I wish there was an Emmy Award for RUclips channels. You would take away the award for smoking channels many years. There are a couple of other high-quality smoking channels that would alternate with you of course, but your channel is in the top 3. You have a wide variety of menus, excellent demonstration of techniques, and an engaging personal style. When you say “Stay tuned”, I do. When you say “OK?”, I say “OK!”
hi Joe I watch you all the time your a great cook, i'm from washington state and all we use to smoke our salmon is salt and brown sugar also i cut into 6'' pieces cure for 24 hours then rinse off cure and smoke at the end of smoking i use peach or apricot jam as a glaze its the bomb your the best Joe
I have been going to alaska Salmon Fishing for the last 7 years. I bring back lots of salmon. I, too, have been using a brine over a cure, but i will let it soak overnight and then rinse real good. After I rinse, i will soak in good water for about 5 min. This really helps. One thing to tell if you have enough salt in the brine is that when you take the salmon out, it should be firm.
While stationed in Washington, I was given a recipe that has taken over my way of smoking salmon. Give this a try sometime: 2 cups Molasses 2 cups light brown sugar 3/4 cup Kosher salt zest and juice of 1 orange mix all together throughly. cut salmon into 8oz portions (skin removed. lay out plastic wrap and spoon mixture into middle, lay fish on top and spoon more over. wrap tight encasing the wet cure around salmon and place in a pan. press with some weight (soup cans or foil wrapped bricks) for 24 hrs. unwrap and do not rinse! smoke with hickory on low heat for 2 hrs.
@@T2_Sug 225 works for me, if I'm busy doing something then I'll drop it to 155 for 5-6 hrs. The salmon should have some firmness when done, and spring back when pushed. The fat will be almost clear in between segments and will be rendered. I skip the pressing part now these days during the cure now too, I believe it retains more natural flavor that's needed
No fish is more grill or smoker friendly than salmon. Whether you pair it with cucumbers or canapes, there’s something about smoked salmon that elevates and wakes up the standard finger food. Phenomenal cook! The step by step walkthrough was very clear and easy to understand! Thank you for sharing your recipe and knowledge! Very much appreciated! 8)
I only remove the skin from farmed salmon. On wild salmon leave skin on, take the scales off, sometimes even leave the pectoral fins on. There is large difference in species and source of the salmon. That’s another entire discussion. The higher quality the starting fish, the lighter I go on seasoning and length of time for soak and smoke. You do a nice job, and watching this vid motivated me to go and fire up the smoker !
hi smokin joe, I am smokin sockeye right now, for my fiancee and family I use kosher salt as well, and c&h pure cane sugar also, I will have to put some black pepper in my batch next brine joe, I was born in Anchorage Alaska, mastermind poet
LOL, boys and their toys. As a long time resident of the last frontier, 70s-80s, I caught and smoked hundreds (1000s?) of salmon. This is before the hordes of savages descended on the river banks. The reds (sockeye) were the best smoked, with the silvers (coho) next. Those you have look like river cohos or ocean caught reds. The kings, 30-60 lbs, were steaked and barbecued fresh. Absolutely the best. Some years the kings were too plentiful, so were frozen and/or smoked. At any rate, we scrounged an old not-working refrigerator, added extra grills inside, and used them for the smokers. A hot plate at the bottom, with a cast iron frying pan to hold the wood on the burners, and the smokers were ready. I'd dry brine them as you did, although never used that much pepper. Plug in the hot plate, and go to bed. Smoking time depended on the season; the silvers and reds were early enough (August) that it wasn't that cold, so 6-8 hours was enough time to smoke. But Sept. Oct smoking the temps would get below freezing at night, so the time could be as long as 10 hrs, variable. I used locally grown alder for flavor, buying a bag of hickory chips for variety. Never bothered skinning or de-boning, figured anyone eating could do that. So total expenditure: salvage fridge-free-$10, hot plate $15. Lasted for years.
You did a great job on the salmon. There are many ways to smoke salmon and I would like to give you a few tips on the subject. But first a introduction about myself. I live in the Great Pacific North West, Washington state to be exact on the Cowlitz River, a tributary of the Columbia River. And I have been smoking salmon for nearly 40 years and have learned a few things through the years. I was glad to see you leave the skin on because it's a waist of time to skin because the flesh comes off the skin easily after being smoked or even grilled plus it helps to keep the flesh together when removing from smoker or grill. My suggestion here would be in the future consider cutting the fillet into serving portions before placing into the smoker. In fact before placing into cure. It's so much easier to handle and gives a better prepared surface area. Glad to see you do a glaze. I do a very simple glaze just using some honey and you can use maple syrup also. Not much,just pour it over the top so as it heats up it will run down over the flesh. This helps protect the surface flesh from drying out but allows some moisture to escape through the glaze and concentrates the wonderful flavor of the fish. By pre cutting the fish you can pull the tail portions of the out of the smoker first because they cook much faster than the rest of the fish. Now about those pin bones, there is a trick to removing them more easily. If you go to Harry Soo's channel and look up his 6 ways to grill salmon I show how to use a bowl to more easily find and remove the bones. And there are no pin bones in the tail section. There's a great many other things to add to doing salmon but that should be a good start. The salmon fishing has been in a low cycle these few years but I expect some turn around next year. So if the virus situation is better by 2021 ( hopefully we have a vaccine next year) maybe you can come up here for a salmon vacation at a fraction of the cost of going to Alaska plus I could show you some additional tips. I enjoy your vids and have been learning some important recipes from you. Thank you. Would like to see you catch your first salmon someday, it's such a rush. And I need to get Harry back up here someday so I can get him into a full sized salmon instead of the small one I got him into last fall. Have a great day.😃🎣🎣🎣
Good morning Victor! Thank you so much for leaving this comment. I love the tip on slicing the salmon into smaller portions prior to smoking. I can tell you're well versed when it comes to salmon which is something we eat lots of but rarely film videos on. This was a special occasion being that it was Alaskan salmon and a gift from a neighbor. I was shocked at how much easier the pin bones came out after the curing process. Thanks for watching and I hope to make it out to go fishing with you one day.👍🏼
I just saw that video Victor. The fish looked fantastic. I met Harry at a competition in Lubbock a couple of years ago and he's a great person. Thanks again for stopping by buddy. 👍🏼
@@SmokinJoesPitBBQ Harry truly is a wonderful human being and having him and Donna up here was something truly amazing. Now one more quick tip on the pin bones. Have a bowl of water near by. When you pull the pin bones dip the pliers into the bowl of water and the bone will release and stay in the bowl. It's much easier and quicker when cleaning up. Oh heck, one more. When applying the cure start like you did going skin side down. But the next layer lay flesh down alternating back and forth. Skin to skin, flesh to flesh placing most of your cure on the flesh side and little to the skin side. Ask your friend what type of salmon he caught. There are 5 types of salmon in Alaska and Washington and Oregon. Those fillets looked like they came from Sockeye salmon. We are getting a Sockeye season on the Columbia River the last to weeks of this month. Hopefully I'll get a few hours each day of fishing before heading into work. Yup it's a hard life but what's a guy gonna do😁. Again have a great day, I need to get working in the garden.
