Candied Salmon

IronNoggin

Well-Known Member
The original Gummy Bear Style...

A good Buddy called a short spell ago, wondering if he could talk me into running off a batch of salmon candy.
Tried to get him to go with the Cranberry Sweet Thia version, but NOPE!
HAS to be the maple-honey "Gummy Bear" stuff.
Damn!
Long process, expensive, and been just long enough since I made it I said... SURE... why not...

So, as the original post of this version has long since gone the way of the Dodo, I figured I'd run it up for anyone interested once again...

In this case we actually went with a mix of coho, red and white springs.
All caught offshore, vac sealed and flash frozen...

Thawed the frozen salmon just enough to cut. Works a tad better to make what we're looking for when there are still ice crystals through it. Ripped the hides, pulled all the bones, and cut into strips.

The brine was made the same morning, and given a spell to blend while we were cutting..

Brine:


1 gallon of water
1/2 cup of coarse salt
4 Kg's of Demerra Sugar
4 cups of real maple syrup
4 Kg's of pure honey (melted)
1/2 cup lemon juice

Place the strips into the brine and let it do it's thing.
Occasionally stir gently.


vUxjLPR.jpg


The strips can sit in brine as little as 24 hours, but double that is better when you can keep it cold.

Prep the grills with a GOOD shot of BarBee Pam, and set them up on your drying table.
Do NOT rinse the salmon strips when they come out of the brine.

Lay each strip out on the grill such that they don't touch each other (or they WILL glue to each other).

ap5b2BA.jpg


Set the loaded grills up under your fans, keep the air temp chilly, and dry them puppies out some...

9OIvyuX.jpg


In this particular case, with the relative humidity right up there and temperatures on the chilly side, we ran the fans for 48 hours before being happy with their progress. Can take a fair bit shorter when the conditions are different. What you are looking for is the translucent gummy bear look...

0i3Elu5.jpg


Now it's time for a visit to the preheated smoker.
Once the product hits, I like to keep it medium low for this kind of candy.
A combination of 50/50 Apple / Alder chips gives an almost "velvety" finish.

cocdTwa.jpg


QAl7Wd4.jpg


My big stainless smoker usually runs a full load of chips up at medium temperatures in three hours.

JLqMCla.jpg


I generally give it that first shot, then have a look to decide if it needs a little more. Again, cooler days meant just that. In all cases this time around, 6 hours was just about perfect. The strips shrink down a fair bit, but if you've done your job right, they are still translucent, and indeed have the texture of a Salmon Gummy Bear!

9nuz68R.jpg


Was right pleased the sun made an appearance to help highlight the show!

U5SAmZJ.jpg


To finish I suggest letting sit in a cool place for 24 hours in larger ziplocks or some type of container. That allows the product to "settle" and the consistency to become... well... consistent.

twuTL6h.jpg



Been a busy few days.
My taste buds Love me at this point, as does those of everyone who has tried it again...
My ever blossoming belly... well... not so much. :D

Cheers,
Nog
 
Cool stuff Nogs thx for sharing this. I'm going to give it a try this spring when things warm up out here. If they ever warm up again.
 
Found It.

This is the original we developed.
I would go with a little less of the Cranberry juice to make a slightly thicker brine.

Tangy this one...

Brine:
8 - 10 liters White Cranberry Juice
1.5 cups coarse salt
4 bags Demerra Sugar
1 full bottle Roasted Garlic & Red Pepper Spice
1.5 Liters Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce.

Simple. Brined to 48 hours, dried for 8, then slow smoked for another 8 - 10 hours (low heat).

Candied.jpg


Results:
Marvelous candy flavour with a distinctly tangy after-taste.
A new WINNER!
Pozitive.gif


Cheers,
Nog

EDIT TO ADD: I think this recipe would work very well with strips (as above) and / or smaller chunks.
 
'Nog, on a normal spring/fall day, how long do you let your strips dry for?

In warmer temperatures (and less relative humidity) we run the fans on them for about 24 hours instead of 48.
You are looking for the kind of texture described above, and almost dry to the touch.

Cheers,
Nog
 
The original Gummy Bear Style...

