Smoked salmon... the adventure continues

[pax238]

That looks delicious, Carl. And 6 lbs to boot for a first time with salmon - that's commitment. I would have never thought of glazing salmon with orange marmalade.

As it happens, I smoked my third batch today. Same prep as before - 4:1 brown sugar:salt, overnight in the fridge, rinsed and dried, then back into the fridge for around 5 hours this time (I'd love to leave it out but we have a couple of cats that would probably make short work of it... then I'd probably want to make short work of them... just kidding, dear  ).

This time I use 2.75 oz of apple, cooked at 180 for an hour and 50 minutes, pulled it at 138-ish degrees, and tented it for around an hour.

The taste was quite a bit milder (more delicate) than either the maple or the alder, but I kind of expected that with apple. We agreed that it could stand a little more smokiness to the flavor, so next time I use apple, I will probably use a little more wood (maybe 3 oz).

Next time up, I'll re-test with alder and see what a shorter smoke time does to the flavor profile (it was quite strong when I did such a long first smoke - still not sure why that happened - the last two have been much closer to what I would expect in time).

This is one fine machine!

[CBAngel106]

Hi, newbie here. I've wanted the Little Guy for years and finally got one this Christmas. I'm so excited to use it for the first time! What is a frog matte? I bought a 3# filet of salmon  yesterday, but later discovered it doesn't have skin. Can I spray the racks in the smoker with non-stick cooking spray? Or is there something else I can do to keep it from gluing fast to the racks? I'd hate to destroy my first smoking attempt. I seasoned my smoker last night and rubbed the salmon with 4:1 brown sugar to salt, as I learned here. Rinsed it, patted it dry and put it back in the fridge this morning and it will be ready to go into the smoker when I get home from work. I'm just hoping for some beginner's advice to make my first attempt successful. Thanks, everyone!

[pax238]

Hi, newbie here. I've wanted the Little Guy for years and finally got one this Christmas. I'm so excited to use it for the first time! What is a frog matte? I bought a 3# filet of salmon  yesterday, but later discovered it doesn't have skin. Can I spray the racks in the smoker with non-stick cooking spray? Or is there something else I can do to keep it from gluing fast to the racks? I'd hate to destroy my first smoking attempt. I seasoned my smoker last night and rubbed the salmon with 4:1 brown sugar to salt, as I learned here. Rinsed it, patted it dry and put it back in the fridge this morning and it will be ready to go into the smoker when I get home from work. I'm just hoping for some beginner's advice to make my first attempt successful. Thanks, everyone!

Chrissy: Welcome to the family! Since you said you were looking for some beginner's advice, let me give you some advice from a beginner (sorry, I have a warped sense of humor).

Given my limited first hand experience (but a LOT of reading), you may have a problem with today's smoke. The standard racks that ship with the #1 do not appear to be that well suited to smoking salmon with the skin off, as it will likely stick and be difficult to remove without breaking it.

Frogmats are a coated mesh mat that you put on top of the rack to help with that issue (http://frogmats.com). I just checked their web site, and they do have a small number of stores that carry them, but unless you're close to one of those, oiling the regular rack seems like it would be the only way for you to go today.

There are other similar mats that people seem to like here, like Q-Matz http://www.amazenproducts.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=46.

I use a seafood rack that I bought from Smokin-it when I bought my #1.

Good luck with the first smoke.

[CBAngel106]

Thanks so much for the quick response, Barry! I'll definitely look into those mats for my next smoke (I guarantee no stores in this little town carry them). Luckily, today's batch is just for me, so it won't be the end of the world if the presentation isn't up to par!

[pax238]

Thanks so much for the quick response, Barry! I'll definitely look into those mats for my next smoke (I guarantee no stores in this little town carry them). Luckily, today's batch is just for me, so it won't be the end of the world if the presentation isn't up to par!

You can thank the cats (I mentioned them in post #15) for that - major hissing/growling/fighting way too early. Please let us know how it goes.

