Indian Candy
- Thread starter TheBigGuy
- Start date
swamp donkey
Member
i'm trying the one that trigger posted as we speak! In the 36hr drying phase right now. Will post back with results!
swamp donkey
Member
it turned out fantastic! next time however i might add a touch more salt to the brine and some cracked pepper to the fish before smoking. other than that i highly recomend it!!!!
I also have a big chief. I kept the box that it came in. I will set the racks on top of the smoker, rather than inside it. By leaving a couple of the prongs outside the smoker, it will sit solidly. Then I put the box over the smoker. That puts the rack a full smoker height above the heat source. That dramatically lowers the temp that it smokes at. I have used this for cold smoked salmon and will try it with Indian Candy! Thanks for all the tips.
Fisher Down
Active Member
Cool post TBG. Over 2½ years later and you're still getting comments.
BTW, where'd you go? It's been a year since you've posted on SFBC.
F D
BTW, where'd you go? It's been a year since you've posted on SFBC.
F D
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
Well it's been ages since I originally made this post. I still use exactly the same basic brine ratios, but I constantly tinker with new ways to improve things. The biggest change I've made recently is I'm no longer using the heating element in the smoker to burn the chips. I am using self burning smoker pellets in a home made smoke ring to add the smoke. This keeps the internal temperature in the smoker much lower, and results in a true cold smoke.
Here is the link to my cold smoker mod:
http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/index.php?threads/my-2-cold-smoker.64765/
I'm always trying different things, most of my experiments turn out well. I'm currently working on a batch of Chum. I gave this batch a pre soak in wine and rum for 40 mins before brining. I'm also trying out Beet root powder and Prague Powder #1 in this batch of Chum. I'm done brining except for the thicker pieces. I'm soaking the finished thinner brined pieces in a novel finishing glaze right now. The glaze is a can of Cherry pie filling, Maple Syrup, and Honey. Guess I'll have to see how that glaze turns out, and report back as I've never used the Cherry pie filling before.
Here is some updated notes on my recent smoking procedures.
It is a long read, but there is lots of good info.
HANDLING, PREPARATION, BRINING, SMOKING, & STORAGE TIPS (REVISED)
Bleed, ice, & clean your fish asap for the best quality product.
Rigor mortis causes the tissue to shorten and therefore get stiff, resulting in a bent fish if it was not laid flat before rigor sets in.
If fish is handled roughly during rigor the muscle tissue can be pulled apart and can lead to undesirable muscle tears.
Leaning on a bent fish to straighten it for cleaning will lead to unsightly muscle tears in the fillets.
This is true when the fish is in rigor, or when the meat is still semi frozen. Do not bend to straighten as it tears the tissue.
Freeze your fish for an entire month to kill any parasites, before cold smoking.
Use a curing agent such as Prague Powder #1 to prevent botulism if cold smoking.
When making jerky it is best to cut the thin slices required while the fish is still semi-frozen.
Cutting with the grain is best when making salmon jerky, which requires being sliced into very thin pieces.
For salmon jerky & Salmon candy strips, cut the salmon with the grain (tail to head) to ensure the pieces will not break apart easily.
If making nuggets & jerky I skin the salmon, for salmon candy strips I sometimes leave the skin attached.
Prior to covering the salmon with the dry cure you may wish to soak the salmon pieces in red wine with some dark rum added.
Soaking the salmon in an alcohol bath helps remove any excessive fishy or unwanted tastes from extended freezing.
Marinate the salmon in the alcohol bath for 30-40 minutes. Then remove pieces from the alcohol bath and leave the salmon to drain in a colander.
You may keep the alcohol used for marinating the salmon in the fridge until later in the brining process.
Place the used alcohol from the alcohol bath in a sealed jar in the fridge so the particles in it can settle to the bottom and clear.
Begin the dry curing process
SALT- SUGAR CURE
1 kilogram bag of dark brown demarara or best brown sugar (2.2 lbs)
7/8 cup coarse non iodized kosher or pickling salt
Cover the bottom of a tupperware container with 1/4 inch of salt/sugar cure mix.
You can drizzle molasses between the layers of salt/sugar cure, if you like that flavoring.
Put larger pieces on the bottom layer. Cover bottom layer with another 1/4 inch of cure mix.
Continue layering salmon and cure mix until all salmon is covered.
Place salmon in refrigerator (preferably covered) while brining process continues.
The dry cure mix will quickly begin to draw liquid out of the salmon.
This will form a thick liquid brine that will cure the fish to a very firm consistency.
Once the thick liquid brine has formed, spices and flavorings and any or all optional ingredients may be added to the brine.
You should stir the fish every four hours or so, to ensure even brining.
Leave the fish in the brine until the meat is well jelled.
Once the salmon has firmed up, you may add rum, red wine or any other alcohol flavoring to the liquid brine.
You may now add the liquid from the prior alcohol bath into the liquid brine if you wish to reuse it, or save it for another alcohol bath if you wish to rinse your Salmon after brining.