@@victorbenner539 great tips for sure Victor! Everything you recommend makes perfect sense and I appreciate you sharing them. The salmon was Sockeye and I heard you say Nutty flavor in Harry's vodeo. There truly is a bit of a Nutty flavor. Really good stuff . 👍🏼
Joe and Victor - I have smoked salmon a few times and seems too salty to me. I try not to glaze just to keep the sugar content down - I have reduced my salt ratio in my brine - what am I doing wrong or is it just going to be salty? I'm going to check Harry Soo's - Joe, good video - keep those minutes down....
I have been smoking salmon like this for years. I only use a 1:1 ration of salt and sugar though and recently am curing without sugar to keep it keto friendly.
I don’t sub too many channels I haven’t watched a ton of the content, but you sir, I’m not a quarter of the way in and I hit the subscription, you sir have great presentation and great content! Thank you for the education
Just damn. We followed this on the green egg. I usually cook salmon on the egg and sear it on cast iron pan. Never again. This is now our go to for salmon. Sooooo good.
A good pair of needle-nosed pliers will make pulling those pin bones easy. Salmon has such a light flavor that everyone I know in AK just sticks to the salt and brown sugar cure & alder smoke instead of covering up the flavor by using any type of BBQ rub.
I love smoked salmon. A couple years ago when I bought my boat since I live in Michigan we went to Lake Michigan & caught several 15-20 lb kings. We brine then smoked them in a honey Glaze & Maple Bourbon. Could not make up my mind which was better. But eating right after it comes off the smoker is the best.
Hi Joe, I’m #3. Now you’re cooking my style. We lived in AK for almost ten years. Had more halibut than salmon; however, the salmon bakes used a simple, thick, glaze of ketsup and brown sugar. Now I’m really motivated to get that monster fired up. Suggestion: bbq sardines are outstanding. (Go north, young man. You need to see the Great Land, Last Frontier, Only in Alaska, ‘the’ BIG state) 😊
Miri! Good morning my friend! I would love to live in Alaska. I love halibut too. I'm gonna have to give the smoked sardines a try one day. Thank you so much for watching Miri!👍🏼
Holy crap. Did this project this past weekend. Thanks Joe. Very easy instructions and ingredients. Might have been my best project so far. And I wasn't able to follow instructions perfectly. Didn't matter. I promised my buddy a piece of the project... but I ate it the next day when I saw it in the fridge. Sorry bro. Maybe next time.
They're some beautiful looking fillets. I made my first smoked salmon a couple of weeks ago using frozen Walmart 4oz fillets. I used 4-1 ratio brown sugar to salt. Then rinsed and put a light coat of ginger powder and dried dill before drying for an hour. Smoked in my Small Weber using the snake method with a lot of apple wood chips.I kept the temp 150-160 degrees and it took @ 5 hrs to get to 145 deg. I ate 1 fillet when done and left the others in the fridge to cool over night. Then sliced them into thin strips on the bias. Ate it for a week with bagels and cream cheese, crackers, sandwiches..... I'm trying some frozen tilapia and whitefish fillets next time. Poor mans salmon 8>)
First of all take the trip to Alaska. Wherever you go it is fantastic. A must do trip. Your salmon just look perfect, all of them. Very good video. Temp control is the thing, does not feel easy to keep the 175-190f. Will try soon. Thank you Joe
Hey Joe, that salmon look delicious. An Alaskan fishing trip is on my bucket list as well. I have an old high school buddy that went fishing there and gave me some salmon and Halibut. It was really good but I grilled it and now I want to smoke some for sure. When I grilled it I added butter and chopped green chile
Born and raised on the coast of British Columbia. Those fillets you did looked beautiful. I am not sure how common alder wood is in TX, but give it a try if you can find some. The smoke flavour is amazing on salmon. Joe you need to experience the beauty of the west coast, it is very different compared to Texas.
You hit a home run with this smoke 💨. I was up in the Pacific northwest first week of September and I saw so many Salmon and Steelhead while rafting and it ‘bout killed me not fishin’ for them. Love fishin’ but the fishery is closed right now there in the river system b/c of water bein’ really low. Thanks for the video brother it was great. Thanks for your time to show “how to smoke 💨 Salmon.”
just bought a Oklahoma Joe smoker and seasoned it today.. I live in Anchorage Alaska... I'm smoking some salmon this weekend!!! Thanks for your video! I feel more confident in my smoke, will let you know how it goes!
