New smoker from NH

[BedouinBob]

Nicely done Karen! I had no skin in the game as it were but the food looks awesome!

[Kmac]

Thanks Bob!  Murphy enjoyed chewing on the smokey bone too!  He devoured it!

I saw a recipe for smoked salmon on Youtube which uses a dry brine and finishes with an apricot glaze.  Sounds yummy!  I think I will try that this week.   http://youtu.be/St8au0YcONM

Having a lot of fun with my new toy!

Karen 

[SconnieQ]

Karen, that is one of the better hot-smoked salmon videos I have see on youtube. Dry brine is the way to go. I highly recommend the frog mats he talks about. I love them. You can do without, but if you like your results, and think you will be doing a lot more smoked salmon, you should look into them. I stick a probe into the thickest piece, from the side of the piece, and smoke to internal temp of 130-135. That's just my preference (might be lower temp than others), and it might take less time than 2 hours. I make as much as I can fit in the smoker, then give it to friends and family. They say it's the best (and most moist) smoked salmon they have ever had. I agree. I have just started working on a test batch of cold smoked salmon (lox). It's smoked, and mellowing in the fridge, but so far it tastes great.

[DivotMaker]

Great looking SB spread, Karen!  Bet the fam was in hog heaven with all that great Q!!

[Kmac]

Kari, thanks for the tips!  I am going to smoke some salmon this weekend for a friends gathering.   Will let you know how the recipe turns out.  Not sure which wood I will choose.  Any recommendations? 

Karen

[Kmac]

Tony, the family loved it!  Not bad for a first attempt!     I think I will try the 2-2-1 method for the ribs next time...mine were a little dry (still came off the bone easily) but very tasty!  I will also try brining the Boston Butt next time after reading about all its benefits!  Murphy devoured the smokey bone by the way.  Everyone was happy!

Karen

[SconnieQ]

Kari, thanks for the tips!  I am going to smoke some salmon this weekend for a friends gathering.   Will let you know how the recipe turns out.  Not sure which wood I will choose.  Any recommendations?

Karen - Any of the fruitwoods should work well for salmon (cherry, apple, etc.). I would stay away from hickory, mesquite, oak. They would be too strong. Not sure about Maple, seems like it might be interesting...but maybe stronger than you'd like. A lot of people like Alder. I've never really cared for the birch flavor of Alder myself. Not a big fan of cedar either, even though it is available as a smoking wood, and is used for salmon in preparations such as "cedar-planked salmon", so some people think it might be appropriate. I use cherry almost exclusively, and occasionally apple. It would be fun to try some of the other less common fruitwoods someday.

[Walt]

I put a salmon filet in a dry brine for 4 hours then let it sit overnight uncovered in the fridge.  The next day, I painted the filet with cane syrup & smoked until IT 150 useing the remaining coal from previous smokes (mostly pecan) & augmented it with about an 1-1/2 oz of cherry.  Very good.  I had a hard time getting any since my daughter laid claim to it.

[SconnieQ]

The next day, I painted the filet with cane syrup & smoked until IT 150 useing the remaining coal from previous smokes (mostly pecan) & augmented it with about an 1-1/2 oz of cherry.

Ha! I forgot about the nut woods! (such as pecan) I'm allergic to tree nuts, so I don't even consider them, but they'd probably be great in combo with the fruit woods as Walt suggests. (I have eaten food at BBQ joints that use pecan, and had no problems, but tend to avoid nut woods for my own smokes.)