[kz0m]

Hi Chrissy and welcome from DFW Texas area!
I've never tried this but without a seafood rack or frog mat you could try parchment paper for baking.  Most grocery stores carry that.  My wife bakes with that at 300 degrees so that or spraying the rack with "Pam" or as we use olive oil spray helps too.  You will learn a lot from this group, I sure have and I've had my smoker less than 2 months, a wealth of information here on this forum!  Have fun with the salmon, it'll be yummy good!!

I found this quote on SmokinKings forum about parchment paper:

"I use parchment paper all the time when I smoke meatloaf and I've used it with skinned fillets of fish too.
The smoke goes right through the parchment so I get the same smoke ring on the bottom as top and sides, and the paper comes off cleanly when you are done. I think it could be a good answer for you."

And Chrissy, if you do use parchment paper for the salmon smoke, be sure and post your results here, it would be good information to have ;-)

Carl

[CBAngel106]

Success!  I didn't see this reply in time to try the parchment (I wish I had. I'm a pastry chef, so I have tons of parchment paper!), but the Pam spray worked perfectly! I still intend to buy some of the frog mats because the salmon did try to fall through the rack in a few places. I used 2.5 oz of the Hickory because the rest of my wood hasn't arrived yet, but I just couldn't wait! This is just delightful. I couldn't be more pleased with my first attempt. Thanks for your help, guys! I'm already planning my next smoke!

[kz0m]

That looks great Chrissy!  You're hooked now for sure!  Smoked salmon tastes awesome!!

Carl

[swthorpe]

Great job, Chrissy!   I bet that salmon was spot on excellent!  Cheers

[pax238]

Success!  I didn't see this reply in time to try the parchment (I wish I had. I'm a pastry chef, so I have tons of parchment paper!), but the Pam spray worked perfectly! I still intend to buy some of the frog mats because the salmon did try to fall through the rack in a few places. I used 2.5 oz of the Hickory because the rest of my wood hasn't arrived yet, but I just couldn't wait! This is just delightful. I couldn't be more pleased with my first attempt. Thanks for your help, guys! I'm already planning my next smoke!

That looks really good. How did it taste with the hickory? Unless I'm mistaken, it looks like it is sitting on a Smokin-it seafood rack in the "before" shot. Is that right? If it is, you won't need the frogmat unless you you keep on using salmon without the skin. Meanwhile, enjoy that fine looking fish!

[CBAngel106]

The Hickory tasted great! I'm looking forward to trying maple next. In the before shot, the salmon is on a rack I use for glazing cakes and cooling cookies. I didn't even think to leave it on that in the smoker; I transferred it to the racks that came with the Little Guy. My aunts and uncles all got deliveries of fresh-smoked salmon and I'm pretty sure they're as happy with my new present as I am! This is so fun!  I'm so glad to be a part of this family.

[DivotMaker]

Congrats, Chrissy! 

[pax238]

The Hickory tasted great! I'm looking forward to trying maple next. In the before shot, the salmon is on a rack I use for glazing cakes and cooling cookies. I didn't even think to leave it on that in the smoker; I transferred it to the racks that came with the Little Guy. My aunts and uncles all got deliveries of fresh-smoked salmon and I'm pretty sure they're as happy with my new present as I am! This is so fun!  I'm so glad to be a part of this family.

That's great, Chrissy. BTW, I probably wouldn't use that rack in the smoker if you're using it for baking. You're in for a treat when you use maple. It's my favorite so far for salmon.

[mizzoufan]

Salmon is still on my to-do list, but I can vouch for the Qmatz.  I used them for extruded jerky and about halfway through I not only rotated the racks (front to back and top to bottom) but also flipped the jerky.  There was no sticking at all either halfway through or when it was complete, my tongs actually shoved all the jerky on a shelf over to the side before they'd get under it.

[pax238]

That's good to know Steven. I've been thinking about trying a smoke with skinless salmon one of these days and was concerned that it might stick to my seafood rack. Do you spray the Qmatz before using them or just use them without anything else to provide release.