I'm not big on cooking any type of seafood, only because as a kid we never had it, and mom doesn't like the smell. I freaking love seafood, and this right here is something I must try, another great bbq vid and thanks for the insight and what you do!
The funny thing about "seafood" especially fish, is if its fresh, it doesn't smell. Crab is the same way. I used to live on Camano Island about an hour drive north of Seattle, and would catch, kill and clean my fish in the boat, put it in ice water, take it home and cook or freeze it immediately. With crab, catch it, put it alive in the cooler with water, bring it home, turn it upside down, split it in half, spray out the guts, put it immediately in boiling salt water for about 13 mins, take out and eat, or run under cold water and freeze immediately. ..nothing compares to those days, ever. We live in Iowa now, and we just can't eat seafood anymore....
Great Job. Grandpa would approve. Where I lived in Southeast AK, right at the end of the Portland Canal, we had not too many reds. The King salmon was great, and the brightest Chum or Dog Salmon you could get, from the creek to the brine , in less than a couple hours was highly edible. not too many Silvers. We mostly ate the Kings. Some had white flesh. it tasted the same to me. I would not say that the Alaska Red Salmon is over rated, but growing up near the Umpqua River in Oregon, it is literally in my back yard today, I prefer the fat content of the spring Chinook , you are right not to remove the skin before cooking, the grey fat between the skin and flesh is the flavor and adds moisture to the fish. Come fish the Umpqua for Springers, it may be cheaper than AK. Lots of Guides Check it out.
That salmon looks so delicious. The way you prepared it is awesome. Fresh salmon is beyond compare. I have used a cedar plank when I prepared salmon with a friend. The Natives in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington State, and Oregon use cedar sticks, that they cut form pieces of cedar wood, and put the salmon fillets on them, then place them next to an open fire. In the Atlantic region of Canada, maple syrup is used as part of the cure for salmon. It's also a Native recipe. Cheers, Joe!
About to smoke me some freshly caught trout from So. Cal. using your exceptional recipe! Perfect explanation on the process and great Vid. New Sub. 🔥🔥🔥👍🏽
Get up to Homer AK, Salmon 🍣 Halibut, cod, lived at fritz creek Homer AK 40 yrs!! That looks delicious I’m taking 2 salmon outta the freezer now lolz!! U made me drool 🤤
Nicely done . You need to get up to Alaska and do some fishing - it is some of the most relaxing mind centering experiences ever. I would say # 4 would be my favorite with all those flavors.
Hey Louis! It's on my things to do on this trip on earth.😁 All were really good and everyone's favorite was the Victory Lane Peach & Peach Jalapeno glazed one. The plain one was actually really good too.👍🏼
A bruh... I stumbled upon your channel and instantly fell in love with your temperament, easy going delivery and out the box cooking. I never ever ever subscribe to a channel of the first video I watch cause it's normally a fluke. But you the truth bruh.
Question: If the fresh wild caught salmon has been flash frozen , do you have to still brine before cooking (hot smoking)? My wife says it's always too salty when i brine even after I've reduced the salt in a brine. Thanks.
Hey Mr. Smokin’ Joe - That was a really nice cook. Also, it’s nice to see an alternative to the usual smoked proteins. If you start with a fresh natural main ingredient & have a thoughtful cooking process, the result is usually great. You’ve encouraged me Sir. I was afraid to smoke salmon or trout for fear I won’t be able to maintain the low temps needed and ruin some expensive filets. I’m gonna make this happen. Thank you!!
I live up here in AK and its awsome!! Each season we get a full freezer of salmon and it feels like they taste better with each year. hope you enjoy your visit up here!!
Smokin’ Joe , I smoked some wild sockeye salmon today for the first time and it was hit with a couple of my neighbors and with my 5 year old & 3 year old grandkids. Thanks for posting your video that really helped me through the process! That peach flavored one I will have to try next. Stay safe and have a Happy Thanksgiving!! 🙏🏾💕🙏🏾💕😊
@@SmokinJoesPitBBQ I’m watching your brine tips again before heading out to catch some King salmon and your video is still one of the best! I would cut the belly meat out for premium strips and fillet the salmon to fit the Tupperware so you don’t bend it. Looks like you’re ready for your Alaska Fishing Trip with those skills! What kind of salmon are you going after? Kenai River is one of the best rivers to fish in the world and has plenty of processing centers available. I would go in June for the Sockeye (Reds) and Chinook (King) runs. I’d love to see you post a video if you ever make the trip.
Those do look beautiful!! However I have smoked thousands of Red and Silver salmon in the Aleutian islands and never used a store bought smoker, only a smoke house. mine was 8’x8’ and slow smoked with cotton wood that washed up on the beach.
native americans, preccessed fish, and they did not have sugar, salt was the sea water, and just air dry and smoke with some heat from the fire, which I've tasted and it is great.
I just smoked salmon fillets in my little Chief smoker & they turned out dry & like salmon jerky . All the instructions said @ 6-12 hours I did 4 & they overcooked Can someone tell me if you have had experience with cooking in a little Chief smoker? & how long ? I cut them in serving sizes before smoking .
Same here. I think the Little Chiefs run hot. There isn't any way to control temp, so I'd run it with a temp probe inside and maybe pull the front cover away a little if you need to let some heat escape.
What is unpita sweet peach rub, sorry hard to understand what you said, and can't read the label on your rub, the first one you put on, Also were the salmon frozen, assume so. I do mine the same way in the brine, better than in the liquid brine for sure. Think I found it, Victory Lane BBQ, Thanks anyway, will try it.Is it spicy or mild?
Bro this was really helpful. Thanks for all the knowledge. Im new to liking salmon so still learnin and my wife loves it. Shes enjoyed what ive made so far but the options you detailed in this video will give me more ideas! Thanks again man great video
Joe, thank you for answering a question for me. I've always wondered if you can still season the salmon after curing. I see you can. Another question, on the piece that you glazed, did you find that that stopped the smoke from adhering to the pellicle?
