Teriyaki smoked salmon

Hey ya'll from the big dry ditch in LV, although we got an nth of sprinkle today and the humidity went over 20% for a change.
This weekend I was missing my Alaska days so.......got some filets, all tails which by the way means no bones and beaucoup flavor. Sliced those thin and into the brine they went. Soy sauce, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, minced garlic, minced shallot, chile flakes. Marinated over night and into the smoker for about 5 hours. 2 loads of mesquite chips, (all I had laying around) and done! Not quite jerky, still moist with a nice teri/orange sweetness. I brought the goods to work today and it Killed! Here's the pics. Tres Bon!

Mesquite hey? I've always used alder wood to smoke salmon. For the brine I use Meyers dark rum. Drain and pat dry, equal parts of brown sugar and coarse salt 4 hrs. smoke over alder wood 2 hrs. or so. Nice spice seasoning combo you have. Mine appears to be "cooked" after the brining process It's really dark red, almost a burgandy color. I think I'll give yours a try next time.

dam those look good!smoked salmon is the BEST maybe even better than jerky, did I just say that
I've tried smoking salmon once & it didnt turn out so great, the fish stuck to the grates so I gave up, but I'd like to take another crack at it. I see you didnt use any foil what prevents your salmon from sticking to the grates or do you grease them or ?

I like to buy salmon whole or big slabs that've been deboned (but with skin on) its cheaper than the salmon steaks & I dont mind bones they're pretty easy to take out.

"humidity went over 20% for a change" I wish we had that, lately we've been having temps mid 90's with 60%-80% humidity shit you'd even wake up & see the humidity since it was so high. I hate this weather!! give me 70's (temps) & then all this is taken at ground level & in the shade, which I work outside in the sun & sometimes even 20'-30' up where the temps would be even worse for heat index or wind chill.

CH...I use Pam cooking spray on the grates. Salmon or even regular beef jerky never sticks. Skin on filets are perfect but deboned? I usually pull the bones with needle nose pliars or a hemostat. I like the tails because there are no bones and the filets are thinner for making smoked strips.
The humidity is hovering here around 15% along with plenty of 100 plus degree heat. Makes me miss Alaskan summers. If it got 70 there I was dyin'. Gettin' used to it though.
Don't give up on the salmon. Give it another try.

: falls out of chair :

I'll try again maybe within 2 days since I have some salmon in the freezer & its been awhile since I've had some. IMO smoked salmon is better than regular cooked salmon.

how or where do you find just tails ? I thought their spine with the rib bones run all the way to the tail ?

CH...Yes salmon do have a backbone but in the tail it is very soft and when cooking or smoking it is unnoticable from the meat. On a whole fish, the belly and rib bones end just before the anal fin. Usually when I go to the fishmonger they will have a variety of cuts i.e. filets, steaks, whole fish etc. I just ask them for the tail filets. I marinaded 3 sides of atlantic salmon yesterday and they are in my smoker now. I had gone to Costco yesterday and while they had some okay looking Alaskan sockeye, they wanted 13 shekels for a pound while the atlantic was only 6. I like the atlantic better for smoking as it has a bit more fat. Post some pics of your marinade and smoking process. I'd love to see how you do it up there in the land of Sven and Oly dontcha' know. OOPHTA!!

Actually CH I misspoke. (me so stupid) When I filet a whole fish, the actual backbone is left on the carcass leaving only a small bit of the soft cartilage thus...no bone.

texas blues said:

Post some pics of your marinade and smoking process. I'd love to see how you do it up there in the land of Sven and Oly dontcha' know. OOPHTA!!

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yeah, you betcha I can do that for you.
if you've seen the movie "fargo", I aint shitting you theres alot of people that talk just like that here & sometimes it just cracks me up even though I dont talk like that (much)

I cant tell the difference of salmon, to me its all the same. so I dont know what I'm buying except its salmon, but the ones that are for sale whole here arent that big kinda like walleye to northerns size.

correction I just looked at the bag & the ones I have now are wild pacific salmon/ chum salmon. so good or ok ?
the whole salmon I havent seen those for awhile, but when I see them I buy a couple.

CH...dude...pass on the chum aka dog aka keta salmon. Chum eggs make the best salmon caviar but it is wanting in the flavor and firmness of meat department. Here is a rundown on the salmonoids:
Chinook or King Salmon - Largest of the Pacific salmons with the most fat content. Best on the grill or for smoking.
Chum or Dog Salmon - Second largest of the Pacifics. Unless eaten fresh when silver bright, the meat quickly loses its firmness. Native Alaskans often use it to feed their dogs.
Coho or Silver Salmon - Third largest in the salmon family and with a medium to high fat content. Excellent for grilling, baking, sauteeing and smoking. My overall favorite.
Sockeye or Red Salmon - Brilliant red firm meat here on the 4th largest of the salmons. Many folks prefer this salmon as it is milder in flavor and not as fatty. Okay on the grill but better baked,sauteed, or canned.
Pink or Humpy Salmon - Smallest of the Pacifics and most often canned, as the quality of the meat is similiar to Chum.
Atlantic Salmon - While classified as a salmon, it is milder in flavor than the pacific variety and more akin to a large trout. It is excellent table fare no matter the method of cooking. This is the salmon most often farm raised. At a much lower price and very consistent in quality and size, it is a better value than wild salmon, if anything for the reason that wild caught salmon often are not processed in a consistent manner, i.e. gilled, cleaned, put on ice quickly. Additionally, farm raised Atlantic can be found all year round where as wild is seasonal.
Kokanee Salmon - This is a small landlocked sockeye salmon that lives in the waters of its birth and never ventures to salt water as the other salmon do. Although only as big as an average size trout, they are also excellent table fare. Cook it like you would any trout.

