More smoke flavor in smoked salmon

[the butcher]

Question for you guys....i like my smoke salmon moist so I typically stop smoking when the prob temp reaches the 141-145F temp which tells me the salmon is fully cooked and hot enough to kill any parasites etc... The salmon comes out moist but not as smoky as I like it. My buddy cooks his smoked salmon a lot drier than mine so I assume he keeps it on the smoker for a few hrs longer which dries out the meat but it also has significant more smoke flavor and smell. I am assuming that smoke may not penetrate salmon meat well when there is moisture in the meat is the reason why his has more smoke? He used an electric smoker with wood chips and I use a pellet smoker. The lowest my pellet smoker goes is about 150 and I leave it there for about 2 hrs..3rd hr I raise to about 160-165 and then about 180 for last hr for a final 4 hr cook.

The theory makes sense as I would imagine the smoke particles would not be able to penetrate moist salmon due to the water acting like a barrier..can someone tell me if the logic is correct? But then again it takes a while for you to cook hr moisture out of the salmon and there's the theory that after 2 hrs no further smoke will be infused into the meat.

For those who are smoking 6hrs, what is the internal temp of the salmon when you take it off? Must be higher than my low 140s F temp.

 

[Rain City]

Use more smoke. Get some chip trays or tubed.

 

[sasqman]

If ur using a liquid brine, try adding liquid smoke. I Use it all the time when I do my jerky in the oven.

 

[Chasin' Dreams]

It's definitely not because of the moisture in the fish cause I do Lox a couple times a year and it is super moist and I have to purposely use less smoke than normal cause it really absorbs the smoke well.

So saying that I would have to think it would be the pellets you are using. I have a bag of hard wood blend pellets that I use on some of my smoked meats and cheeses and it's a lot milder smoke than if I use straight wood chips of apple, hickory, or cherry. Hickory and Mesquite chips can be very strong flavor I have found if I use too much. Not a fan of the Mesquite I haven't used it in a while now.

I don't know what kind of pellet smoker you have but are you able to also use chips? If you can try that and see if you get a stronger smoke. Also it's important to shake the chips or pellets around if you can as they burn/smoke so that all parts of the wood gets burnt up and smokes well. I find if I put too much pellets or chips in my smoker it doesn't smoke near as good as when I put less in and toss them around more often. You want to see an ash forming on the chips and pellets to show they are burning at a good rate to get smoke going well. If they just go black and stay black for a long time you will be getting a lot less smoke from them.

 

[Reeltime]

What i've heard is the first 4-5 hours or at the beginning of the smoking is when the smoke penetration happens, otherwise we would start the smoke in the end of the process

So in my Chief if i wanted a smokier salmon i'd hit it with 3-4 pans of wood chips, soon as the chips turn black or the blue smoke stops change the pan keep that smoke house smoking, pucks i guess more heat in the beginning to burn the pucks faster then turn the temp down for the final cook... use to do 3 pans, as time went on now i'm down to 1 pan of smoke..

 

[the butcher]

I use a pitboss pellet smoker. And the pellets I use is a blend of maple, hickory and cherry. With my previous smoker, the Bradley, the smoke was continuous whereas a pellet smoker only produces some when new pellets are pushed through the auger and smolder on the brining rod...once the pellets catch on fire and burn it produces very minimal smoke until the next cycle of new pellets. Also, the pellet smoker has a fan that blows air to keep the fire going and to circulate the warm air throughout the cooking chamber..it creates airflow...wondernif this airflow also pushes thr smoke that's inside the chamber out thr smoke stack faster as compared to the Bradley where it stays inside the box and escapes through the vent.

 

[sasqman]

The heavier smoke scent also comes from hickory. Maybe try an little heavier on the hickory when you start.

I personally use a mix of about 60% hickory and about 40% alder. I find it a good balance and I like mine pretty smoky. Never disappointed. I also smoke mine the entire time with maybe 30 min in between loading up chips. I use a master built propane smoker.

 

[wildmanyeah]

You can also use thicker pieces that need to be smoked longer.

 

[Rockfish]

If you have a Little Chief smoker I know that you can smoke it normally until you get it cooked (to the right internal temp) or a bit under (partially cooked). Then to add more smoke flavor without cooking it a lot more and drying it out, take off the top lid and place some slats on top so that you can place the rack stand on top of the smoker with the cardboard box the smoker came in over the elevated rack as a cover.

This setup will add smoke to the fish while reducing heat. It is not as good as a true cold smoke set up as some heat will still rise up but will add more smoke flavor with less heat. With some experimenting as to how long to leave it in full hot smoke mode and in low heat smoke mode you should be able to get it where you want it in terms of smoke flavor without over-cooking/drying it out. Doing it in the winter when the outside air is cold may help with adding smoke flavor without over cooking.