Smoking Fish

[essexsmoker]

Please comment here!

[essexsmoker]

I've read that just a salt brine is necessary? Then smoke?

[wade]

It will very much depend on the type of fish and the thickness as to how, or even whether, you cure it. You also have the option to immersion brine them or dry brine. Over the years I have tried both methods of brining and earlier in the year I posted a comparison on the other forum of a number of different immersion salmon curing recipes.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/171886/comparison-of-salmon-curing-methods#post_1259805
My preference though is to dry cure my fish as it produces a firmer, less waterlogged fish that, in my opinion, just eats better.

To cure or not to cure? Oily fish like Salmon is better if it is cured before being smoked, as are Cod and Trout. Haddock however tends to eat better if it is left either uncured, or is only cured for a short amount of time.

The cure itself is very simple, however you will find a lot of quite complex recipes online. If you want to try an immersion cure then you could start by trying one of the ones from the link. Below though I will describe the dry cure method that I use regularly for Salmon and sell. It produces a lightly smoked dry cure Salmon fillet that still requires cooking (or hot smoking) before being eaten. The method for producing traditional sliced smoked Salmon is very similar though and is all to do with the amount of moisture that is removed from the fish before smoking.

I usually use skinless, boneless salmon fillets for this, however it will also work with whole salmon sides with or without the skin.
For the dry brine make a 1:1 mixture (by weight) of course salt (I use sea salt) and sugar (white granulated is fine. Mix well and cover the bottom of a non reactive pan (stainless steel or a clingfilm coated roasting pan) to a depth of about 3 mm. Using course salt grains is quite important as it stops the resulting salmon from becoming too salty.
Finely chop some Dill, Fennel or Tarragon (I usually use Dill) ans sprinkle lightly over the top of the cure. This is just for flavour though and can be omitted.
Place the Salmon fillets top side down on the cure (skin side facing upwards), leaving a small gap of 2-3 mm between them. Sprinkle more cure over the top surfaces of the salmon and ensure that it has flowed between the fish pieces. You should end up with about 2-3 mm of cure covering the fish.
Cover in clingfilm and place in a cool place for 2.5 hours to cure. The fridge is ideal for this.
Rinse thoroughly under a cold running tap to remove all of the cure. If you have used the herbs, then small pieces may remain stuck to the fish and this is fine. Blot dry with kitchen paper.
Place uncovered on wire racks in the fridge overnight to allow the surface of the fish to dry and a pellicle to form
Place in the cold smoker and smoke for 8-12 hours. Oak and fruit woods are good but I usually prefer to use Hickory.
Once smoked, place back in the fridge for at least 12 hours to allow the surface of the fish to dry before packaging.

This will freeze well. To cook it only requires to be placed on a lightly oiled baking tray in an oven at 180 C for 12 minutes. Alternatively, before packaging it can be cooked in a hot smoker, however I find that this adds little additional smoke flavour.

This method will reduce the weight of the fish by about 7-8% as it removes the water. To produce a traditional slicing smoked salmon you use the same method but with a whole side of salmon. You leave it in the cure for about 36 hours and you are looking to achieve a weight loss of between 15-18%. This is then cold smoked in the same was as before.

For Trout, only leave in the cure for an hour as it is generally much thinner than Salmon.

I have step by step photos of the procedure with photos if anyone is interested. It is a pity that posting photos here is such a pain.

I hope this helps and gives you the encouragement to try it yourself. It is very simple and the results are great.

Wade

[essexsmoker]

Thanks Wade, great info!

I would defo like the step by step if possible!

I really want to try a whole side of salmon.

Most of all though , I want to make smoked and peppered mackerel, what's best for that?

[essexsmoker]

Just read through the results of your link. Very interesting! A lot of work I'm guessing?

[essexsmoker]

How does the cure affect the the edges, since from everything I read, thickness is a big factor. Or do you square them up.

