smoked then canned pink

[Tsquared]

I am thinking of smoking then canning some pink salmon(since it doesn't look like we are going to get a crack at the sockeye). My idea was to brine my fillets, dry them to the pellicle stage and give them 2 or 3 hours smoke in my Bradley. I am trying to decide how much heat to give them at the smoking stage--I am thinking not much as they will be cooked when I can them anyway. I would probably just add vinegar to the jars as the fish would have enough salt from the brine. Has anyone done smoked canned pink before? I would appreciate any brine recipes or tips about the process and reviews about how it turned out.
T2

No Rigours

 

[Striper Sniper]

Hey Tsquared, you pretty much are on track. The best canned salmon I have ever had was cold smoked Sockeye strips then canned..... The key is to ensure you keep the heat down during the smoking period as you will be double cooking the fish when you can it. I would suggest that three hours in the Bradley at low low heat should work well. I have never added anything other than a pinch of salt, not sure about the vinegar....... hope it turns out well for you because if you nail it, wow............. SS

ps I have a Bradley also and I used Alder biskettes for this process.

 

[Tsquared]

Thanks Stripes--I'll let you know how it turns out.
T2

No Rigours

 

[Islandgirl]

I have smoked and canned quite a bit of fish. I would recommend only 1/2 smoking the usual amount of time.. DO NOT add any extra salt/ vinegar.. I am assuming you used a regular smoked fish brine prior to smoking.. Definately Brine as normal prior to smoking the fish.

 

[Striper Sniper]

Thanks Tyee Slayer, I will give Apple a try in the next week or so. SS

 

[Karlo]

We usually can pink or sockeye rather than coho or spring (I've heard some people actually eat chum). Canning smoked fish intensifies the saltiness and the smoke, so we wet-brine strips cut from filets for about a half hour, and rinse the pieces thoroughly. After they dry, we smoke them in our big outhouse-sized smoker for about four hours, skin the pieces, and can them.

We'e using fish caught well before spawning, so they still have a fair amount of body fat. Because pinks are far leaner than sockeye, ryness can be an issue in canned smoked pink that has been overbrined, overdried in the smoker, or taken too late in its life cycle.

 

[Tsquared]

My second batch of pinks are going in the smoker this morning. I brined them in a terriyaki-1 cup pickling salt- water mix with garlic and cayenne for spices. The first batch I did a couple of months ago in the same mix turned out great. 2 hrs of smoke at about 140, skinned and into the jars for canning. The reason I don't vacuum seal the fillets and refreeze them is I hate picking out those little pink bones from my teeth--I'd rather can them so they soften and disappear. I have to say it's a great way to clear out the freezer!
T2

No Rigours

 

[juandesooka]

First time canning last weekend, worked out really well.

I did some plain salmon, some half salmon / half smoked, and some just smoked. The smoked I had on hand was fully hot smoked, pretty dry, candied style. The half/half turned out really nice...just like St Jean's! I was pleased to find the fully smoked ones were good too...not overwhelming saltiness or dry like some reports I've read.

The best thing I like about this canned salmon is it is "ready to eat"...no thawing or prep needed. That will go a long way to easy and quick meal prep in a busy household.

Now I'm curious about halibut...mostly because of this ready to eat aspect. I've heard mixed things...some say don't do it (too dry), some say it is decent if you add some oil. Anyone have experience with this?

I read some posts about adding in a crab claw to halibut or other white fish, making it "poor man's lobster" (or with price of halibut, "rich man's lobster" perhaps)

What I'm curious about is mixing salmon and halibut, or smoked salmon and halibut. I sometimes joke that halibut is the "tofu of the sea"...such light taste that it picks up the taste of whatever you're cooking it with. If you added smoked salmon, could be a nice flaky white fish with smoked salmon flavour...could be really good. Or not, I dunno.

I plan to do some experimenting...but any tips from those who have gone before me are very much appreciated.

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[fish stalker]

bump

Did you get your recipe mastered Tsquared? I would think a less candied salmon would work better?

Someone told me a good tip. dont bother smoking the salmon. pack into jars like normal but then use a small piece of skin from some smoked salmon to give it a small but not over powering smoke. also then not double cooking it.

ANyone else have any canning tips?

 

[bser]

our experience is to smoke about 1/4 the time of what you normally would, that way its not too overpowering. Love very smoked fish normally,but full smoked then canned is too intense for the wiffee.