Looking for Cold Smoke grills and procedures

Started by steelfish, August 24, 2016, 10:44:04 PM

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philaroman

Quote from: humboldtdan on August 25, 2016, 09:25:38 PM
Gravlax is good but not the same.  Dehydrating your fish leaves out the smoke...Yuroks have been doing this for thousands of years so they must know something...I think most of the Pacific Northwest Tribes have some variation of the smoked/dried salmon.  I like it better than almost any other fish I have tried and I have never received any complaints.
Quote from: David Hall on August 25, 2016, 10:00:04 PM
Just use plenty of salt either in your brine or in your rub.
I used to get a lot of smoked salmon from some tribal members in the PNW always to salty that's all they used was salt, so I stick with hot smoked, lots of salt and sugars, I like the candied salmon too!
Bit I'm gonna try humboldt Dans recipe next time, hot smoking then pressure cooking is tough, if you smoke it to long then pressure can it it dries out, if you smoke it to short it sort of washes out in the PC process and doesn't taste the way I want it, cold smoke longer to get plenty of smoke goodness then pressure can and It might come out just right!  Thanks for that tip Dan!

no argument from me, guys; I absolutely LOVE the stuff; not just Salmonids, but Whitefish, Perches/Sanders, Essox, Cods, etc...  not just North American, but Scandinavian, Siberian, etc...

please note, however, that all these wonderful traditional preparation methods are most prevalent in colder/drier climates; for best results, either sizeable structures are involved, or less salty open-air methods rely on UV sterilization from 20-hr. days -- steelfish appears to be looking for a smaller/simpler operation & he is in Mexico!!!  you just don't see cold-smoking techniques in native cuisine from his latitude -- there must be reasons (e.g., Dysentery)

steelfish

Quote from: philaroman on August 26, 2016, 12:38:33 AM
- steelfish appears to be looking for a smaller/simpler operation & he is in Mexico!!!  you just don't see cold-smoking techniques in native cuisine from his latitude -- there must be reasons (e.g., Dysentery)

well, youre right about Im looking for a small smoking grill or attachment thingy to do the cold smoking, you dont see many guys doing the smoked meat, cow or fish.
mostly local natives used the technique of  dry meat to preserve groceries for future consumption

smoked fish and meat is kind of a new thing here and just wondering how hard is to get a smoking grill and doing it ourselves
The Baja Guy

Steve-O

You can go as easy as a 55 gal drum and a steel truck wheel.  Cut some holes in the drum bottom, cut a side door to put a grate of expanded metal in there. Light a fire in the truck wheel, flip the drum over the fire and burn it hot a few times to "sterilize" it.  Then get your smoking wood of choice and go from there. You could put the wood chips in a pan over an electric heating element. Shouldn't be too hard to cobble a smoker together if you are resourceful and your neighbors don't mind. A thermometer is a good thing to have for monitoring the temps.

My Brinkman grill has a smoker built in. I have also smoked salmon in the top with the fish on the top rack and wood right on the grill grate. Once the wood started charring and smoking I cut the heat down to under 200 and hot smoked my fish chunks till almost done.

Cold smoking is often a smoldering wood fire not directly under the meat but beside it and the smoke is channeled to a box, room, smokehouse, container big enough for the meat on racks and the smoke runs through that and then out. Very different from hot smoking and more time consuming.

humboldtdan

I have seen cold smokers built out of old refrigerators with the smoke piped in.

jigmaster501

Cold smoking must be done with an oven temperature less than 90F for not more than 20 hrs.

You need a brining process that will achieve a water phase salt content of 3.5%.

Also cold smoke fish needs a surface pathogen elimination step to kill off Listeria monocytogenes and other surface pathogens.


David Hall

I looked in my freezer and still have smoked salmon from last season, all this talk I had to take some out and the wife and I enjoyed some.  Man I love this stuff.

humboldtdan

I have observed Yurok Tribal members make a large, temporary smokehouse on the riverbank of the Klamath River out of alder pole frame and horsetail draped on the frame to keep the smoke in.  Fish was stripped and hung from strings tied to the poles.  They built a relatively large smoldering fire in the middle and smoked/dried for at least a couple days.  No brine, just salt rub and maybe pepper.  I wish I had a picture.  Up in Alaska/BC some Tribes split the whole fish (sockeye) and hang in the smokehouse for days.  Of course these preparation methods are all "at your own risk."  I know what has worked for me and Native Americans for thousands of years, but there are risks, as with any food prep method if done improperly.

Steve-O

Quote from: David Hall on August 27, 2016, 03:43:19 AM
I looked in my freezer and still have smoked salmon from last season, all this talk I had to take some out and the wife and I enjoyed some.  Man I love this stuff.

David, I am with you all the way. I will smoke some more this week as the last batch is going fast.  ;D  Crumbled into Ivar's Clam Chowder ( available as Costco if you aren't in Seattle ) is to die for. Or any clam chowder if you can't get Ivar's...I am spoiled on Ivar's from dozens of trips on the ways to and from Alaska. Even SEATAC airport has an Ivar's

I told my kids it is "fish candy" ...they just couldn't wrap their heads around those two words together.  All for me and special folks at work who know how good it is.


Keep Clam and Carry On!


Bill B

Here's a link to Chef Alton Brown from the tv show Good Eats, he can be kinda strange and here he is smoking a salmon in his motel room... ???..really he is and I told you he can be strange, but he does a good job of explaining the science of smoking salmon, and here he is using a hot plate and card board box..... ;)

Anyway it's a good explaination of cold smoking,......Bill

http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/altons-home-smoked-salmon-0170771.html
It may not be very productive,
but it's sure going to be interesting!

Steve-O

#24
Ran a batch of King Salmon bellies, collars and a Coho filet through my smoker last night.

The marinade was Yoshiidas teriyaki, a little maple syrup & orange juice. After the overnight soak and drain, I rubbed TrueLime and brown sugar on it to glaze it. Then into the box.

Vacuum packed almost all of it for the freezer and sampled some. Oooo- weee!!! Lip smacking good.

Tightlines667

Hope springs eternal
for the consumate fishermen.

Steve-O

Oh it is...the collars almost didn't make it into the vac. Bag. ;D

Can't believe I have been missing out on collars all these years.

But then I was pretty far into adulthood before trying sushi, too. Now I roll my own.

steelfish

dang Steve, once I get my smoker first thing I would do is to contact you to give me the actual steps for do the same,

looks deliciosoo
The Baja Guy

Dominick

Quote from: TARFU on September 01, 2016, 09:40:28 PM
Here's a link to Chef Alton Brown from the tv show Good Eats, he can be kinda strange and here he is smoking a salmon in his motel room... ???..really he is and I told you he can be strange, but he does a good job of explaining the science of smoking salmon, and here he is using a hot plate and card board box..... ;)

Anyway it's a good explaination of cold smoking,......Bill

http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/altons-home-smoked-salmon-0170771.html
For all you AT members that are not familiar with Alton Brown go to the food network and watch his videos for recipes and how to do it.  He is terrific and very funny.  Steve-O that smoked salmon looks terrific.  Dominick
Leave the gun.  Take the cannolis.

There are two things I don't like about fishing.  Getting up early in the morning and boats.  The rest of it is fun.

Steve-O

Thanks, Dominick!

I watched the one posted...it was too funny...how he got to smoke those King filets at the hotel without any complaints is beyond me.

My guess is he just got off a charter with his catch and went back to the hotel to smoke it.

The crucial step of changing the wood often is paramount.