SALMON! Canning and Smoking question

[quadrafire]

Me neither Mac. See my post #2, my initial trial was dry as well. Maybe some of the veterans will chime in.
Just razzing you.

[birddogdad]

i will not get into a heated debate in the forum, rather , i will tell you my canning method that is wonderful for these.
my reason for canning is to make salmon spread to dip with ritz crackers! if i have your attention then follow along:
I gut, head, remove all fins, tail and peel OFF the skin. Now this fish WITH bones are steaked for brining (dont worry about the bones they are soft after pressure cooking like sardines)
I dry brine/cure with kosher salt and dark brown sugar over night in fridge, wash off the jelly ooze it makes, and smoker rack pieces in fridge to get the shiny coat on fish, i put in fridge to keep fly's away but see guys use a fan directly on fish to keep off too.  (not too much salt), most brine mix amounts can be found on internet.
I then smoke for a few hours with my little chef, which is not too hot, you dont need to "cook" the fish just get a great smokey flavor infused.
Pint mason jars stuffed full, pressure cooked for 90 minutes. completely cool. NOTE* at this point your spouse is going to say it looks terrible and unedible in those jars*
I run thru the dishwashter with no heat dry to clean full jars after cold.

1 brick cream cheese +1 pint mason jar (bones, juice and all) in food processer mix and you will never forget this! i get around 3-4 pints from a 12-15 # Coho. It really condenses down.

i hope this is interesting to you and any questions feel free to reply!

bruce

[quadrafire]

Birddog That sounds Awesome. Good tips.
Interesting on the dishwasher tip

[Blacklab]

K guys this is what I've done in canning. If possible you want to cold smoke the salmon brine first. If skin is left on, put against glass. Use only 1/2 or 1 pint jars. . Add anything you want for flavor. couple slices or wedges of lemon or jalapeno maybe even garlic cloves. Fill with water leave 1 inch head space. Take a knife to make sure all air is out of jars keeping rim clean. pressure cook @ 10lbs for 100 minutes. Have fun and good eatin 

[pilebuck]

Pint jars canning is the best no way is frozen gonna beat canned smoked sockeye if it was dry u might of smoked it too long or cooked it to long be back from fishing tomorrow will give u my recipe I don't put nothing on my salmon maybe salt.....can't eat salmon with all the stuff people put on it takes away the flavor of fish never ever put tater on any fish either lol

[MacAttack]

Maybe I shouldn't have put smoking and canning in the same topic. I canned raw salmon, just 1/8 teaspoon of salt. But I also smoked salmon, I did not can the smoked salmon.

[fishngamereaper]

Dont smoke salmon before canning, or at least using heat. It will dry out.

This is what I do. Brine it for smoking, 1 part salt, 4 parts dark brown sugar, 1/2 part pepper. Let brine over night in fridge. I put it in a gallon zip loc baggy so I can mix it well while its brining.

Remove from fridge and let warm to room temp. Pack into jars, pint or half pint for a quick snack. Add about a tablespoon of oil, olive or conola, and couple drops liqiud smoke. I will even add some jalepeno peppers to a few jars for kick.

Pressure cook for 90 minutes at 10lbs. Let cool and eat from the jar. You cant go wrong. It will last a year easliy if you dont eat it, but it never lasts that long.

[Pygmy]

I just brought home four silvers from Sekiu.  I freeze them immediately until I'm ready to smoke.  I prefer the cold smoking method since the salmon comes out like Nova Lox.  Never dry.  I thaw and then brine the filets in 50/50 kosher salt and brown sugar - add dill or whatever if you like.  Let that brine for up to 20hrs.  I did the silvers for 12 since they were thinner than a king.  Rinse, dry and let stand in the frig for a few hours to develop the pellicle - sticky on the outside.  Then cold smoke for 6-10 hours.  I'll post pics.

[Blacklab]

pygmy is that a home made smoker if is pics please 

[Pygmy]

pygmy is that a home made smoker if is pics please 

Yep.  Made it from the cedar trimmings off my deck. Pipe is to attach to a fire pit so I can generate either smoke or heat from a fire.  Still figuring that part out...

[206]

RE: Dry canned salmon

Dump whole jar in a bowl and break up meat in the juice with a fork.  The meat soaks it right up along with all the good juice flavor.

[Blacklab]

pygmy is that a home made smoker if is pics please 

Yep.  Made it from the cedar trimmings off my deck. Pipe is to attach to a fire pit so I can generate either smoke or heat from a fire.  Still figuring that part out...

That's nice I really like the rock base. Thanks for posting 

[Kc_Kracker]

do not smoke them for 4 hrs them pressure can. the canner cooks them not the smoker, you only smoke long enough for flavor  I usually smoke for 1 hr thick thats it, you dont even need to brine them.

[Kc_Kracker]

FINALLY !!! a real cold smoker dun right ya'll, now thats what Im talkin about 

[Blacklab]

Kc this my multi tasker smoker hot cold and over 3900 sq inches of cooking space.