Pour only the clear alcohol from on top of the jar into the brine, if you want to reuse it. Discard any discolored portion that has settled to the bottom of the alcohol.
If you do not wish to reuse the old alcohol, add 4 ozs of fresh red wine and 4 ozs of dark rum to the liquid brine.
You may also add some honey or maple syrup in small quantities to the brine if you wish, or reserve these for coating the salmon with later.
When fully brined the meat should no longer be squishy, but you don't want it to get too hard either.
You are looking for about the texture of a cured boneless ham that is used for baking.
Very thin slices, such as jerky should be left in the brine approximately 12-24 hrs.
Thick chunks can be left in the brine for up to 2 days.
Each piece may be ready at different times depending on it's thickness.
Check each piece regularly to ensure that each piece is not becoming over brined and hard.
Remove individual pieces when they are firm, and no longer feel soft & squishy when pressed between your fingers.
Brine time is dependent on the species, fat content, thickness of fillets, and if the meat was fresh, frozen, or skinned.
Thickness of the salmon pieces will have the greatest bearing on the brine time required.
Average brine time is approximately 24-48 hours for 1 1/2- 2 1/2 inch thick pieces. Very small thin pieces may be done in 12-18 hours.
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
2 entire orange rind - slice orange into wedges, cut orange away from the rind, then remove the orange skin from yellow pulp as with skinning a salmon.
Molasses (to personal taste)
Crushed fresh garlic (8 cloves)
Aprox 5x2 inch piece of fresh ginger cut into thin slices
1 tsp to 1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp to 1 tbsp cayenne powder
1 tsp to 1 tbsp garlic powder (if you don't use fresh garlic)
Hot pepper sauce (to personal taste)
Prague powder #1 (1 tsp to 5 pounds of fish) - research it's use carefully (to prevent botulism, also known as Instacure #1).
1 tsp beet root powder - if you desire to add a darker red colour to a paler colored fish.
Dark rum & red wine 4 oz (either or both)
Honey and/or Maple syrup - can be added to brine, used for a post brine soak, or as a glaze before, during, or after smoking.
Here is the link to my cold smoker mod:
http://www.sportfishingbc.com/forum/index.php?threads/my-2-cold-smoker.64765/
I'm always trying different things, most of my experiments turn out well. I'm currently working on a batch of Chum. I gave this batch a pre soak in wine and rum for 40 mins before brining. I'm also trying out Beet root powder and Prague Powder #1 in this batch of Chum. I'm done brining except for the thicker pieces. I'm soaking the finished thinner brined pieces in a novel finishing glaze right now. The glaze is a can of Cherry pie filling, Maple Syrup, and Honey. Guess I'll have to see how that glaze turns out, and report back as I've never used the Cherry pie filling before.
Here is some updated notes on my recent smoking procedures.
It is a long read, but there is lots of good info.
HANDLING, PREPARATION, BRINING, SMOKING, & STORAGE TIPS (REVISED)
Bleed, ice, & clean your fish asap for the best quality product.
Rigor mortis causes the tissue to shorten and therefore get stiff, resulting in a bent fish if it was not laid flat before rigor sets in.
If fish is handled roughly during rigor the muscle tissue can be pulled apart and can lead to undesirable muscle tears.
Leaning on a bent fish to straighten it for cleaning will lead to unsightly muscle tears in the fillets.
This is true when the fish is in rigor, or when the meat is still semi frozen. Do not bend to straighten as it tears the tissue.
Freeze your fish for an entire month to kill any parasites, before cold smoking.
Use a curing agent such as Prague Powder #1 to prevent botulism if cold smoking.
When making jerky it is best to cut the thin slices required while the fish is still semi-frozen.
Cutting with the grain is best when making salmon jerky, which requires being sliced into very thin pieces.
For salmon jerky & Salmon candy strips, cut the salmon with the grain (tail to head) to ensure the pieces will not break apart easily.
If making nuggets & jerky I skin the salmon, for salmon candy strips I sometimes leave the skin attached.
Prior to covering the salmon with the dry cure you may wish to soak the salmon pieces in red wine with some dark rum added.
Soaking the salmon in an alcohol bath helps remove any excessive fishy or unwanted tastes from extended freezing.
Marinate the salmon in the alcohol bath for 30-40 minutes. Then remove pieces from the alcohol bath and leave the salmon to drain in a colander.
You may keep the alcohol used for marinating the salmon in the fridge until later in the brining process.
Place the used alcohol from the alcohol bath in a sealed jar in the fridge so the particles in it can settle to the bottom and clear.
Begin the dry curing process
SALT- SUGAR CURE
1 kilogram bag of dark brown demarara or best brown sugar (2.2 lbs)
7/8 cup coarse non iodized kosher or pickling salt
Cover the bottom of a tupperware container with 1/4 inch of salt/sugar cure mix.
You can drizzle molasses between the layers of salt/sugar cure, if you like that flavoring.
Put larger pieces on the bottom layer. Cover bottom layer with another 1/4 inch of cure mix.
Continue layering salmon and cure mix until all salmon is covered.