Hello Dave! It started to come out towards the end of the cook. Pit was always at 175°. I notice that it comes out towards the end of cooking Salmon, even if it's cooked on the stove. 👍🏼
I watched your video on smoking salmon and was wondering what model Yoder you use. I have been wanting to replace my older smoker and liked the access your smoker has. William
Hehe Brother Joe!...... You used the word " NUTRITIOUS " in your video LOL 😂😂 those Alaskan Salmon look absolutely mouthwatering and now you going to tell me your sides were steam vegetables LOL. 😂😂. Nice cook my brother you and the family have a wonderful week .
Excellent presentations. Is this considered a cold smoked salmon or a cooked smoke salmon? Can this be done with trout too? You need a bigger curing container
Thanks So Much For Your Video ; I Love Alaskan Salmon ; You Interested Me In Other Ways To Prepare It ; Although I Watch Out For Excess Sodium & Sugar .
One you could have reused vacuum bags by cut tin the top. No big deal cut on skin side for mix penetrating smoker is too hot that’s why you have the salmon fat at the surface You have to control heat to avoid this D
You might try this one out. I use silver salmon. I also put my cream cheese in the smoker at the same time. Smoked Fish Recipe First…catch some fish! This recipe is good for 3 nice Silver salmon: 6 fillets. Ingredients: 2-1/2 cups brown sugar 1 cup kosher salt 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper In a bowl, mix well the brown sugar, salt, onion & garlic powder, and pepper. Prepare the fillets by removing the pin bones and any rib bones from the filleting job. Make slices perpendicular to the centerline at ~5/8” spacing. Slice down to the skin but not through it. Lay the fish in a flat tray, flesh side up. Evenly spread the sugar/salt/spice mix over the fish. The salt and sugar will begin pulling moisture from the fish and make a brine solution. Use a large spoon to spoon the brine over the fish periodically. Use the spoon to open the cuts and spoon brine into those open cuts. Do this at ~1/2 hour intervals for 5-6 hours. After the 5-6 hours are up, remove the fish from the flat tray and use your hand as a kind of a squeegee to remove excess brine. Do not rinse the fish off! Place the fillets in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, place the fish on a rack, flesh side up. The fish need to form a ‘pellicle’. The pellicle has formed when the flesh of the fish has a ‘sticky’ feel. A small fan can speed this up but don’t be in too much of a hurry. It may take a couple hours for this to form. After the pellicle is formed, use a basting brush to baste the flesh with a honey baste that has been thinned with water. At this time, sprinkle fresh ground black pepper to your individual taste on the fish. The fish is now ready to smoke. I smoke it at 150-175 degrees for ~3 hours. I don’t like my fish too dry but I don’t like it cooked either. This stage is up to your own preference. I use Apple Blend pellets by Lumberjack in my smoker. After removing the fish from the smoker, I remove the skin as well as the gray flesh that is found just under the skin. Time now to enjoy! Cracker spread: add a little warm water to cream cheese in a bowl, add a little garlic and onion powder to taste, add diced Jalapeno peppers and crumbled salmon and mix. Use on top of Ritz crackers.
Fantastic video to watch during my first attempt at smoking my Chinook salmon. Quite nice tutorial. But I am quite curious as to where you purchased your Peach Rub? Kosmo's Q doesn't seem to carry it, though I have just purchased the Peach Jalapeno Glaze from them. Thank you in advance for your reply.
Loved the video and I also love salmon (unfortunately what I can get at the fish market unlike you). Followed your brining steps, used no rub because we make a dill spread instead. Fish was too salty and I tend to like most foods over salted. What did I do wrong?
Skin on salmon fillets need to sit way longer in a 3:1 sugar/salt brine. Skinless fillets for 6-8 hours in 3:1 cures the fillets much better. Also cutting into strips after brining gets the smoke all around more surface area of meat so it requires less time in the smoker like maybe and hour tops 175-200. Skinless and pin boneless Alaskan smoked sockeye is ultra premium stuff!
Thanks a lot for the video! 🙏✌ Could you please advise what kind of rub (spices) to use for salmon to smoke if I want to create my own. I mean, from your experience, what goes well with salmon? Blessings from Baku, Azerbaijan!
I wish there was an Emmy Award for RUclips channels. You would take away the award for smoking channels many years. There are a couple of other high-quality smoking channels that would alternate with you of course, but your channel is in the top 3. You have a wide variety of menus, excellent demonstration of techniques, and an engaging personal style. When you say “Stay tuned”, I do. When you say “OK?”, I say “OK!”
Thank you so much for the kind words. I really enjoy doing this and these comments are the fuel to my fire. Thanks for watching.🤘
hi Joe I watch you all the time your a great cook, i'm from washington state and all we use to smoke our salmon is salt and brown sugar also i cut into 6'' pieces cure for 24 hours then rinse off cure and smoke at the end of smoking i use peach or apricot jam as a glaze its the bomb your the best Joe
I have been going to alaska Salmon Fishing for the last 7 years. I bring back lots of salmon. I, too, have been using a brine over a cure, but i will let it soak overnight and then rinse real good. After I rinse, i will soak in good water for about 5 min. This really helps. One thing to tell if you have enough salt in the brine is that when you take the salmon out, it should be firm.
Thanks for the input. My dream.is to.go fishing for salmon in Alaska. 👍
While stationed in Washington, I was given a recipe that has taken over my way of smoking salmon. Give this a try sometime:
2 cups Molasses
2 cups light brown sugar
3/4 cup Kosher salt
zest and juice of 1 orange
mix all together throughly.
cut salmon into 8oz portions (skin removed. lay out plastic wrap and spoon mixture into middle, lay fish on top and spoon more over. wrap tight encasing the wet cure around salmon and place in a pan. press with some weight (soup cans or foil wrapped bricks) for 24 hrs. unwrap and do not rinse! smoke with hickory on low heat for 2 hrs.
