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[Tenz85]

I've done two batches now over the past season and am preparing a third.
First one was indian candy batch that tasted very smoky and lacked the gummy texture that I later found was the desired texture.
Second batch was just dry brined and then plain old smoked. Turned out to my liking of smokeness. It turned out flakey but a bit tough.
This third batch will be wet brined and smoked as 1" thick filets cut into 1/3 length.
Any tips to get the outcome as flakey and easy to break apart (not tough)?

[Tenz85]

Looks like I answered my own question; probably over cooked the previous batches because it was in the summer and I used the box to insulate so the hi temp would have finished the fish too quick.

I'm think at the current temperatures without an insulation box 6-8 hours should do it but I'll check it very couple hours.

Next question I have is after the brine most recipes recommend 1-2 hours open cool air to let the pellicle form. Will it be okay to leave it openly exposed in the frigid for 6-8 hrs?

[Silver]

In the instructionals I have watched to make Indian candy, I was also amazed at how much honey, sugar, molasses, etc was used to brine. Did you use copious amounts of sweet to make yours? I believe this to be the secret to the gummy and sticky consistency.

I have found that a flakey consistency comes from the perfect level of dryness and salinity...difficult to achieve with so many variable in the process and especially using the Chief smokers.
By using the box to insulate in the summer most definitely caused the internal temperature to spike and also give you a unrealistic idea of how long the smoking process should take.
However, to smoke in the current cold wet weather you need to use the box and smoke for a minimum of 9 hours...I would guess even longer 10-11hours. It sounds like you prefer the typical store bought smoke salmon consistency, not the wet lox style. Also, don't open the smoker to check during the main cooking time as the frequent temperature losses will affect the time needed to finish the cook. And, If the smoker doesn't reach a minimum temperature it will not kill the parasites that may be in your fish.
A pellicle will not form properly in the fridge, and its not a good idea to leave the fish out of a brine for too long...even in the fridge. 1 hour at room temperature on elevated racks is sufficient...even better with a fan blowing over the racks.

[Tenz85]

Good tips and you were right. Definitely checked it too often and realized it 4 hours in then used the box the last few hours. After that I was ready for bed so I threw it into the oven to finish at 250-200 for another hour.

Used up the rest of my spring and most of my coho. What I found surprising was that the spring pieces Ive had tasted amazing and better than the coho pieces I've tried so far.. Probably because I sliced the spring fillet thickness in half which made it thinner than most coho pieces and used lots of garlic in the brine to cover the grassy taste.

Not too concerned of parasites because I had froze and vac sealed the fillets for over 2 weeks at -20.

I'll have to look into what wet lox is but I tried store bought couple times from granville island market. Even my first batch tasted better quality than their stuff but they had a nice spicy sauce on it that was tasty.

[firstlight]

Keep the heat down.
Putting in the oven for an hour at 250 pretty much cooked your fish.

I try and keep mine below 100 degrees for the most part.

Smoking Salmon is a real art and no two batches are ever the same.
I can get it pretty close but never the same and ive been smoking fish for 40 years.
Humidity and outside air temp. play a huge part in using a small smoker.
Happy smoking everyone.