it during this process.

I guess the statement would lead me to believe it wasn't kept cold ?

 

[Tomic Slayer]

Be careful, sometimes there might be a trail of breadcrumbs leading to a cliff

Doesn’t mean you should jump, others may just leave those crumbs alone.


Any ways the the fellow is super embarrassed by my post, he washed it all off and closely inspected the fish (chum, chinook and sockeye) it passes the smell test and was nice and firm. He put some curing salt #1 on it then covered it in dark brown sugar for the rest of the day and will be smoking it today as the temperature is rising.

If it doesn’t work out, he’ll only be out about $100 and can purchase more and still have it ready before Christmas

 

[Samnjoe]

A buddy used to keep salted fillets in 5 gallon pails for weeks. In camp up the north coast. No refrigeration. Soaked them overnight in fresh water then cooked as fresh.
It was great. He was Scandinavian and said it was pretty normal back home.

 

[Salmon Seeker]

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.

the temp will depend on the outside temp. I like to do it on cold days outside like it is now. the temp inside gets up to 90-100f with just the smoke generator.

The fish is cured by the brining process, it does not need to be cooked to be safe to eat.

 

[Squire]

The fish is cured by the brining process, it does not need to be cooked to be safe to eat.

I was hopefully optimistic this was the case but there is a lot of warning-type literature out there. It is understandable that most ‘experts’ are going to be cautious when advising the general public about safe food handling due to concerns around liability.

I am still left wondering how to only smoke for a couple of hours to control the amount of smoke flavour and still completely cure the fish. I may split the difference next batch and smoke for a bit longer but not leave in on the low heat after and just call it finished.

 

[Rain City]

I was hopefully optimistic this was the case but there is a lot of warning-type literature out there. It is understandable that most ‘experts’ are going to be cautious when advising the general public about safe food handling due to concerns around liability.

I am still left wondering how to only smoke for a couple of hours to control the amount of smoke flavour and still completely cure the fish. I may split the difference next batch and smoke for a bit longer but not leave in on the low heat after and just call it finished.

Smoking as we do it today does nothing for the preservation of the fish. Cooking it does. Smoke traditionally kept bugs off the fish while it was dried to a jerky like consistency.

 

[ship happens]

I was hopefully optimistic this was the case but there is a lot of warning-type literature out there. It is understandable that most ‘experts’ are going to be cautious when advising the general public about safe food handling due to concerns around liability.

I am still left wondering how to only smoke for a couple of hours to control the amount of smoke flavour and still completely cure the fish. I may split the difference next batch and smoke for a bit longer but not leave in on the low heat after and just call it finished.

Fans and a temp controlled low oxygen environment. With a little smoke

 

[Squire]

Smoking as we do it today does nothing for the preservation of the fish. Cooking it does. Smoke traditionally kept bugs off the fish while it was dried to a jerky like consistency.

I’ve had both Sewann (spelling?), the traditional native dried salmon and traditional native smoked salmon. I don’t think the methods I’ve observed would meet modern foodsafe standards either

I’m probably just overthinking it but I don’t want to be the guy that gets someone sick by giving them a treat.

 

[Samnjoe]

I've been smoking my own fish for 50 years. Always warm to hot smoke at about 110 to 130 degrees. Dry and wet brine. The salt and the cook are what makes it safe. I don't think the smoke does much beyond flavor. Never got anyone sick.

 

[Tomic Slayer]

Opinions are like eyeballs, each of you have at least one that somewhat works. Even if you need a prescription to see things a little more clearly.

So here’s mine. Most of you are not curing your fish, your flavoring it and cooking it. When your done your sealing it and freezing it again. Your then pulling it out and it’s being consumed the same day in most cases.

Yes it’s smoked, but we can add smoke to anything. It’s still not cured.

You are your own hero, so keep smiling.

 

[Tomic Slayer]

As for my friends fish, I think it looks absolutely amazing. This guy really is skilled.

Hoping to go visit him and getting an opportunity to sample it, if not soon I am sure it will keep well in his freezer. When consumed I bet it will disappear quickly. So don’t worry.

 

[Samnjoe]

As for my friends fish, I think it looks absolutely amazing. This guy really is skilled.

Hoping to go visit him and getting an opportunity to sample it, if not soon I am sure it will keep well in his freezer. When consumed I bet it will disappear quickly. So don’t worry.

View attachment 113269

It looks great

 

[WHO DAT]

Hot Smoked Coho. Maple syrup glaze.