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[clarki]

I have a favourite  brine recipe for coho, (which I will gladly share) however I have rarely smoked pinks and don't have a reliable brine for them. I expect that their delicate flavour would require a less bold recipe than one would use for other species. Please share if you have any go-to pink brine recipes. Thx

[alwaysfishn]

I don't understand why people add water to the brine when they are actually trying to remove water from the salmon 

Try a dry brine for them...

Put fillets cut in 1.5 inch strips skin side down in a glass dish. Sprinkle liberally with course kosher salt and brown sugar (30%/70%).

Leave salmon in fridge for about 5 hours. Take out, rinse off, pat dry and put on oiled racks.

Now you can get creative with whatever spice you want. I like a little pepper and hot pepper which I sprinkle on the fillet pieces. This is how you control the flavor.

The fillets must dry on the rack, in the fridge for 24 hours. That's how they get the pellicle or glaze on the surface.

Then smoke as you would normally.

[oni_kage]

Following osmosis

If the solution of brine was greater than the solution of solutes within the fish the water would be drawn out of the fish won't it?

I am not sure, just asking

[alwaysfishn]

What I find about the dry brine is that the smoked product has a moister texture and taste than a friends smoked product that has been wet brined.

The osmosis I don't understand....

[clarki]

Thanks Alwaysfishn. I will give it a try, however I will need to improvise the 24 hour drying in the fridge as ours doesn't have the room.

Do you allow space between your strips to get the salt and sugar in between, or do you have the strips side by side fairly tight and just put the mixture on top?

And another question...is the kosher salt b/c of the lack of iodine or the coarseness?

[marmot]

I like the dry brine....I'm new to smoking fish but did a batch up yesterday, WOW...

4cups demerra brown sugar
1 cup coarse pickling salt
10 cloves of garlic

i took this from a recipe off fishbc, thanks to "dipsnort".

brined it 8 hrs, dried 8 hrs, smoked it 7 hrs and the last hour before removing I coated liberally with maple syrup.

mmmmm

[scouterjames]

One from an old friend that's yummy and never lasts around the house (no matter WHAT fish it's been used on)

Ward’s Smoked Salmon – Indian Candy Recipe
Per 5 lbs of fish – cut approx 1 inch (skin on or off)

4 C of brown sugar (golden or demerara, your choice - prefer myself dmerara or a half and half mixture), 1 C course pickling salt, mixed together.  Dredge fish and leave to sit in solution for 8 hours.

Wash fish for 1/2 hr in cold water. 

Thoroughly dry with lots of paper towels, then place on smoking racks and put them in the fridge for 8 hours. 

Sprinkle them with brown sugar again and smoke with 2 pans of cherry, hickory, alder smoke, or whatever you have.  Smoke for 6 - 12 hours; check every two hours or so after the first 6 hours, until fish feels done to your taste.

[alwaysfishn]

Thanks Alwaysfishn. I will give it a try, however I will need to improvise the 24 hour drying in the fridge as ours doesn't have the room.

Do you allow space between your strips to get the salt and sugar in between, or do you have the strips side by side fairly tight and just put the mixture on top?

And another question...is the kosher salt b/c of the lack of iodine or the coarseness?

Use a fan and you can dry them on the counter in a couple of hours.... 

I put the first layer of salmon strips down then coat with the sugar/salt mixture, then the next layer skin side down again and coat that layer and so on until the pan is full. Only fill the pan to about half inch of the top. You'll see why because the water is drawn out of the fillets quickly and the pan could over flow... 

I think it's because of the iodine....   may react with the smoke?? I find the coursness is important so that it doesn't dissolve as quickly otherwise it can be too salty.

Good luck, and let us know how it worked out.

[doja]

The reason for the brine is to put salt into the fish by means of osmosis (which the content of salt in the brine, dry or wet, is greater than the content in the fish so the salt moves into the fish threw the fish's membrane). Removing water is a "extra bonus".

The more salt the fish holds the less water it can hold.

This was done more so for preservative reasons but now there is less used as we now have fridges.

Wet brine's are nice because you can use stuff like whines and other liquid flavor.

Both are good, just different results. 