Often you may hear about Copper River Salmon from Alaska. This is a high fat content salmon in the King Salmon variety and also this river has a run of sockeye. The marketing gurus of the seafood world have really done thier homework and managed to convince those who love salmon that because these strains have more fat content that they are simply better overall. I have met those that swear they can taste a Copper River Salmon from say a Salmon caught in Bristol Bay Alaska. I have caught and eaten both in Alaska and will be the first to call "Bullshirt" on that one. Pass on Copper River at the market and save the double the price markup.

Buying whole salmon is cheaper by the pound vs. fish already filleted or steaked out, but bear in mind that the head, skin and carcass make up 40% of the whole fish and thus a waste of money unless of course you just like to clean fish. Your biggest bang for the buck is whole fillet Atlantic. Can't beat the quality and price.

I have heaps of recipes for salmon if you like. Cheers man. Herbie Nyukpuk, the Shishmareef Cannonball.

as for the chum salmon, I guess I should of known with a name like that it couldnt be the best salmon out there. but this dog is still gonna eat the chum
I've looked at some salmon products & most dont even say what kind of salmon it is.

thanks for the info on the different kinds of salmon,which I'll copy so I'll remember which ones to buy.
I thought I had some salmon recipes in the cookbooks I have but it only has like 2-3 which didnt sound that tasty either. I've just cooked the salmon with some herbs & lime juice no recipe just throw something together. if you have a good recipe with using limes & some herbs & ?, please share the recipe. I'm lost to which herbs work great with salmon.

I took monday/tuesday off because I worked the weekend, so tommorrow I'll smoke the salmon.

CH....dill and parsley work very well with salmon. I have done salmon about a zillion ways. One way is to grill and when its almost finished drizzle honey and 57 sauce or your favorite bbq sauce on it. Honey dijon is also good. Take some wasabi and mix with mayo to your liking and use it like you would tartar sauce. It is really good! My personal fav is to melt a tablespoon of butter in a pan, add a tablespoon of flour and mix well on low heat. I then add a splash of white wine, lemon juice and capers and simmer till it thickens and then pour over the fish. You can also pan fry the fish and do it all in the same pan. Magnifique!! As long as your chum salmon is slice thin and then smoke it should be okay. If you have thick filets or steaks they tend to be mushy. Bon appetite man!!

well heres how I smoked some dog food

I like to use the marinating sauce as a source for mositure while smoking/cooking, this time I used a soup can other times I use a small metal bowl. I used apple/cherry wood mix for smoking.

I used a foork to turn the fillets in the bowl thats why the fillets have that riped up look in some spots. & they werent mushy once cooked.

as for your recipes, well I hate mustard,mayo,57 sauce.
tartar sauce I like

oh yea I guess the key to smoking fish is to spray or butter the rack because the last time I didnt do that & it stuck to the grates

CH...that fish looks damned tasty I must say. Hope you got to eat it first. Once your family and friends get addicted there is no end in sight. Once again this weekend I am smoking salmon again. I made the mistake of taking some to work for some of the guys and now am constantly hounded daily for more. My boss wants a whole pound just for himself! But then he's going to bat for a raise for me so I will give him two!!Cheers man and tell me how ev eryone liked your product!

a boss, oh yea they definitely get some smoked salmon, when a raise is involved I'll admit that salmon was kinda soft uncooked but once cooked it was fine & tasted fine, but maybe not as tasty as another kind ? but still eatable.
I have a couple more packages (same ammount) I think I might try adding honey to it towards the end of the smoking
& yes everyone liked it, which I've said before, smoked salmon is the BEST!! I wished I lived close to alaska or whatever waters they swim in, which some swim in the great lakes I heard ?

correction - I also hate tartar sauce, but like cocktail sauce, just a simple mixup on which was which.

CH...dude. Don't take too seriously any one person's opinion, especially mine. If it looks good and tastes good to you, then IT IS GOOD. Adding honey at the end of smoking never occurred to me. I just may have to try that tomorrow when I smoke my next batch. Cheers mon..dontcha' know.

texas blues said:

I just may have to try that tomorrow when I smoke my next batch. Cheers mon..dontcha' know.

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I sooo hope I get a chance to try that tomarrow.