Northwest Fishing Reports

I am in need of a few good recipes for smoking trout & salmon. I smoked 2 20+ inch trout yesterday and they tuned out great , but was using a very simple method and know I can do better. I put a layer of rocksalt, trout W/ cavity filled w/ brown sugar and another layer of rocksalt on top. Sat in fridge for bout 4hrs then rinsed & cut into smaller slabs. Smoked w/ apple wood chips for about 9 hrs. Turned out good but I know I can do better. I still have 2 more trout to smoke in a couple days. Any tips would b greatly appriciated. I know I could do some internet searching but figured that peeps from here would have more tested & perfected recipes as we all love the fishes!

Hey Jsmooth check out these strings...

http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/ya ... oking.aspx

http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/ya ... almon.aspx

http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/ya ... oking.aspx

and these links...

http://www.salmonuniversity.com/rs_htss01_index.html

http://www.salmonuniversity.com/SalmonU ... lmon_2.htm

Now I'm gettin hungry!:bounce:

Jsmooth, you have it spot on for dry brine! Any alternate spicing could be done after you rinse before the pelicule forms. Just get creative, you can't go wrong!!!!

PS The dry brine is the only way to go when you cold smoke. Like for Nova Style Lox. It firms the meat up very nicely.

Having just bought a smoker (digital Bradley 4 rack) to smoke those Lake Roosevelt trout we've been routinely slaying lately, this is a great and timely post. Thanks for posting it Jsmooth and to Gringo for all the great links!

Am I safe in assuming and salmon recipe will work for trout as well? I used a wet brine recipe in the Bradley cookbook and I was very pleased with how the fish turned out. Can't wait to play with some more recipes. :bball:

Bodofish wrote:Jsmooth, you have it spot on for dry brine! Any alternate spicing could be done after you rinse before the pelicule forms. Just get creative, you can't go wrong!!!!

PS The dry brine is the only way to go when you cold smoke. Like for Nova Style Lox. It firms the meat up very nicely.

I am sold on the dry brine also - easy to make a bunch ahead of time and store it - and you only use as much as you need.

I would stay away from using rock salt and use a more pure form such as canning salt...Salmon University recipe rocks!
Have fun...

Rock salt has nothing to do with quality of the product, it's the size of the pieces. For dry brining salmon it's the right size for the absorbtion you're looking for. On another note if you buy a small container or bag of rock salt you will be buying a product that is chemicaly similar to canning or kosher salt, non-iodized. For smoking, what you are looking for is non-iodized salt. Normally only table salt is iodized unless ordered for livestock. If it doesn't say iodized on the label you're good to go. It's the iodine that will give a metalic taste to any brined product.

You can do a quick google search on salt and it is clear that if you use rock salt you will get a metalic taste. Stick to canning salt it is the purest form. Better yet, it is real simple to do a test. In the same smoker mix some up with rock salt and some up with canning salt (the salt being the only difference in the recipes) and see what you think. Rock salt is not considered food grade and should be left for making ice cream and de-iceing sidewalks. Look at this link it will show you what kind of salt to use for what you are doing.


http://www.foodsubs.com/Salt.html

I should mention I have never dry cured salmon and that could make a difference, but if it is going in contact with food I would not recommend rock salt. Also I have noticed that most smoking recipes will say not to use rock salt.

goodtimesfishing wrote:You can do a quick google search on salt and it is clear that if you use rock salt you will get a metalic taste. Stick to canning salt it is the purest form. Better yet, it is real simple to do a test. In the same smoker mix some up with rock salt and some up with canning salt (the salt being the only difference in the recipes) and see what you think. Rock salt is not considered food grade and should be left for making ice cream and de-iceing sidewalks. Look at this link it will show you what kind of salt to use for what you are doing.


http://www.foodsubs.com/Salt.html

My point exactly, as well as personal experience too...thanks and welcome to the forum GTF! :geek:

Like I said before, the designation "rock" when buying salt in bulk is refering to the size of pieces. I don't really care what anybody googled or what other people said about the taste. Just because you google something does not make it true. Wake up! They were probably buying a grade of salt for road use. There is a little difference when you buy the proper salt. Personal experiences aside, I've smoked hundereds of thousands of pounds of salmon in a commercial operation. Bought salt buy the truck load. I've used from table grade (fine) to flake and to rock. If you buy a pure food grade product you won't get a metalic taste. If you buy what they call rock or ice cream salt from the grocery store it's not a food grade product, it's to put on the ice to lower the temp for an ice cream freezer.

Bottom line end of the salt debate.

I tried a dry brine over the weekend. used the 1 cup salt to 4 cup dark brown sugar. Oh man I tell ya best smoke ive done. Let the brine sit on the fillets for about 24 hours. Then I rinsed em slapped em in the smoker for about 8 hours. Alder smoke this time. mmmmmmmm good. My friends and family loved it. We ate like 18 lbs of salmon today. I am now defrosting some more chum for the smoker Hopefully Ill be able to brine them tonight. But it looks like tomorrow it will be ready. Im not sure of the different salts but they say food grade salts are the ones to use. So I used canning salt. Lil more money but really not that much. 4 lbs for like 2 bucks instead of 78 cents.

Sorry Big Bro Bodo, but gotta add a comment to the "bottomline end of salt debate". The metalic taste referred to above is usually noticed when "IODIZED" salt (table or otherwise) is used. "Pure food grade" as you mention would not have the Iodine added. After using the "Iodized Table" salt when I first began smoking :dwarf: cough cough:dwarf: the metalic taste was detectable. After I started using "Canning Salt" (a food grade salt) like mentioned by flinginpooh, I've had no problems with the metalic taste. Once again BodoFish, your input and advise is appreciated as it comes from experience.

Thx Lui! and thanks for taking the time to read completely.

blufin loui wrote:Sorry Big Bro Bodo, but gotta add a comment to the "bottomline end of salt debate". The metalic taste referred to above is usually noticed when "IODIZED" salt (table or otherwise) is used. "Pure food grade" as you mention would not have the Iodine added. After using the "Iodized Table" salt when I first began smoking :dwarf: cough cough:dwarf: the metalic taste was detectable. After I started using "Canning Salt" (a food grade salt) like mentioned by flinginpooh, I've had no problems with the metalic taste. Once again BodoFish, your input and advise is appreciated as it comes from experience.

I smoked my first batch ever yesterday. The taste was amazing and we were all very impressed, but I noticed a slight metallic taste and didn't know what to make of that. So I came on here, and my question was answered!! Good stuff fellas.. :chef:

One more benifit of the site. Almost any question will produce some "good" replies, and most of them will be helpful.