Place salmon in refrigerator (preferably covered) while brining process continues.
The dry cure mix will quickly begin to draw liquid out of the salmon.
This will form a thick liquid brine that will cure the fish to a very firm consistency.
Once the thick liquid brine has formed, spices and flavorings and any or all optional ingredients may be added to the brine.
You should stir the fish every four hours or so, to ensure even brining.
Leave the fish in the brine until the meat is well jelled.
Once the salmon has firmed up, you may add rum, red wine or any other alcohol flavoring to the liquid brine.
You may now add the liquid from the prior alcohol bath into the liquid brine if you wish to reuse it, or save it for another alcohol bath if you wish to rinse your Salmon after brining.
Pour only the clear alcohol from on top of the jar into the brine, if you want to reuse it. Discard any discolored portion that has settled to the bottom of the alcohol.
If you do not wish to reuse the old alcohol, add 4 ozs of fresh red wine and 4 ozs of dark rum to the liquid brine.
You may also add some honey or maple syrup in small quantities to the brine if you wish, or reserve these for coating the salmon with later.
When fully brined the meat should no longer be squishy, but you don't want it to get too hard either.
You are looking for about the texture of a cured boneless ham that is used for baking.
Very thin slices, such as jerky should be left in the brine approximately 12-24 hrs.
Thick chunks can be left in the brine for up to 2 days.
Each piece may be ready at different times depending on it's thickness.
Check each piece regularly to ensure that each piece is not becoming over brined and hard.
Remove individual pieces when they are firm, and no longer feel soft & squishy when pressed between your fingers.
Brine time is dependent on the species, fat content, thickness of fillets, and if the meat was fresh, frozen, or skinned.
Thickness of the salmon pieces will have the greatest bearing on the brine time required.
Average brine time is approximately 24-48 hours for 1 1/2- 2 1/2 inch thick pieces. Very small thin pieces may be done in 12-18 hours.
OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS
2 entire orange rind - slice orange into wedges, cut orange away from the rind, then remove the orange skin from yellow pulp as with skinning a salmon.
Molasses (to personal taste)
Crushed fresh garlic (8 cloves)
Aprox 5x2 inch piece of fresh ginger cut into thin slices
1 tsp to 1 tbsp onion powder
1 tsp to 1 tbsp cayenne powder
1 tsp to 1 tbsp garlic powder (if you don't use fresh garlic)
Hot pepper sauce (to personal taste)
Prague powder #1 (1 tsp to 5 pounds of fish) - research it's use carefully (to prevent botulism, also known as Instacure #1).
1 tsp beet root powder - if you desire to add a darker red colour to a paler colored fish.
Dark rum & red wine 4 oz (either or both)
Honey and/or Maple syrup - can be added to brine, used for a post brine soak, or as a glaze before, during, or after smoking.
Last edited:
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
Extra flavorings are a matter of personal taste. Add as many or as few of your favorite flavorings as you prefer. Just be careful not to upset the salt sugar ratio by adding items high in salt content.
Liquids such as honey, maple syrup, and alcohol are great flavor enhancers for your brine, just keep the amounts added fairly small, and do not add them until the fish has already jelled.
My brine is very light in salt content. Therefore, the fish does not require rinsing once removed from the brine.
I recommend you do not rinse in water after brining, as this only delays pellicle formation in my opinion.
I generally only rinse the fish to remove solid leftover brine ingredients stuck to the surface of the fish.
Rinsing is only required to remove excess salt or to remove brine ingredients stuck to the surface of the fish.
I have modified my earlier recipe to use only ingredients that are larger and do not stick to the surface of the fish.
I no longer use grated orange zest, grated ginger, or minced garlic, or cracked pepper in my brine to avoid the need to rinse the fish.
I now use larger quantities of sliced orange peel and ginger, and have eliminated the cracked pepper.
I now simply increase the amount of my optional spice ingredients in ungrated from.
This compensates for the fact they are not as readily absorbed as finely chopped or grated ingredients.
Instead of pepper, I add more Cayenne powder, or add Tobasco, Sriracha , or Franks red hot sauce to the brine.
Sriracha sauce works well as it is very thick and does not thin the brine like more watery types of hot sauces.
The larger fresh ingredients along with powdered and liquid ingredients do not require rinsing to clean them from the surface of the fish.
This brine is almost a 6 to 1 sugar to salt ratio and there is no need to rinse off excess salt, as there is none.
There will be very little salt content left in the brine once the fish has finished brining, and rinsing is neither recommended nor required.
If you still insist on rinsing off the brined fish, consider a quick dunk in an alcohol bath rather than rinsing with water.
This accomplishes a surface cleaning, while adding more great flavor at the same time.
Rinsing in water only removes the great flavors you have tried so hard to infuse into your salmon, and delays pellicle set up.
You want a nice tacky shiny pellicle to form for proper smoke absorption and appearance .
Dark rum and/or red wine, & orange brandy make an excellent alcohol bath.
You can reuse the alcohol that was used for a pre brine alcohol soak earlier (if you followed that step) .
