Sugar free smoked salmon

[Dragginbait]

I'm trying something new, sugar free smoked salmon that uses honey instead of sugar and I'm also making a batch of my usual candy for my wife and will throw it in the smoker in the morning after an overnight brine.
Has anyone else tried using honey instead of sugar and if you did how did it work out?

 

[fish stalker]

lets hear your candy recipe? i did some last week but it wasnt up to snuff apparently. ive been using a dry brine with alder chips. I have a few to put on some sort of brine tonight, just trying to figure out what. Thinking of going back to a wet brine. Maple syrup might work as well. Honey and syrup both arnt 'sugar free' but I know what you mean. Also my racks have a bit of metallic smell that I thought I could taste in the fish, anyone getting that?

 

[Dragginbait]

Honey and syrup both arnt 'sugar free' but I know what you mean. Also my racks have a bit of metallic smell that I thought I could taste in the fish, anyone getting that?

I'm on a strict cancer diet and I'm allowed to have honey, but no sugar or artificial sweetners, I don't know about maple syrup though as it's all natural as well.
The candy is a basic salt and sugar recipe with extra brown sugar added, I think the most important part is to lightly rinse the fish and place on paper towel then pat it dry, let it sit for at least on hour to get have it get sticky, then smoke.

 

[Sharphooks]

Air-drying is a big part of coming out with consistently good batches. If you have the luxury of time, I would recommend air-drying over-night rather then for just an hour.

The key is to get a pellicle formed on the surface of the meat---an hour is not really enough to do that

 

[Dragginbait]

I've always done an hour, I think the was in the original Big Chief recipe book I had, but the longer the better makes sense. And I keep forgetting that it's called the pellicle, thats what you get when your memory sucks, like mine.

 

[Dragginbait]

The batch with the honey turned out dryer than the other one, I should have taken it out an hour earlier. I'll keep trying I guess.

 

[Birdsnest]

lets hear your candy recipe? i did some last week but it wasnt up to snuff apparently. ive been using a dry brine with alder chips. I have a few to put on some sort of brine tonight, just trying to figure out what. Thinking of going back to a wet brine. Maple syrup might work as well. Honey and syrup both arnt 'sugar free' but I know what you mean. Also my racks have a bit of metallic smell that I thought I could taste in the fish, anyone getting that?

I have had the metallic taste before as well. I call it "rack taint". It tastes and smells like metal. Basically what I think is happened is the salt in the fish has reacted with the rack. If your running a chief or a true north which I always do the racks are not solid stainless, they are nickle coated so they are subject to this. It often leaves a dark spot on the fish where the location of the rack has corroded.
What I have done to avoid this is clean the racks right after use, dry them, stow them oiled. I do not make candy so I am usually smoking on fish skin but I do make my own back bacon and it get the odd dark spot from the racks. I just cut it off right away and then the taste does not spread. The only other option is to get new racks and I have not yet sourced custom stainless racks and I am afraid of the price of such an item.
Sorry this is not a for certain cure but give it a go with thoroughly oiled racks. If that does not work you could do your candy in strips hung on wood or dowel.

 

[fish stalker]

ewww 'rack taint' pretty much what it tastes like (Im guessing)

I did figure out its one rack that has something going on. Think I can remember to mark it or throw it out Think your right about a broken coating.

 

[Kildonan]

The batch with the honey turned out dryer than the other one, I should have taken it out an hour earlier. I'll keep trying I guess.

I like to put pure maple syrup on my smoked salmon at the end of the drying process, it adds some nice sweetness. Plus some fresh coarse ground black pepper.

I wonder if that may work for you?