What would you consider low heat 225? And what let's you know you're done?
@@T2_Sug 225 works for me, if I'm busy doing something then I'll drop it to 155 for 5-6 hrs. The salmon should have some firmness when done, and spring back when pushed. The fat will be almost clear in between segments and will be rendered. I skip the pressing part now these days during the cure now too, I believe it retains more natural flavor that's needed
@@gabec2494 thank you my good man
That color you get from smoking the salmon is just amazing :)
Maple syrup when its almost done
No fish is more grill or smoker friendly than salmon. Whether you pair it with cucumbers or canapes, there’s something about smoked salmon that elevates and wakes up the standard finger food. Phenomenal cook! The step by step walkthrough was very clear and easy to understand! Thank you for sharing your recipe and knowledge! Very much appreciated! 8)
Thank you so much for watching. I appreciate the kind words. You 2 stay safe for tio Joe!🤘
Lived in Anchorage in the late 80s/early 90s. I recommend EVERYONE go see it. Its amazing.
I bet it is. It's a dream vacation spot for me. 👍
I only remove the skin from farmed salmon. On wild salmon leave skin on, take the scales off, sometimes even leave the pectoral fins on.
There is large difference in species and source of the salmon. That’s another entire discussion. The higher quality the starting fish, the lighter I go on seasoning and length of time for soak and smoke.
You do a nice job, and watching this vid motivated me to go and fire up the smoker !
hi smokin joe, I am smokin sockeye right now, for my fiancee and family I use kosher salt as well, and c&h pure cane sugar also, I will have to put some black pepper in my batch next brine joe, I was born in Anchorage Alaska, mastermind poet
Hello Sara, that sounds delicious. 👍
I would like the 2nd one, never done it like that. Will have to try next time.
Yeah buddy, everyone liked that one. It was super delicious.👍🏼
LOL, boys and their toys. As a long time resident of the last frontier, 70s-80s, I caught and smoked hundreds (1000s?) of salmon. This is before the hordes of savages
descended on the river banks. The reds (sockeye) were the best smoked, with the silvers (coho) next. Those you have look like river cohos or ocean caught reds. The kings, 30-60 lbs, were steaked and barbecued fresh. Absolutely the best. Some years the kings were too plentiful, so were frozen and/or smoked. At any rate, we scrounged an old not-working refrigerator, added extra grills inside, and used them for the smokers. A hot plate at the bottom, with a cast iron frying pan to hold the wood on the burners, and the smokers were ready. I'd dry brine them as you did, although never used that much pepper. Plug in the hot plate, and go to bed. Smoking time depended on the season; the silvers and reds were early enough (August) that it wasn't that cold, so 6-8 hours was enough time to smoke. But Sept. Oct smoking the temps would get below freezing at night, so the time could be as long as 10 hrs, variable. I used locally grown alder for flavor, buying a bag of hickory chips for variety. Never bothered skinning or de-boning, figured anyone eating could do that. So total expenditure: salvage fridge-free-$10, hot plate $15. Lasted for years.
You did a great job on the salmon. There are many ways to smoke salmon and I would like to give you a few tips on the subject. But first a introduction about myself. I live in the Great Pacific North West, Washington state to be exact on the Cowlitz River, a tributary of the Columbia River. And I have been smoking salmon for nearly 40 years and have learned a few things through the years. I was glad to see you leave the skin on because it's a waist of time to skin because the flesh comes off the skin easily after being smoked or even grilled plus it helps to keep the flesh together when removing from smoker or grill. My suggestion here would be in the future consider cutting the fillet into serving portions before placing into the smoker. In fact before placing into cure. It's so much easier to handle and gives a better prepared surface area. Glad to see you do a glaze. I do a very simple glaze just using some honey and you can use maple syrup also. Not much,just pour it over the top so as it heats up it will run down over the flesh. This helps protect the surface flesh from drying out but allows some moisture to escape through the glaze and concentrates the wonderful flavor of the fish. By pre cutting the fish you can pull the tail portions of the out of the smoker first because they cook much faster than the rest of the fish. Now about those pin bones, there is a trick to removing them more easily. If you go to Harry Soo's channel and look up his 6 ways to grill salmon I show how to use a bowl to more easily find and remove the bones. And there are no pin bones in the tail section. There's a great many other things to add to doing salmon but that should be a good start. The salmon fishing has been in a low cycle these few years but I expect some turn around next year. So if the virus situation is better by 2021 ( hopefully we have a vaccine next year) maybe you can come up here for a salmon vacation at a fraction of the cost of going to Alaska plus I could show you some additional tips. I enjoy your vids and have been learning some important recipes from you. Thank you. Would like to see you catch your first salmon someday, it's such a rush. And I need to get Harry back up here someday so I can get him into a full sized salmon instead of the small one I got him into last fall. Have a great day.😃🎣🎣🎣
Good morning Victor! Thank you so much for leaving this comment. I love the tip on slicing the salmon into smaller portions prior to smoking. I can tell you're well versed when it comes to salmon which is something we eat lots of but rarely film videos on. This was a special occasion being that it was Alaskan salmon and a gift from a neighbor. I was shocked at how much easier the pin bones came out after the curing process. Thanks for watching and I hope to make it out to go fishing with you one day.👍🏼
I just saw that video Victor. The fish looked fantastic. I met Harry at a competition in Lubbock a couple of years ago and he's a great person. Thanks again for stopping by buddy. 👍🏼
@@SmokinJoesPitBBQ Harry truly is a wonderful human being and having him and Donna up here was something truly amazing. Now one more quick tip on the pin bones. Have a bowl of water near by. When you pull the pin bones dip the pliers into the bowl of water and the bone will release and stay in the bowl. It's much easier and quicker when cleaning up. Oh heck, one more. When applying the cure start like you did going skin side down. But the next layer lay flesh down alternating back and forth. Skin to skin, flesh to flesh placing most of your cure on the flesh side and little to the skin side. Ask your friend what type of salmon he caught. There are 5 types of salmon in Alaska and Washington and Oregon. Those fillets looked like they came from Sockeye salmon. We are getting a Sockeye season on the Columbia River the last to weeks of this month. Hopefully I'll get a few hours each day of fishing before heading into work. Yup it's a hard life but what's a guy gonna do😁. Again have a great day, I need to get working in the garden.