You can also add some honey and/or maple syrup to the alcohol bath for sweetness as well if you wish.
The alcohol can be reused for flavoring your next batch of fish if you are processing more within a few days (keep in fridge)
Wash the cure off in the bath (if desired) and pat dry, then leave to form a pellicle for at least 6 to 8 hours (a fan helps it form quicker).
If rinsed in water, I would recommend soaking in a glaze for another 6 hours.
There are many ways to add extra flavors and a nice finish to your salmon once the brining is complete.
One option is to give the salmon an additional soak in a glaze (six hours), or coating with a glaze prior to smoking.
The salmon may be soaked in or coated with a glaze prior to smoking, or during smoking a glaze can be brushed or spayed on.
Alternately you can coat your salmon with a light coating of olive oil and let it rack in the fridge for 6 hours.
After 6 hours wipe the oil off with a clean rum soaked cloth .
Repeat the application of olive oil, with the rum wipe down several times if you wish (6 hrs between rum wipes)
This step will really improve the texture and flavor of the final product, but is a lot of extra work if you have cut many small pieces .
The olive oil rum wipe treatment is more suited to whole fillets or large chunks of salmon.
Rack the fish and leave the pellicle to form at least 6 to 8 hours, or better yet overnight in the fridge.
A longer pellicle set up time allows the salt and flavorings to distribute evenly throughout the fish, and leads to much improved flavour and appearance.
If desired, coat the brined salmon pieces with a honey or maple syrup mop before smoking.
You may also sprinkle on a top coating of any preferred spices before the smoking stage.
Suggested coatings - black pepper, cayenne pepper, dill, garlic powder, chili powder, ... Or others you may like.
Alternately, following pellicle formation, you can give the pieces a nice shiny appearance by lightly brushing on olive oil.
Or you can coat with a mixture of equal parts, olive oil, dark rum, maple syrup, and honey.
Adding olive oil to any of the finishing glaze recipes gives a nice sheen to the brined salmon if applied to the dried surface while the salmon is racked for pellicle formation.
I also think it leads to a quicker pellicle formation, with a nice glossy finish on the smoked product.
In my opinion it also helps keep the pellicle from getting too hard durring smoking, and helps prevent the salmon from getting too dry if you prefer a softer consistency to your salmon (a la lox).
Glazes containing cooking oils can be put in a blender until emulsified, but it is not required.
You can simply mix a glaze containing olive oil by shaking it quickly in a sealed jar.
Near freezing temps with low humidity is the best weather to use a big chief style aluminum smoker to produce a cold smoke.
Smoke the salmon in the evening when the temperature is getting colder.
Freezing temps outside result in the best cold smoked product.
I have revised my smoke application process since my original post.
I no longer use the electric element in my smoker to burn chips.
I am now using smoker pellets in a homemade smoker ring for smoke generation.
See my post on constructing a simple wood pellet smoke ring, and for details on burning smoker pellets in an aluminum smoker.
I am currently doing my smoking using alder smoker pellets that are blended with apple wood.
You can mix different types of smoker pellets to change the flavoring of the smoke.
With the low internal temp of the smoker you can apply the cold smoke from 6-12 hours when the electric heating element is not used.
You can brush or spray honey, maple syrup or any other glaze on the fish one or more times during the smoking process (if you wish).
If you didn't glaze your salmon prior to, or during smoking you can still apply a glaze at the end of the smoking process.
You can brush or spray honey, maple syrup or any other glaze on the fish when the smoking is near completion.
If you haven't already given the fish a coating of pepper, or other spices you can still add some after glazing if desired.
If you have left the glazing & coating till the end, place the fish back in smoker for a further 30 mins so the coating dries on the fish.
You might want to plug your smoker in briefly to help dry the coating a bit, if using pellets.
Alternately, once the fish has finished smoking you can soak the smoked fish pieces in a glaze or syrup for 6 hours.
Liquid smoke can be added to the glaze if you desire more smoke flavoring absorbed into the smoked fish.
You can apply a light coating of olive oil to give a nice sheen to the surface, and help soften the pellicle, (if it is harder than you like).
Let the pieces cool and breathe in an open top plastic container in the fridge.
Leave the container in the fridge overnight (uncovered) to cool, air out, and let all the flavors meld.
Allow 24hrs for the smoke/brine/glaze to penetrate and equalize throughout the fish, then vacuum pack.
If the pellicle is still harder than you like, you can lightly coat the pieces in olive oil before vacuum packing it.
If you mistakenly dried your fish more than you prefer, you could also consider soaking the smoked Salmon in olive oil to restore some more moisture.
Place the smoked Salmon in the fridge to soak in about 2 inches of olive oil for 2 hours.
After two hours, remove the smoked Salmon from the oil and drain off excess oil.
Leave a slight coating of olive oil on the Salmon's surface, then vacuum pack it for storage.
The olive oil should restore some moisture, and help soften the pellicle somewhat during storage.
Date & label the species of fish on the vacuum pack with a felt pen.
Any smoked fish that won't be eaten within a few days should be vacuum sealed and frozen.
