Decided to smoke some Coho

User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Decided to smoke some Coho

Post by redzed » Tue Jul 10, 2012 20:46

Got a hold of three 6-7 lb coho yesterday and decided to smoke them. Brined in a 40% salt solution with brown sugar, garlic, cracked black pepper as well as fresh thyme, oregano and rosemary from the garden. The salmon was brined for 13 hours and is just about ready for the smoker. Tasted a raw piece and it tastes great as is. If I will be able to keep the temp in the smoker under 25C, I will smoke cold smoke half and hot smoke the other half. I did add cure 1 to the brine for that reason.
Image
crustyo44
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 1089
Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2011 06:21
Location: Brisbane

Post by crustyo44 » Tue Jul 10, 2012 22:10

Looking good sofar. I am licking my chops already.
Regards,
Jan.
ssorllih
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 4331
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2011 19:32
Location: maryland

Post by ssorllih » Tue Jul 10, 2012 22:42

Today is the first time in about two weeks that the temperature has fallen below 25°C day or night.
Ross- tightwad home cook
User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Post by redzed » Tue Jul 10, 2012 23:53

Outside temp today is 22 and rising. So far, for the past 3 hours I have been managing the temp., but barely. I have a cold smoke attachment for my Bradley and have been placing bowls of ice into the cabinet. I think I will take the cold smoke portion out, finish hot smoking and put the rest back in tonite when the temp comes down a bit.
Image
Image
User avatar
Darthfrog
Beginner
Beginner
Posts: 49
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2011 21:07
Location: Burnaby, British Columbia

Post by Darthfrog » Wed Jul 11, 2012 03:37

redzed, what's the temperature in your smoker using that external smoke generator? Can it do a true cold smoke?

--
Cheers,
Rob
I love cooking with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.
User avatar
Chuckwagon
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 4494
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2010 04:51
Location: Rocky Mountains

Post by Chuckwagon » Wed Jul 11, 2012 04:36

Hey Red, that's gorgeous! I was wondering about the humidity and rate of moisture loss. Wow, that salmon looks like gold to a desert dweller! Nice photography too. Be sure to include a few "after" pictures also. Thanks for posting.

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Post by redzed » Wed Jul 11, 2012 21:38

The hot smoked turned out quite good but unfortunately I could not eliminate the white "boogers". Taste wise it's very good, firm on the outside but still moist and flavourful on the inside. Will be a great lunch on my hiking excursions. The cold smke is also quite flavourful, very nice colour when sliced and enough smoke flavour after 6 hours. I managed to keep the temp under 26 so I did not cook it. The cold smoke attachment certainly does work, but not in this warm weather. The last time I cold smoked salmon was in March. Outside temp was around 8 and I was able to maintain a steady temp in the cabinet between 18 and 20C for 12 hours. I did not weigh the raw salmon so I am not sure about the rate of moisture loss, but of course it was considerable in the hot smoked batch, and less in the cold smoked.

Yesterday I also picked up 10 whole fresh sockeye, minutes after they came of a boat. Stayed up untill well past midnight filleting them. Not only did I have to process mine but fillet another seven for friends. We will be canning most of them and I like to make gravlax from them. Sockeye fillets are a lot firmer than coho, making thin slices possible and the deep red colour is great in presentation.



Image
Image
User avatar
DLFL
Passionate
Passionate
Posts: 336
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2011 21:10
Location: Florida

Post by DLFL » Thu Jul 12, 2012 13:19

Nice job! I really like salmon.
Dick

Never quit learning!
User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Post by redzed » Mon Jul 16, 2012 18:12

Served some of the cold smoked to friends yesterday. Certainly passed the test. Two trays like the one below vanished in a matter of minutes. A nice chardonnay was an excellent companion to the salty sweet aromatic salmon.
Image
ssorllih
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 4331
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2011 19:32
Location: maryland

Post by ssorllih » Mon Jul 16, 2012 18:48

Very nice . At more than 20 dollars per pound here it is certainly worth doing if the fresh fish is affordable.
Ross- tightwad home cook
User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Post by redzed » Mon Jul 16, 2012 19:12

Yes, I certainly consider myself very fortunate to be living in this part of the world and having access to fresh salmon. I caught a few sockeye myself this summer but the coho in the pics was purchased from a First Nations fisherman. I paid 15 a fish. They were smaller coho weighing 6-7 lbs.
ssorllih
Veteran
Veteran
Posts: 4331
Joined: Sun Feb 27, 2011 19:32
Location: maryland

Post by ssorllih » Mon Jul 16, 2012 19:46

Salmon filits here sell 7 to 10 dollars/pound fresh.
Ross- tightwad home cook
Cabonaia
Forum Enthusiast
Forum Enthusiast
Posts: 597
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 02:07
Location: Morgan Hill, CA

Post by Cabonaia » Mon Jul 16, 2012 21:21

redzed wrote:Sockeye fillets are a lot firmer than coho, making thin slices possible and the deep red colour is great in presentation.
I am glad to hear this! The local Costco was selling whole fresh sockeye for 4.99/lb (!!), so I got some that had just been packaged. Seemed reasonably fresh when I opened it. I'm no salmon expert so I wasn't sure how it compared to other types, but what you say makes me happy as I started some lox with it. We'll see how it comes out! Nice pictures, by the way.
User avatar
redzed
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 3852
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 06:29
Location: Vancouver Island

Post by redzed » Mon Jul 16, 2012 22:28

Actually for smoking I prefer Coho or Chinook (King salmon in American). However, for eating fresh, sockeye is great. It is also the leanest of the bunch. I have had success making a Scandinavian style gravlax with sockeye. Because it has minimal amount of fat you have to be careful not to overdo it if you are hot smoking. But you should do well cold smoking it. Let us know of your methodology and results.
Cabonaia
Forum Enthusiast
Forum Enthusiast
Posts: 597
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2012 02:07
Location: Morgan Hill, CA

Post by Cabonaia » Mon Jul 16, 2012 23:20

Redzed - I will let you know how it comes out, positive or negative. :mrgreen: I am not going to smoke it at all, just cure it. I don't have a good way of cold smoking at this point, though I did finally break down and ordered an Amaz-n smoker today!
Post Reply