@@victorbenner539 great tips for sure Victor! Everything you recommend makes perfect sense and I appreciate you sharing them. The salmon was Sockeye and I heard you say Nutty flavor in Harry's vodeo. There truly is a bit of a Nutty flavor. Really good stuff . 👍🏼
Joe and Victor - I have smoked salmon a few times and seems too salty to me. I try not to glaze just to keep the sugar content down - I have reduced my salt ratio in my brine - what am I doing wrong or is it just going to be salty? I'm going to check Harry Soo's - Joe, good video - keep those minutes down....
My mouth is watering over and over again. Those look amazing.
I have been smoking salmon like this for years. I only use a 1:1 ration of salt and sugar though and recently am curing without sugar to keep it keto friendly.
wonderful demonstration. i now have the confidence to try salmon in my smoker this weekend. thanks a bunch.
I don’t sub too many channels I haven’t watched a ton of the content, but you sir, I’m not a quarter of the way in and I hit the subscription, you sir have great presentation and great content! Thank you for the education
Thank you so much for watching! That means a ton!🤘
Just damn. We followed this on the green egg. I usually cook salmon on the egg and sear it on cast iron pan. Never again. This is now our go to for salmon. Sooooo good.
You did just the cure?
A good pair of needle-nosed pliers will make pulling those pin bones easy. Salmon has such a light flavor that everyone I know in AK just sticks to the salt and brown sugar cure & alder smoke instead of covering up the flavor by using any type of BBQ rub.
I love smoked salmon. A couple years ago when I bought my boat since I live in Michigan we went to Lake Michigan & caught several 15-20 lb kings. We brine then smoked them in a honey Glaze & Maple Bourbon. Could not make up my mind which was better. But eating right after it comes off the smoker is the best.
Hi Joe, I’m #3. Now you’re cooking my style. We lived in AK for almost ten years. Had more halibut than salmon; however, the salmon bakes used a simple, thick, glaze of ketsup and brown sugar. Now I’m really motivated to get that monster fired up. Suggestion: bbq sardines are outstanding. (Go north, young man. You need to see the Great Land, Last Frontier, Only in Alaska, ‘the’ BIG state) 😊
Miri! Good morning my friend! I would love to live in Alaska. I love halibut too. I'm gonna have to give the smoked sardines a try one day. Thank you so much for watching Miri!👍🏼
Holy crap. Did this project this past weekend. Thanks Joe. Very easy instructions and ingredients. Might have been my best project so far. And I wasn't able to follow instructions perfectly. Didn't matter. I promised my buddy a piece of the project... but I ate it the next day when I saw it in the fridge. Sorry bro. Maybe next time.
They're some beautiful looking fillets. I made my first smoked salmon a couple of weeks ago using frozen Walmart 4oz fillets. I used 4-1 ratio brown sugar to salt. Then rinsed and put a light coat of ginger powder and dried dill before drying for an hour. Smoked in my Small Weber using the snake method with a lot of apple wood chips.I kept the temp 150-160 degrees and it took @ 5 hrs to get to 145 deg. I ate 1 fillet when done and left the others in the fridge to cool over night. Then sliced them into thin strips on the bias. Ate it for a week with bagels and cream cheese, crackers, sandwiches..... I'm trying some frozen tilapia and whitefish fillets next time. Poor mans salmon 8>)
Nice Darren! I love cream cheese with smoked salmon on bagels! Especially if the bagels are fresh like from Einstein's bagels.👍🏼
Definitely, Alaskan Salmon is the very best... very cold water fatty Salmon is soooo good!
First of all take the trip to Alaska. Wherever you go it is fantastic. A must do trip.
Your salmon just look perfect, all of them. Very good video.
Temp control is the thing, does not feel easy to keep the 175-190f.
Will try soon. Thank you Joe
Hello Danson! I can't wait to get to Alaska. Surprisingly, pepe held those low temps pretty well. Thanks for watching.👍🏼
Hey Joe, that salmon look delicious. An Alaskan fishing trip is on my bucket list as well. I have an old high school buddy that went fishing there and gave me some salmon and Halibut. It was really good but I grilled it and now I want to smoke some for sure. When I grilled it I added butter and chopped green chile
Born and raised on the coast of British Columbia. Those fillets you did looked beautiful. I am not sure how common alder wood is in TX, but give it a try if you can find some. The smoke flavour is amazing on salmon. Joe you need to experience the beauty of the west coast, it is very different compared to Texas.
I’m from kodiak Alaska, I appreciate the love of my homes fish!
You hit a home run with this smoke 💨. I was up in the Pacific northwest first week of September and I saw so many Salmon and Steelhead while rafting and it ‘bout killed me not fishin’ for them. Love fishin’ but the fishery is closed right now there in the river system b/c of water bein’ really low. Thanks for the video brother it was great. Thanks for your time to show “how to smoke 💨 Salmon.”
just bought a Oklahoma Joe smoker and seasoned it today.. I live in Anchorage Alaska... I'm smoking some salmon this weekend!!! Thanks for your video! I feel more confident in my smoke, will let you know how it goes!