A good Buddy called a short spell ago, wondering if he could talk me into running off a batch of salmon candy.
Tried to get him to go with the Cranberry Sweet Thia version, but NOPE!
HAS to be the maple-honey "Gummy Bear" stuff.
Damn!
Long process, expensive, and been just long enough since I made it I said... SURE... why not...

So, as the original post of this version has long since gone the way of the Dodo, I figured I'd run it up for anyone interested once again...

In this case we actually went with a mix of coho, red and white springs.
All caught offshore, vac sealed and flash frozen...

Thawed the frozen salmon just enough to cut. Works a tad better to make what we're looking for when there are still ice crystals through it. Ripped the hides, pulled all the bones, and cut into strips.

The brine was made the same morning, and given a spell to blend while we were cutting..

Brine:


1 gallon of water
1/2 cup of coarse salt
4 Kg's of Demerra Sugar
4 cups of real maple syrup
4 Kg's of pure honey (melted)
1/2 cup lemon juice

Place the strips into the brine and let it do it's thing.
Occasionally stir gently.


vUxjLPR.jpg


The strips can sit in brine as little as 24 hours, but double that is better when you can keep it cold.

Prep the grills with a GOOD shot of BarBee Pam, and set them up on your drying table.
Do NOT rinse the salmon strips when they come out of the brine.

Lay each strip out on the grill such that they don't touch each other (or they WILL glue to each other).

ap5b2BA.jpg


Set the loaded grills up under your fans, keep the air temp chilly, and dry them puppies out some...

9OIvyuX.jpg


In this particular case, with the relative humidity right up there and temperatures on the chilly side, we ran the fans for 48 hours before being happy with their progress. Can take a fair bit shorter when the conditions are different. What you are looking for is the translucent gummy bear look...

0i3Elu5.jpg


Now it's time for a visit to the preheated smoker.
Once the product hits, I like to keep it medium low for this kind of candy.
A combination of 50/50 Apple / Alder chips gives an almost "velvety" finish.

cocdTwa.jpg


QAl7Wd4.jpg


My big stainless smoker usually runs a full load of chips up at medium temperatures in three hours.

JLqMCla.jpg


I generally give it that first shot, then have a look to decide if it needs a little more. Again, cooler days meant just that. In all cases this time around, 6 hours was just about perfect. The strips shrink down a fair bit, but if you've done your job right, they are still translucent, and indeed have the texture of a Salmon Gummy Bear!

9nuz68R.jpg


Was right pleased the sun made an appearance to help highlight the show!

U5SAmZJ.jpg


To finish I suggest letting sit in a cool place for 24 hours in larger ziplocks or some type of container. That allows the product to "settle" and the consistency to become... well... consistent.

twuTL6h.jpg



Been a busy few days.
My taste buds Love me at this point, as does those of everyone who has tried it again...
My ever blossoming belly... well... not so much. :D

Cheers,
Nog

Sorry for the stupid question but I am from the states

4 Kgs is equal to 8.18 pounds? Is that correct as that would be a ton of sugar and honey.
 
I recently did my first batch of Candied Salmon.
Turned out great!
The key is the drying time. It is cured and ready to eat before you smoke it. Just needs the smoke for flavor and to finish it off.

For brine amount sounds like Nog has a big smoker and you could half his recipe for a standard Bradley.

I used
1.5 ltr water
4 cups sugar
3/4 cup salt
2 cups maple syrup (cheapest at costco)
2 cups honey

Stole the recipe from a huntingbc.ca

Gearing up to do another batch as first one is eaten fast.
 
got my mini batch of the gummy bear recipe brining now. Excited to try this when we get up to the cabin tomorrow and should be smoking by Sunday. Thanks for the recipe @IronNoggin. I never do candied salmon so hope this works out for me.
 

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I clearly need to be fishing more. My small batch is nothing against what IronNoggin is making haha.

If anyone is wondering, I used a 1/4 of the ingredients of his original recipe and it would have been good for about two salmon/four full fillets. I also got compliments from everyone at the cabin that it was the best smoked salmon I've done thus far. Thanks IronNoggin for the recipe!
 
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