Cold Smoked Salmon

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what kind of wood did you use? Were you following a recipe?

Tell me more about cold smoking.

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I used what I had on hand which was hickory chips. I built a smoker a couple years ago that can hold lots of product and can either hot or cold smoke with it.

For cold smoking I also built a smaller side box that houses an electric hot plate that I put a stainless steep pan on top of and partially fill that with the wood chips. It is placed about 4 ft. from the actual smoker and I pipe the smoke in via a piece of metal downspout connected to the two boxes. That way the temperature in the smoker never gets above 90 degrees, and usually less like it was yesterday with cooler weather.

I just used a version of a recipe I found on u-tube and when I do it again, and I will, I'll not use as much sugar. The sugar was a 4 to 1 mix with the salt. The salmon has a slightly sweet taste as it is right now.

The idea of cold smoking is to not "cook" the fish, but preserve it. When salmon is cooked it turns pale pink and the meat is very flaky, when cold smoked, it stays firm and is easily sliced very thin to eat.

Ideally, I think it is best to use alder, but I didn't have any and will order some on-line to have on hand the next time. I know on the TV show "Alaska: The Last Frontier" when they smoke salmon it is always with alder, and they should know since it is a staple of their diet.

I've seen the ones that are flat and serpentine with the sections divided so the sawdust or pellets slowly burn from the outside in and like you said, lot of smoke with little heat.

Those are great in something like my Weber Gas grill, just set the smoldering pellets under the grill grates and close the lid.

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Quick photo of our setup.

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Now THAT'S a smoker. You obviously live where salmon are thick as thieves. Us southerners have to rely on them being shipped in to have to eat.

Are you in the PNW or Alaska????

Alaska -136 fillets with the net set out for about 1:45 hours. The photo is actually from a native fish camp down lake. Normally it’s like a homecoming and people process the fish together at a fish camp (easier to manage the bears). With COVID I stayed away this year and did my own thing.

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Sounds good, but I thought cold smoking was just brining and no smoke?

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It's called "cold smoking" for a reason. Brining without smoke is simply the first step in many end products.

Would you brine a turkey or brisket for corned beef or pastrami and not cook it in some way????

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I misspoke. You have no heat. You are just infusing the smokey taste. The brine cures it.

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Exactly. The smoke adds another dimension of flavor and it does preserve the meat. It also makes if firmer as it does dry out slightly during the smoking process.

I let it sit in the fridge in Saran Wrap overnight and thinly cut it in slices earlier today and it is delicious. The only thing I'll do next time is cut down on the brown sugar in the brine. It does have a bit of a sweet aftertaste, not unpleasant, but not exactly how I want the finished product to taste. Instead of sugar, I may use some citrus like fresh orange juice and zest next time, along with the salt.

I been wanting to try this with one of those Costco salmons. I have a Masterbuilt gravity smoker that can hold 150, is that too hot you think?

That’s what I was thinking that it might get too hot at 150. I’ll use one of those slow burner treys then if/when I do it.

Whadup baw