Looks great. Hot smoke salmon is pure gold. I’ve been dabbling with it recently myself. One of my top 5 favorite meals right here.
I'm not big on cooking any type of seafood, only because as a kid we never had it, and mom doesn't like the smell. I freaking love seafood, and this right here is something I must try, another great bbq vid and thanks for the insight and what you do!
The funny thing about "seafood" especially fish, is if its fresh, it doesn't smell. Crab is the same way. I used to live on Camano Island about an hour drive north of Seattle, and would catch, kill and clean my fish in the boat, put it in ice water, take it home and cook or freeze it immediately. With crab, catch it, put it alive in the cooler with water, bring it home, turn it upside down, split it in half, spray out the guts, put it immediately in boiling salt water for about 13 mins, take out and eat, or run under cold water and freeze immediately. ..nothing compares to those days, ever. We live in Iowa now, and we just can't eat seafood anymore....
Great Job. Grandpa would approve. Where I lived in Southeast AK, right at the end of the Portland Canal, we had not too many reds. The King salmon was great, and the brightest Chum or Dog Salmon you could get, from the creek to the brine , in less than a couple hours was highly edible. not too many Silvers. We mostly ate the Kings. Some had white flesh. it tasted the same to me. I would not say that the Alaska Red Salmon is over rated, but growing up near the Umpqua River in Oregon, it is literally in my back yard today, I prefer the fat content of the spring Chinook , you are right not to remove the skin before cooking, the grey fat between the skin and flesh is the flavor and adds moisture to the fish. Come fish the Umpqua for Springers, it may be cheaper than AK. Lots of Guides Check it out.
Thanks so much Roger! Salmon is my favorite fish to eat. I can't wait to ine day head up to AK to go fishing and mingle with the locals.
That salmon looks so delicious. The way you prepared it is awesome. Fresh salmon is beyond compare. I have used a cedar plank when I prepared salmon with a friend. The Natives in Alaska, British Columbia, Washington State, and Oregon use cedar sticks, that they cut form pieces of cedar wood, and put the salmon fillets on them, then place them next to an open fire. In the Atlantic region of Canada, maple syrup is used as part of the cure for salmon. It's also a Native recipe. Cheers, Joe!
Very cool info Dwayne! I bet some maple syrup would've been great on the salmon.🤘
I was relieved when you got those pin bones out lol. All those filets came out awesome. Great cook
Hey Ryan! They bones came out super easy once the salmon was cured. Thanks for watching bro!🤘
That peach jalepeno glazed fillet!!!!👀 mmmmmmmmmh
Yes sir Gustaf. That was our favorite.👍
We fill our freezers with more of this than we can eat every year. We even give a lot away. I like sockeye the most personally.
Those salmon looked really great, gonna hot smoke 8 sides tomorrow. So this video sure was helpful, thanks for sharing Joe! 👍
Nice Jens! Thanks for watching.👍🏼
About to smoke me some freshly caught trout from So. Cal. using your exceptional recipe! Perfect explanation on the process and great Vid. New Sub. 🔥🔥🔥👍🏽
Get up to Homer AK, Salmon 🍣 Halibut, cod, lived at fritz creek Homer AK 40 yrs!!
That looks delicious I’m taking 2 salmon outta the freezer now lolz!! U made me drool 🤤
Am looking forward to taste that ASAP for my weekend in Kansas
Nice! It's really good stuff!👍
Smokin' Joe's Pit BBQ definitely I have to try it out
Nicely done . You need to get up to Alaska and do some fishing - it is some of the most relaxing mind centering experiences ever. I would say # 4 would be my favorite with all those flavors.
Hey Louis! It's on my things to do on this trip on earth.😁 All were really good and everyone's favorite was the Victory Lane Peach & Peach Jalapeno glazed one. The plain one was actually really good too.👍🏼
A bruh... I stumbled upon your channel and instantly fell in love with your temperament, easy going delivery and out the box cooking.
I never ever ever subscribe to a channel of the first video I watch cause it's normally a fluke. But you the truth bruh.
Stay tuned...
Fat leaking out means too hot or didn't let air dry long enough.
Some nice looking smoked BBQ salmon!
I like it! That salmon turned out beautiful!
Thank you buddy! They came out really tasty!🤘
Question: If the fresh wild caught salmon has been flash frozen , do you have to still brine before cooking (hot smoking)?
My wife says it's always too salty when i brine even after I've reduced the salt in a brine.
Thanks.
Fantastic lookin salmon Joe, my wife and I love salmon. She doesn't like it smoked but I do. Great video Joe.
Thank you for watching! Smoked salmon is the best!🤘
My 5lbs of salmon is in the fridge soaking in the brine as we speak....tomorrow is smoking day. Mmmmmmmmm cant wait
Hey Mr. Smokin’ Joe - That was a really nice cook. Also, it’s nice to see an alternative to the usual smoked proteins. If you start with a fresh natural main ingredient & have a thoughtful cooking process, the result is usually great. You’ve encouraged me Sir. I was afraid to smoke salmon or trout for fear I won’t be able to maintain the low temps needed and ruin some expensive filets. I’m gonna make this happen. Thank you!!
Hello Mark! It's really hard to ruin a fish but maintaining a low temp is one way to not overcook sea food. Good.lucknwith your cook buddy.👍🏼
I too have never cooked at that low of temp. But I followed his advice of using a small amount of lump and it was no problem maintaining 175°
I live up here in AK and its awsome!!
Each season we get a full freezer of salmon and it feels like they taste better with each year.
hope you enjoy your visit up here!!
That sweet peach is awesome
Yes sir. Really tasty. 👍
That is some good stuff my neighbor fishes in Alaska. Nothing sweeter or better.
Those look amazing! I really want to learn how to do that. I buy smoked salmon all the time (from Walmart!!!!! ) Great video.