Liquids such as honey, maple syrup, and alcohol are great flavor enhancers for your brine, just keep the amounts added fairly small, and do not add them until the fish has already jelled.
My brine is very light in salt content. Therefore, the fish does not require rinsing once removed from the brine.
I recommend you do not rinse in water after brining, as this only delays pellicle formation in my opinion.
I generally only rinse the fish to remove solid leftover brine ingredients stuck to the surface of the fish.
Rinsing is only required to remove excess salt or to remove brine ingredients stuck to the surface of the fish.
I have modified my earlier recipe to use only ingredients that are larger and do not stick to the surface of the fish.
I no longer use grated orange zest, grated ginger, or minced garlic, or cracked pepper in my brine to avoid the need to rinse the fish.
I now use larger quantities of sliced orange peel and ginger, and have eliminated the cracked pepper.
I now simply increase the amount of my optional spice ingredients in ungrated from.
This compensates for the fact they are not as readily absorbed as finely chopped or grated ingredients.
Instead of pepper, I add more Cayenne powder, or add Tobasco, Sriracha , or Franks red hot sauce to the brine.
Sriracha sauce works well as it is very thick and does not thin the brine like more watery types of hot sauces.
The larger fresh ingredients along with powdered and liquid ingredients do not require rinsing to clean them from the surface of the fish.
This brine is almost a 6 to 1 sugar to salt ratio and there is no need to rinse off excess salt, as there is none.
There will be very little salt content left in the brine once the fish has finished brining, and rinsing is neither recommended nor required.
If you still insist on rinsing off the brined fish, consider a quick dunk in an alcohol bath rather than rinsing with water.
This accomplishes a surface cleaning, while adding more great flavor at the same time.
Rinsing in water only removes the great flavors you have tried so hard to infuse into your salmon, and delays pellicle set up.
You want a nice tacky shiny pellicle to form for proper smoke absorption and appearance .
Dark rum and/or red wine, & orange brandy make an excellent alcohol bath.
You can reuse the alcohol that was used for a pre brine alcohol soak earlier (if you followed that step) .
You can also add some honey and/or maple syrup to the alcohol bath for sweetness as well if you wish.
The alcohol can be reused for flavoring your next batch of fish if you are processing more within a few days (keep in fridge)
Wash the cure off in the bath (if desired) and pat dry, then leave to form a pellicle for at least 6 to 8 hours (a fan helps it form quicker).
If rinsed in water, I would recommend soaking in a glaze for another 6 hours.
There are many ways to add extra flavors and a nice finish to your salmon once the brining is complete.
One option is to give the salmon an additional soak in a glaze (six hours), or coating with a glaze prior to smoking.
The salmon may be soaked in or coated with a glaze prior to smoking, or during smoking a glaze can be brushed or spayed on.
Alternately you can coat your salmon with a light coating of olive oil and let it rack in the fridge for 6 hours.
After 6 hours wipe the oil off with a clean rum soaked cloth .
Repeat the application of olive oil, with the rum wipe down several times if you wish (6 hrs between rum wipes)
This step will really improve the texture and flavor of the final product, but is a lot of extra work if you have cut many small pieces .
The olive oil rum wipe treatment is more suited to whole fillets or large chunks of salmon.
Rack the fish and leave the pellicle to form at least 6 to 8 hours, or better yet overnight in the fridge.
A longer pellicle set up time allows the salt and flavorings to distribute evenly throughout the fish, and leads to much improved flavour and appearance.
If desired, coat the brined salmon pieces with a honey or maple syrup mop before smoking.
You may also sprinkle on a top coating of any preferred spices before the smoking stage.
Suggested coatings - black pepper, cayenne pepper, dill, garlic powder, chili powder, ... Or others you may like.
Alternately, following pellicle formation, you can give the pieces a nice shiny appearance by lightly brushing on olive oil.
Or you can coat with a mixture of equal parts, olive oil, dark rum, maple syrup, and honey.
Adding olive oil to any of the finishing glaze recipes gives a nice sheen to the brined salmon if applied to the dried surface while the salmon is racked for pellicle formation.
I also think it leads to a quicker pellicle formation, with a nice glossy finish on the smoked product.
In my opinion it also helps keep the pellicle from getting too hard durring smoking, and helps prevent the salmon from getting too dry if you prefer a softer consistency to your salmon (a la lox).
Glazes containing cooking oils can be put in a blender until emulsified, but it is not required.
You can simply mix a glaze containing olive oil by shaking it quickly in a sealed jar.
Near freezing temps with low humidity is the best weather to use a big chief style aluminum smoker to produce a cold smoke.
Smoke the salmon in the evening when the temperature is getting colder.
Freezing temps outside result in the best cold smoked product.
I have revised my smoke application process since my original post.
I no longer use the electric element in my smoker to burn chips.
I am now using smoker pellets in a homemade smoker ring for smoke generation.
See my post on constructing a simple wood pellet smoke ring, and for details on burning smoker pellets in an aluminum smoker.