I'm doing a dry and a wet and so far I really like how the dry is turning out. this is my first time with a dry and I'm very excited.

The dry brine is a more solid and a very nice looking piece of fish. And it appears to have less water or more salt, to make this solid piece of fish, but I don't know which it is although I suspect it has more salt content then my wet brine???

Will post back with results.

[clarki]

Use a fan and you can dry them on the counter in a couple of hours.... 

I put the first layer of salmon strips down then coat with the sugar/salt mixture, then the next layer skin side down again and coat that layer and so on until the pan is full. Only fill the pan to about half inch of the top. You'll see why because the water is drawn out of the fillets quickly and the pan could over flow... 

I think it's because of the iodine....   may react with the smoke?? I find the coursness is important so that it doesn't dissolve as quickly otherwise it can be too salty.

Good luck, and let us know how it worked out.

Thanks for the tips. I sampled some of the smoked product before I packed it and liked how it turned out. I especially liked the simplicity of the dry brine. Going to experiment with it more... Thx.

[Eagleye]

I like the dry brine....I'm new to smoking fish but did a batch up yesterday, WOW...

4cups demerra brown sugar
1 cup coarse pickling salt
10 cloves of garlic

i took this from a recipe off fishbc, thanks to "dipsnort".

brined it 8 hrs, dried 8 hrs, smoked it 7 hrs and the last hour before removing I coated liberally with maple syrup.

mmmmm

I use that same brown sugar to salt ratio for smoking reds and it is an excellent brine that retains the flavour of the fish and is not salty.   I don't use garlic though unless I am smoking whites but that is a different recipe all together.

[bbronswyk2000]

One from an old friend that's yummy and never lasts around the house (no matter WHAT fish it's been used on)

Ward’s Smoked Salmon – Indian Candy Recipe
Per 5 lbs of fish – cut approx 1 inch (skin on or off)

4 C of brown sugar (golden or demerara, your choice - prefer myself dmerara or a half and half mixture), 1 C course pickling salt, mixed together.  Dredge fish and leave to sit in solution for 8 hours.

Wash fish for 1/2 hr in cold water. 

Thoroughly dry with lots of paper towels, then place on smoking racks and put them in the fridge for 8 hours. 

Sprinkle them with brown sugar again and smoke with 2 pans of cherry, hickory, alder smoke, or whatever you have.  Smoke for 6 - 12 hours; check every two hours or so after the first 6 hours, until fish feels done to your taste.

Doesnt really sound like an indian candy recipe.

Now THIS is Indian Candy

http://fishbcforum.com/index.php?showtopic=48342&view=&hl=Indian%20Candy&fromsearch=1

I have made it myself and its simply fantastic. Very time consuming but very worth it. Done it with sockeye, coho, pinks , springs and chum. Guess I have done it with all Pacific Salmon

[Eagleye]

Doesnt really sound like an indian candy recipe.

Now THIS is Indian Candy

http://fishbcforum.com/index.php?showtopic=48342&view=&hl=Indian%20Candy&fromsearch=1

I have made it myself and its simply fantastic. Very time consuming but very worth it. Done it with sockeye, coho, pinks , springs and chum. Guess I have done it with all Pacific Salmon

I have used Iron Noggins recipe several times and it is a good one and what I consider to be "candy".  Not sure why scouter james recipe recommends washing the fish for 1/2hr sounds excessive to me.  If I rinse mine it is only very briefly to get rid of the chunks of pickling salt, but lots of times I don't rinse it off.

[scouterjames]

I questioned the rinse for so long also, I"ve tried it strict to that recipie and a quick rinse - doesn't seem to make a whole lot of difference...

[scouterjames]

Doesnt really sound like an indian candy recipe.

Now THIS is Indian Candy

http://fishbcforum.com/index.php?showtopic=48342&view=&hl=Indian%20Candy&fromsearch=1

I have made it myself and its simply fantastic. Very time consuming but very worth it. Done it with sockeye, coho, pinks , springs and chum. Guess I have done it with all Pacific Salmon

HOLY CRAP - that looks yummy! BUT, I've already spent the money that would cost me on things like fishing gear, a car, a mortage!!!