[wade]

The length of time you cure will depend on the thickness, but within limits (+- 15 minutes) this is not absolutely critical - thinner fillets (like Trout) do need less time though. The longer you cure the more water you will pull out. Once the fillet is out of the cure the thinner edges will initially have had proportionally more water removed than the thicker centre however once resting the internal water will begin to equilibrate again. By the time you have rinsed, dried, smoked and rested it will have been equilibrating for up to 36 hours and you will find that there is no Edge effect".
Where you may get an effect at the edges is if you were to cure and then immediately hot smoke. This would leave you with a dry, salty edge region and a potentially pappy under-cured centre.
The easiest way is to check this is to buy 3 or 4 of the skinless boneless Salmon fillets from Tesco (currently £1.75 each) and give it a go, You will not be disappointed. Alternatively I will be visiting my sister in Essex in a few weeks and I could drop you a few in to try.

Cheers

Wade

[Midlandsman]

I do virtually the same as you do Wade, but I dry salt/sugar for 9-10 hours for fillets around the 1300gm mark - the sort of size that supermarkets often have on offer. I remove a couple of coin sized pieces of skin from the fillets - for no other reason that H Forman and Co, producers of superb smoked salmon, do so!

I follow this with an overnight hanging in the fridge to dry it/develop a pellicle, and then smoke it for around 30 hours using a ProQ Cold Smoke Generator. I know others who smoke for a shorter length of time and would stress that I just have a trickle of smoke around the fish - the smoke leaves the chamber as quickly as it's produced. I find that little smoke for a longer time makes a better product when you're aiming for a product to be eaten 'raw'.

I'll then hang the fillets for a day or two in my fridge until the total weight loss is around 16 - 18%. I have a humidity controlled fridge, but if I was using a normal fridge, I'd wrap them loosely in parchment/greaseproof to stop them drying too quickly.

I'll then wrap them and keep them at least a week before use as this produces a better product.

Members may be interested in the advice of the Gov't Torry Research Station. This links to the notes and contents page - there's links at the bottom to the relevant sections:

http://www.fao.org/wairdocs/tan/x5886e/x5886e00.htm

Hope this helps.

MM

[wade]

Thanks for the link MM. It makes good reading

I do virtually the same as you do Wade, but I dry salt/sugar for 9-10 hours for fillets around the 1300gm mark - the sort of size that supermarkets often have on offer. I remove a couple of coin sized pieces of skin from the fillets - for no other reason that H Forman and Co, producers of superb smoked salmon, do so!

I have not heard about removing the circles of skin. I will have to try that

I follow this with an overnight hanging in the fridge to dry it/develop a pellicle, and then smoke it for around 30 hours using a ProQ Cold Smoke Generator. I know others who smoke for a shorter length of time and would stress that I just have a trickle of smoke around the fish - the smoke leaves the chamber as quickly as it's produced. I find that little smoke for a longer time makes a better product when you're aiming for a product to be eaten 'raw'.

I'll then hang the fillets for a day or two in my fridge until the total weight loss is around 16 - 18%. I have a humidity controlled fridge, but if I was using a normal fridge, I'd wrap them loosely in parchment/greaseproof to stop them drying too quickly.

The whole aim is to remove the water and it is a balance as to how that is achieved. You can either leave it in the salt for longer or leave it in the smoker/kiln for longer. Each smokery will develop their own method. The temperatures mentioned in the document are much higher though than I like to smoke at. What temperatures do you use.

I'll then wrap them and keep them at least a week before use as this produces a better product.

Yes I agree. I rest for 2-3 days before slicing and then vac pack. They also freeze well.

[essexsmoker]

The length of time you cure will depend on the thickness, but within limits (+- 15 minutes) this is not absolutely critical - thinner fillets (like Trout) do need less time though. The longer you cure the more water you will pull out. Once the fillet is out of the cure the thinner edges will initially have had proportionally more water removed than the thicker centre however once resting the internal water will begin to equilibrate again. By the time you have rinsed, dried, smoked and rested it will have been equilibrating for up to 36 hours and you will find that there is no Edge effect".
Where you may get an effect at the edges is if you were to cure and then immediately hot smoke. This would leave you with a dry, salty edge region and a potentially pappy under-cured centre.
The easiest way is to check this is to buy 3 or 4 of the skinless boneless Salmon fillets from Tesco (currently £1.75 each) and give it a go, You will not be disappointed. Alternatively I will be visiting my sister in Essex in a few weeks and I could drop you a few in to try.

Cheers

Wade

Thanks Wade. Great info.

Good to know why the equilibrium time is important.

I've been eying up the fish in the supermarket already!
God that sounds wrong on so many levels.

Out of interest where does your sister live?