I am currently doing my smoking using alder smoker pellets that are blended with apple wood.
You can mix different types of smoker pellets to change the flavoring of the smoke.
With the low internal temp of the smoker you can apply the cold smoke from 6-12 hours when the electric heating element is not used.
You can brush or spray honey, maple syrup or any other glaze on the fish one or more times during the smoking process (if you wish).
If you didn't glaze your salmon prior to, or during smoking you can still apply a glaze at the end of the smoking process.
You can brush or spray honey, maple syrup or any other glaze on the fish when the smoking is near completion.
If you haven't already given the fish a coating of pepper, or other spices you can still add some after glazing if desired.
If you have left the glazing & coating till the end, place the fish back in smoker for a further 30 mins so the coating dries on the fish.
You might want to plug your smoker in briefly to help dry the coating a bit, if using pellets.
Alternately, once the fish has finished smoking you can soak the smoked fish pieces in a glaze or syrup for 6 hours.
Liquid smoke can be added to the glaze if you desire more smoke flavoring absorbed into the smoked fish.
You can apply a light coating of olive oil to give a nice sheen to the surface, and help soften the pellicle, (if it is harder than you like).
Let the pieces cool and breathe in an open top plastic container in the fridge.
Leave the container in the fridge overnight (uncovered) to cool, air out, and let all the flavors meld.
Allow 24hrs for the smoke/brine/glaze to penetrate and equalize throughout the fish, then vacuum pack.
If the pellicle is still harder than you like, you can lightly coat the pieces in olive oil before vacuum packing it.
If you mistakenly dried your fish more than you prefer, you could also consider soaking the smoked Salmon in olive oil to restore some more moisture.
Place the smoked Salmon in the fridge to soak in about 2 inches of olive oil for 2 hours.
After two hours, remove the smoked Salmon from the oil and drain off excess oil.
Leave a slight coating of olive oil on the Salmon's surface, then vacuum pack it for storage.
The olive oil should restore some moisture, and help soften the pellicle somewhat during storage.
Date & label the species of fish on the vacuum pack with a felt pen.
Any smoked fish that won't be eaten within a few days should be vacuum sealed and frozen.
Last edited:
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
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Fresh Fruits, Vegetables & Spices For Dry Cures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fresh Ginger
Garlic Cloves
Fresh Dill
Whole Sliced Onion
Lemon Zest
Orange Zest
Grapefruit Zest
Lime Zest
Fresh Oranges
Fresh Lemons
Habanero Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers
Red Thai Peppers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sweeteners
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marmalade
Jams
Jellies (Sweet Or Spicy)
Honey
Maple Syrup
Brown Sugar
White Sugar
Molasses
Corn Syrup
Syrup From Canned Maraschino Cherries
Canned Cherry Pie Filling
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dried/Ground Mild Spices
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allspice
Cummin
Paprika
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Ginger Powder
Ground Nutmeg
Ground Cloves
Cinnamon
Mace
Dried Savory
Dried Tarragon
Dried Dill Weed
Dried Bay Leaf Flakes (Or 2 Or 3 Whole Bay Leaves)
Dry Crab And Shrimp Seasoning Mix
Oldbay Seasoning
Penzey'S Seafood Boil
BBQ Dry Rub
Dry Teriyaki Marinade
Greek Seasoning
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Hondashi Powder
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dried/Ground - Hot Spices
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
White Pepper
Black Pepper
Chili Powder
Dry Mustard
Cayenne Pepper
Dried Hot Red Pepper Flakes
Blackened Red Fish Seasoning
Caribbean Jerk Spice
Cajun Seasoning
Creole Seasoning
Powdered Wasabi
Lowery’s Ground Pepper W/Tobasco
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liquid Flavorings, Sauces, Jams, Jellies & Pastes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Honey
Maple Syrup
Rum Extract
Maple Extract
Marmalade
Jams
Jellies (Sweet Or Spicy)
Syrup From Canned Maraschino Cherries
Red Wine Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar
White Wine Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Lime Juice
Worcestershire Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
Yoshida Sauce
Ketchup
Thai Red Pepper Paste
Sweet Garlic Thai Chile Sauce
Sriracha Sauce
Tabasco Sauce
Franks Hot Sauce
Soy Sauce
Red Curry Paste
Jalapeno Jelly
Liquid Smoke
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Colouring Additives
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beet Root Powder - Balance Botanicals, 4341 Main Street, Vancouver, BC
Red Coloured Hot Pepper Sauces
Sweet Garlic Thai Chile Sauce
BBQ Sauces (or any red tomato based sauce)
Red Wine
Cherries
Cherry Syrup From Canned Cherries
Canned Cherry Pie Filling
Ketchup
Seedless Red Jams Or Jellies
1 ½ Tsp---Red Food Coloring + 1 Tsp---Yellow Food Coloring
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Alcohol
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Dark Rum
Red Wine
Orange Brandy
Apricot Brandy
Whiskey
Crème de Cassis
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fresh Fruits, Vegetables & Spices For Dry Cures
