best smoked salmon brine

[jeffywestcoast]

Never made smoked salmon before but it starts with a good brine I know that much..Can one of you grizzly vetrans direct me to your best basic brine recipe? I have about 15 lbs of fillets to do..thank you much....

 

[SteelyDan]

I have experimented for years with my old man and my favourite is the simplest one. 3 parts brown sugar to 1 part pickling salt and a crap load of chopped garlic. Melt some honey and baste with a brush while its forming its pesicle (i think thats what its called lol) and hit them with some cracked pepper. I also like to leave them on the rack for at least 4 hours to let the honey totaly glaze over before the fillets hit the smoker.

 

[jeffywestcoast]

Thanks for the reply , that sounds pretty good.., if I did say 3 cups brown sug, I cup pickling salt, would that be too much? I have quite a bit of fish..

 

[SteelyDan]

I dont think so. Probably in the ball park of enough. Let it brine for 24 hours though. I would experiment and try a couple different brines and find one that you like best.

 

[jeffywestcoast]

you bet , thanks think im going with the simple brown sugar , kosher salt n garlic first time out.., going to brine for 24hr.

 

[Olde School]

Go light on the salt. Most people are okay with not a lot of salt, but if you get salty then you won't get people to eat it. DO NOT ask me how I know this ;-)
Here is a synopsis of how we start:
- get 2 containers approx 9.5” x 9.5” x 4.5” or 5.0L each. This will fill 8 Bradley smoker racks, which is done by stacking the racks in pairs. You will need approximately 60lbs of whole fish to fill the containers.
- mix 2kg of brown sugar and 1 cup of rock salt
- cut the meat into approx 1” wide strips, I skin mine
- place a layer of strips in the container leaving tiny gaps between the strips
- thinly cover the layer with marinade (you will be able to see meat through the gaps in the marinade - that is how lightly you spread the marinade), repeat until containers are full, then stop cutting strips.
- It is hard to judge how much salmon to cut so I cut and place in container until containers are full. Any leftover salmon is cut into strips, bagged and frozen for a later smoking session.
- place full containers in fridge for 1 day
- about half way through the marinading process invert the containers to ensure that the top layer also gets a good soak

 

[jeffywestcoast]

I took the recipe from salmon university, 3 cups brown sugar ,1 cup kosher salt, and approximately 15 cloves of garlic minced and thrown in, going to finish the 24 fr brine then rinse, let sit on rack to dry for a couple hours then smoke.. I bought some Lemonhart rum , honey and pure maple syrup 3 parts in a cup for basting every couple hours.. now well that's in the brine I have to decide which smoker to buy... thinking on a cheap electric big chief, or maybe a stand up propane one... cant decide, don't want to spend 3-4 hundred on a bradly so I think a coupl hundy should get the job done.. also the big chief comes with a bag of alder chips which I was told is best for smoking salmon.. anyone have any more tips im all ears..

 

[trendsetter]

I took the recipe from salmon university, 3 cups brown sugar ,1 cup kosher salt, and approximately 15 cloves of garlic minced and thrown in, going to finish the 24 fr brine then rinse, let sit on rack to dry for a couple hours then smoke.. I bought some Lemonhart rum , honey and pure maple syrup 3 parts in a cup for basting every couple hours.. now well that's in the brine I have to decide which smoker to buy... thinking on a cheap electric big chief, or maybe a stand up propane one... cant decide, don't want to spend 3-4 hundred on a bradly so I think a coupl hundy should get the job done.. also the big chief comes with a bag of alder chips which I was told is best for smoking salmon.. anyone have any more tips im all ears..

The basic recipe is just that; 3-1 brown sugar to kosher salt. Then you add whatever you'd like to make your batch unique. I do the same as far as brining; 24 hours then rinse and air dry.

I don't add garlic to the brine, I add 3 bay leaves, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 tsp of cayenne pepper and a shot of scotch. I prefer a smoky / salty taste to a sweet taste but that's just me.

I use a charcoal fired smoker I bought from cdn tire 6 years ago. It's cheap and works great but you need to pay more attention to the temps with those ones. No set it and forget it like the electric smokers. Also, cherry and apple are my favorite woods for salmon.

Good luck and welcome to the world of smoking! Before you know it you'll be searching through your fridge looking for new things to try smoked. lol. I've smoked just about everything over the years with some good results and some bad results.

 

[jeffywestcoast]

Right on thanks trendsetter, reason i was thinking propane smoker it would be easier to control temperature but i think im going to go with the big chief because of the room , it says up to 50 lbs of fish..


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[Fish Assassin]

50 lbs of fish ya right 25 maybe

 

[Rum Buddies]

to be honest I prefer little/big chief smoked salmon to Bradley smoked I've had. The bradleys are nice cause you set it and forget it but if you have someone working their little chief the entire time I think you get a better product.

Just did a run with rum barrel chunks I got at Cnd tire, turned out awesome, love the flavour it adds.

For brine I just just a bag of demera(sp?) sugar and one cup of rock salt and pack the chunks in the dry brine - always turns out good, just make sure you have good coverage when you're packing.

Oh and make sure you let them sit to glaze over before smoking, this is crucial for a good product IMO.

 

[fishin solo]

50 lbs of fish ya right 25 maybe

I agree with FA, I use that same recipe and its a stretch at 25lbs

 

[Hookin'up]

most importantly DO NOT rush the pellicle stage if it has to sit all day to dry to a tacky feel leave it, don't put it in your smoker wet otherwise you will not get the smoke to work its magic, start off with low temps if you can also, too high of a temp and you'll get the little white fat balls forming on top (fat out)

 

[wolf]

I use 4 cups of brown sugar 1 cup of demmera sugar to 1 cup of salt and if the filets are from a 20 plus lb spring or bigger i let brine for 2 days instead of one, find a longer time is better in the brine and like hookin said take your time , I also put a fan on high to assist in the drying stage...

Good luck Wolf

 

[jeffywestcoast]

Thanks for the tips, Poppaswiss,fishin solo, Hookinup and Wolf, if I rinse pat dry and put a fan blowing on it a few hours should be good no? otherwise I can leave it to dry over night because it wont go bad after being brined right? I am not in a hurry and I understand Quality takes time and I don't want to F this up...

 

[Gear'n'beer!]

Jeffy, I load my smoker up after they have been rinsed and use a fan. In this heat you should get pellicle to form in a few hours. As other guys have said, you have to get pellicle to form before smoking.

 

[jeffywestcoast]

I had the salmon on the racks for four hours with window open a good breeze and two fans, it was dry to the touch , going to do three pans of chips and 6-8 hr in the smoker i also have rum/honey /maple syrup glaze to go on after the first couple pans of chips..

I also put three pans of chips thru the smoker to season it before use, FA advised it..hopin for the best , just have to drink some beers and tend to the smoker now...
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[wishiniwasfishin1]

another thing i like to do...its kind of a pain in that butt but take out the pin bones prior to brining. Think it makes for a better finished product...

 

[Kildonan]

Good luck. It takes a few times to mess with your process to get things dialed in the way you like.

Just remember, there's no perfect way that suits everyone and don't be afraid to experiment.

I use maple syrup too, but not until the very end when it's dried and smoked the way I like. Then I also add fresh cracked coarse black pepper to mine.

The salty and sweet with the pepper is my fav, but that's to my taste. ;-)

Have fun.

 

[Fish Assassin]

another thing i like to do...its kind of a pain in that butt but take out the pin bones prior to brining. Think it makes for a better finished product...

Easier to pull after smoking and cooling.