Let's see your smoked salmon

[tubber]

Started thawing on Sunday and dry brining on Monday.
4 bags of brown sugar, two bags of demerara sugar, and 4 cups of course salt.
I always use any pieces from last summer, plus any whites from this year. I must say the pro packed stuff from both Ukee seafoods and Port Eliza from 2023 still look great. There was one failed package out of about 25.
I started with the thin belly pieces after 30 hours in the brine. 6 hours drying. Since our new oven has more functionality than the previous one, I finished them in the oven at 160F for an hour. I only did two pans of chips.
The 2nd batch dried for longer after 40 hours in the brine and are smoking now. The thickest ones got 48 hours in the brine and are drying overnight in the garage for smoking in the morning.
I'll try to post more pics tomorrow.
The next batches will get 3 pans.
Little Chief inside a tube of old Ram board with a cardboard lid for some heat retention is my smoker.

 

[ChilliSpoons]

I’m curious about brining times? I generally brine overnight but on my last batch I only had time for 6 hours. Is there an advantage to brining 12, 24 or 36 hours?

 

[tubber]

I think there is some sort of mystical molecular change to the flesh due the salt and sugar with longer brine times, so long as it doesn't get too salty.

 

[JWS]

I can’t seem to find a picture, but for bigger pieces I do a 4/1 Demerara to salt, brine overnight. Total time in the smoker varies on thickness, but actual smoke time is about an hour. When it’s almost done I give it a light brush of maple syrup and light sprinkling of pepper/garlic powder/onion powder

For candied nuggets (pictured) I go 7/1 sugar to salt, for a longer brine, minimum 24hrs. Smoker time is 2-3hrs, with minimal smoke. I usually let it rest overnight and give it a good drizzle of syrup and toss it all to coat.