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fresh Ginger
Garlic Cloves
Fresh Dill
Whole Sliced Onion
Lemon Zest
Orange Zest
Grapefruit Zest
Lime Zest
Fresh Oranges
Fresh Lemons
Habanero Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers
Red Thai Peppers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sweeteners
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Marmalade
Jams
Jellies (Sweet Or Spicy)
Honey
Maple Syrup
Brown Sugar
White Sugar
Molasses
Corn Syrup
Syrup From Canned Maraschino Cherries
Canned Cherry Pie Filling
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dried/Ground Mild Spices
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allspice
Cummin
Paprika
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Ginger Powder
Ground Nutmeg
Ground Cloves
Cinnamon
Mace
Dried Savory
Dried Tarragon
Dried Dill Weed
Dried Bay Leaf Flakes (Or 2 Or 3 Whole Bay Leaves)
Dry Crab And Shrimp Seasoning Mix
Oldbay Seasoning
Penzey'S Seafood Boil
BBQ Dry Rub
Dry Teriyaki Marinade
Greek Seasoning
Montreal Steak Seasoning
Hondashi Powder
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dried/Ground - Hot Spices
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
White Pepper
Black Pepper
Chili Powder
Dry Mustard
Cayenne Pepper
Dried Hot Red Pepper Flakes
Blackened Red Fish Seasoning
Caribbean Jerk Spice
Cajun Seasoning
Creole Seasoning
Powdered Wasabi
Lowery’s Ground Pepper W/Tobasco
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Liquid Flavorings, Sauces, Jams, Jellies & Pastes
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Honey
Maple Syrup
Rum Extract
Maple Extract
Marmalade
Jams
Jellies (Sweet Or Spicy)
Syrup From Canned Maraschino Cherries
Red Wine Vinegar
Apple Cider Vinegar
White Wine Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Lime Juice
Worcestershire Sauce
Teriyaki Sauce
Yoshida Sauce
Ketchup
Thai Red Pepper Paste
Sweet Garlic Thai Chile Sauce
Sriracha Sauce
Tabasco Sauce
Franks Hot Sauce
Soy Sauce
Red Curry Paste
Jalapeno Jelly
Liquid Smoke
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Colouring Additives
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beet Root Powder - Balance Botanicals, 4341 Main Street, Vancouver, BC
Red Coloured Hot Pepper Sauces
Sweet Garlic Thai Chile Sauce
BBQ Sauces (or any red tomato based sauce)
Red Wine
Cherries
Cherry Syrup From Canned Cherries
Canned Cherry Pie Filling
Ketchup
Seedless Red Jams Or Jellies
1 ½ Tsp---Red Food Coloring + 1 Tsp---Yellow Food Coloring
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alcohol
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dark Rum
Red Wine
Orange Brandy
Apricot Brandy
Whiskey
Crème de Cassis
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last edited:
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
Well I soaked my Chum for 12 hours in a glaze of Cherry pie filling, Maple Syrup, and Honey. If it tastes half as good as it looks it should be fantastic. The combination of the beet root powder in the brine and the Cherry pie filling glaze gave the chum as super dark red appearance. For presentation at Xmas gatherings I like to have my fish looking as red as Sockeye. The long soak in the sugars really firmed up the meat as well. Looks good enough to eat right now. Letting it rack till this evening when it goes in for a cold smoke.
wishiniwasfishin1
Well-Known Member
This all looks like really good advice TBG. Do you really need it to be lower than the 2-3c it was today outside? If you are smoking the fish at night does that mean you pulling an all nighter to babysit the fish?
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
Freezing for an entire month kills any parasites. I am very careful about my food handling practices and have never had an issue with any of my smoked fish. After switching to cold smoking with the pellet smoker I figured maybe I needed some extra insurance. Cold smoking for extended periods of time can give the botulism bacteria time to reproduce, so I have started to add Prague Powder #1 (Instacure #1) for added safety. You need to research and use the curing powders carefully. They are not to be trifled with, they can poison people if used at too high a concentration. You must weigh your fish taking the weight of the brine into account as well to determine what the correct amount of curing powder to use is.
The Prague powder #1 for curing fish can be purchased at Stuffers in Langley. They do Internet orders by mail, if you don't have a store close to you. Do not use the #2 cure, that is for extended curing (months).
The beet powder is available at Balance Botanicals, 4341 Main Street,Vancouver, BC. The beet powder is simply to help color up a pale meat fish. You want to start with a small amount because a Neon red fish doesn't look too natural. Long soaks in red wine and red sauces also help to colour up a pale meat fish. I have also used food colouring in the past, but prefer to use natural ingredients to colour up a pale fleshed fish. I have been searching for a source of reasonably priced cherry powder, but it is very expensive compared to beet powder. Acerola Cherry powder is a super concentrated source of vitamin C and is supposed to be one of the best natural sources of C Vitamin. Adding vitamin C is also supposed to be a good idea when using the curing powders. When I get a hold of some cherry powder I'll report on how it works out.
