Smoked salmon

[the butcher]

I have been fiddling with hot smoking salmon for the past year. I am conservative with my use of salt. While others may use a 3 to 1 kosher salt to brown sugar mix, I use a 4 to 1. I leave it in the brine for anywhere between 10 to 12 hours overnight. I find my smoked salmon to be quite salty. I do cut my salmon strips a bit thin so perhaps that's why it's so salty. My salmon pieces range between 0.5" to 1" thick with thr majority of pieces closer to 0.5 to 0.75" thick. What am I doing wrong?

What I find odd is that I have seen recipes for dry brine with people using a 1 part salt to 1 part brown sugar and have also heard of people keeping it in the brine for up to 24hrs or more. I can't imagine how salty it would be with anything more than a 3 to 1 ratio and longer than 12 hrs.

Would Perhaps a wet brine wout be less salty?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[tinboatrobb]

1 cup salt to 3 brown sugar. Brine in fridge up to 3 days. Rinse well and dry with a fan for 8 hrs then smoke. After smoking while still warm sprinkle with brown sugar. That is how we do it.

 

[Rain City]

Ratios don't work.
Look at @Reeltime s recipe. Salt that fish as though you're seasoning to eat it. Then cover with brown sugar. The amount of salt in your brine needs to correlate with the weight in fish you have. I stopped rinsing altogether as well. Mine kicks butt.

 

[the butcher]

Ratios don't work.
Look at @Reeltime s recipe. Salt that fish as though you're seasoning to eat it. Then cover with brown sugar. The amount of salt in your brine needs to correlate with the weight in fish you have. I stopped rinsing altogether as well. Mine kicks butt.

Where do I find reel time's recipe? Are you saying that if I didn't want any saltiness I could cure in an almost exclusive brown sugar for brine?

 

[Rain City]

Where do I find reel time's recipe? Are you saying that if I didn't want any saltiness I could cure in an almost exclusive brown sugar for brine?

No. Just base the amount of salt on the amount of fish instead of a ratio that gets dumped all over it.

 

[Rain City]

https://www.sportfishingbc.com/foru...d-salmon-recipe-and-process-on-youtube.76039/

 

[Reeltime]

Ratios don't work.
Look at @Reeltime s recipe. Salt that fish as though you're seasoning to eat it. Then cover with brown sugar. The amount of salt in your brine needs to correlate with the weight in fish you have. I stopped rinsing altogether as well. Mine kicks butt.

I may have to try the not rinsing to a few to see the difference, can't believe it i'm almost out of smoked salmon, might do another
batch while it's still cold

Where do I find reel time's recipe? Are you saying that if I didn't want any saltiness I could cure in an almost exclusive brown sugar for brine?

You will probably find this recipe is less salty then a lot of other ones, i find sprinkling each layer is a perfect gauge to control the salt..
as you do it a few times you can tweak it to your liking...

 

[Rain City]

I may have to try the not rinsing to a few to see the difference, can't believe it i'm almost out of smoked salmon, might do another
batch while it's still cold




You will probably find this recipe is less salty then a lot of other ones, i find sprinkling each layer is a perfect gauge to control the salt..
as you do it a few times you can tweak it to your liking...

I have a bunch of whole pink fillets if you want to give one a whirl.

 

[Reeltime]

I have a bunch of whole pink fillets if you want to give one a whirl.

Thanks! i still have a bunch of coho and springs that needs to get smoked, feels good when you are putting a dent on the freezer
eating the fish..

 

[Rain City]

Thanks! i still have a bunch of coho and springs that needs to get smoked, feels good when you are putting a dent on the freezer
eating the fish..

Oh I meant smoked without the rinse.

 

[browningmirage]

I go with 1kg brown sugar to 125g of coarse salt. Coated generously and left for up to 3 days.