The Prague powder #1 for curing fish can be purchased at Stuffers in Langley. They do Internet orders by mail, if you don't have a store close to you. Do not use the #2 cure, that is for extended curing (months).
The beet powder is available at Balance Botanicals, 4341 Main Street,Vancouver, BC. The beet powder is simply to help color up a pale meat fish. You want to start with a small amount because a Neon red fish doesn't look too natural. Long soaks in red wine and red sauces also help to colour up a pale meat fish. I have also used food colouring in the past, but prefer to use natural ingredients to colour up a pale fleshed fish. I have been searching for a source of reasonably priced cherry powder, but it is very expensive compared to beet powder. Acerola Cherry powder is a super concentrated source of vitamin C and is supposed to be one of the best natural sources of C Vitamin. Adding vitamin C is also supposed to be a good idea when using the curing powders. When I get a hold of some cherry powder I'll report on how it works out.
Last edited:
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
The 12 hour hour post brine soak in a glaze of Cherry pie filling, Maple Syrup, and Honey worked out really well. It not only added a nice cherry red colour to the meat, it also totally penetrated the sugars into the flesh of the fish. The smoked fish was actually sticking to my fingers when I was slicing it because it had absorbed so much of the syrup. It had a very nice sweetness offset by my spicy brine additives. I added about a quarter bottle of Sriracha Sauce to my brine for extra zing. I always add extra spicy ingredients to my Chum brines.
Last edited:
N2013
Well-Known Member
Tackled this recipe finally. Did up a couple chums (8 &12lbs) into 5"L x 1"W strips. 2 bags of demera sugar, about 7/8c of salt, then added 1c of maple syrup, 3oz of dark rum, 8 cloves of crushed garlic, 2 tsp of ginger, 1/2tsp of red pepper flakes&cayanne, and zest of an orange. Sat in a brine for 36hrs (stirred every 4hrs), removed from brine, dried in garage for 8hrs (6hrs with a fan), then into my big chief for 5 hrs. Used 3 pans of 1/2 alder, 1/2 apple. They turned out pretty good but a little too much salt and a bit too long in the smoker for my liking. Think I'll reduce it next time down to 3/4c of salt, maybe another cup of maple syrup or more sugar, let it dry for 4-5hrs with the fan on, then reduce smoking time to 4hrs. Fortunately I have another 8 chums to practice on. Really good recipe!
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the compliment.
3/4 cup salt should be just fine for you.
2/3 of a cup of salt is often too little, as all the salt gets absorbed and it could still use more.
I will use 3/4 cup salt with other species sometimes, but with chums I usually go heavy on the salt and spices. Chum is great smoked, but I've always added a little extra flavorings as it's a very mild flavored Salmon. Everybody likes their smoked Salmon differently. There is no right or wrong way, it's all just personal preference.
Keep detailed notes when testing new methods. Once you get a batch exactly how you like it, from then on it should be easily reproducible. Some things you might want to record.
fish - species
fish - fresh or frozen
size of pieces
skin on or off
brine ingredients
brine time
rinsed or un-rinsed after brining
pellicle set up time, and method
smoke time & wood used
internal temp of fish
internal temp of smoker
external ambient temp
was a syrup coating applied during smoking
how you liked the result:
enough smoke/not enough
sweet enough/too sweet
salty enough/too salty
dry enough/too dry
less/more spices
finish/colour
3/4 cup salt should be just fine for you.
2/3 of a cup of salt is often too little, as all the salt gets absorbed and it could still use more.
I will use 3/4 cup salt with other species sometimes, but with chums I usually go heavy on the salt and spices. Chum is great smoked, but I've always added a little extra flavorings as it's a very mild flavored Salmon. Everybody likes their smoked Salmon differently. There is no right or wrong way, it's all just personal preference.
Keep detailed notes when testing new methods. Once you get a batch exactly how you like it, from then on it should be easily reproducible. Some things you might want to record.
fish - species
fish - fresh or frozen
size of pieces
skin on or off
brine ingredients
brine time
rinsed or un-rinsed after brining
pellicle set up time, and method
smoke time & wood used
internal temp of fish
internal temp of smoker
external ambient temp
was a syrup coating applied during smoking
how you liked the result:
enough smoke/not enough
sweet enough/too sweet
salty enough/too salty
dry enough/too dry
less/more spices
finish/colour
Cuba Libre
Well-Known Member
Thanks TBG-- Over the years I have been pretty much old school on hot smoking, but you have given me a bunch of great excuses to start trying different recipes !
TheBigGuy
Well-Known Member
I think you will find you can get much more consistent results from a dry brine with a cold smoke. Once you figure out what consistency to remove the fish from the brine you will always have each piece of fish brined to exactly the right saltiness you prefer. Once I tried my first dry brine many years ago I realized how much more consistently the product turned out exactly the way I like it. I can't really hot smoke with my smoker anymore even if I wanted too. The element has gotten so weak that it probably won't go over 120 degrees inside on a cold day. I used to enjoy some hot smoked Salmon from the smoker when it was new and would go to higher temps, but I way prefer a cold smoked product for most fish.