I buy that smoked salmon too. I like adding some to some cream cheese with crushed red pepper and spread it over a toasted bagel.👍
Great video,the salmon looks great, I bet they taste great, that's three greats my friend 👏🙋🙏. Thank you
Smokin’ Joe , I smoked some wild sockeye salmon today for the first time and it was hit with a couple of my neighbors and with my 5 year old & 3 year old grandkids. Thanks for posting your video that really helped me through the process! That peach flavored one I will have to try next. Stay safe and have a Happy Thanksgiving!! 🙏🏾💕🙏🏾💕😊
I’m from Alaska and Alaskan Native. My Grandmother used a plastic 33 gallon bucket 🪣 for her brine. Smoked lots of fish…
Great video! Try Alder wood for your smoke in the future. -Juneau, AK
I've heard of that wood. I have some planks in Alder. Thanks for watching.👍
I second Alder, my favorite wood to smoke with.
Fairbanks, AK
Hopefully you got Reds, not Pinks.
@@klauswelch those look like silvers. Way too big for a humpy or a sockeye.
@@SmokinJoesPitBBQ I’m watching your brine tips again before heading out to catch some King salmon and your video is still one of the best! I would cut the belly meat out for premium strips and fillet the salmon to fit the Tupperware so you don’t bend it. Looks like you’re ready for your Alaska Fishing Trip with those skills! What kind of salmon are you going after? Kenai River is one of the best rivers to fish in the world and has plenty of processing centers available. I would go in June for the Sockeye (Reds) and Chinook (King) runs. I’d love to see you post a video if you ever make the trip.
Those do look beautiful!! However I have smoked thousands of Red and Silver salmon in the Aleutian islands and never used a store bought smoker, only a smoke house. mine was 8’x8’ and slow smoked with cotton wood that washed up on the beach.
native americans, preccessed fish, and they did not have sugar, salt was the sea water, and just air dry and smoke with some heat from the fire, which I've tasted and it is great.
Hey when you make up yr mind which is your favorite, send me the rest! I’ll take it!😍. So glad to see you do this video
Thanks Hank! So the official winner.was the one rubbed down with Victory Lane Sweet Peach then glazed with the peach Jalapeno glaze.👍🏼
I have never smoked salmon but they do look very nice indeed. I'm going to give it a try 👍
Cold smoke (4 hrs 100 degrees max) is the way to go with salmon. You are cooking it which is ok if you are eating right away but does not keep well
I just smoked salmon fillets in my little Chief smoker & they turned out dry & like salmon jerky . All the instructions said @ 6-12 hours I did 4 & they overcooked
Can someone tell me if you have had experience with cooking in a little Chief smoker? & how long ? I cut them in serving sizes before smoking .
Your Smoker might be running g a bit hot. 👍🏼
Same here. I think the Little Chiefs run hot. There isn't any way to control temp, so I'd run it with a temp probe inside and maybe pull the front cover away a little if you need to let some heat escape.
Alaska is one amazing place!
I can't wait for things to setting down so I can go fishing out there. 👍
What is unpita sweet peach rub, sorry hard to understand what you said, and can't read the label on your rub, the first one you put on, Also were the salmon frozen, assume so. I do mine the same way in the brine, better than in the liquid brine for sure. Think I found it, Victory Lane BBQ, Thanks anyway, will try it.Is it spicy or mild?
Looks like the sound cut off. It's a sweet peach rub from Victory Lane bbq. 👍
Found it, thanks for getting back .
Bro this was really helpful. Thanks for all the knowledge. Im new to liking salmon so still learnin and my wife loves it. Shes enjoyed what ive made so far but the options you detailed in this video will give me more ideas! Thanks again man great video
Joe, thank you for answering a question for me. I've always wondered if you can still season the salmon after curing. I see you can. Another question, on the piece that you glazed, did you find that that stopped the smoke from adhering to the pellicle?
I don't think the Seasoning will stick of you don't afterwards. Ss long as the surface if wet, the smoke will adhere to the meat. 👍
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
joe.looks great.there is a name for the white protein that comes out of the fish.it happens with to hot a fire
Hello Dave! It started to come out towards the end of the cook. Pit was always at 175°. I notice that it comes out towards the end of cooking Salmon, even if it's cooked on the stove. 👍🏼
I
Using my Bradley, I use 1/3 alder and 2/3 cherry and between 130 and 150 degrees. Works for me. Hickory and mesquite too strong.
Sounds delicious 👍
Are those victor shaviko painting in your kitchen. Very cool
this is so good! i really love salmon, and always buy smoked salmon from the store
this looks incredible! i want to try someday :D
Love It! Great Job As Always
I watched your video on smoking salmon and was wondering what model Yoder you use. I have been wanting to replace my older smoker and liked the access your smoker has.
William
Hello William, this smoker was a Yoder Frontiersman.👍
Do you ever use Cure #! on your fish when you are smoking it?
Never have but it's a great Idea if your smoking at a low temp. 👍
Hehe Brother Joe!...... You used the word " NUTRITIOUS " in your video LOL 😂😂 those Alaskan Salmon look absolutely mouthwatering and now you going to tell me your sides were steam vegetables LOL. 😂😂. Nice cook my brother you and the family have a wonderful week .
Excellent presentations. Is this considered a cold smoked salmon or a cooked smoke salmon? Can this be done with trout too? You need a bigger curing container
Hello Bob, yes you can do this with trout as well. Cold smoking is a much lower temp like 150°👍
@@SmokinJoesPitBBQ thank you
Thank you , you can always teach an old dog new tricks!! 💪✌️🍣
Thanks So Much For Your Video ; I Love Alaskan Salmon ; You Interested Me In Other Ways To Prepare It ; Although I Watch Out For Excess Sodium & Sugar .
One you could have reused vacuum bags by cut tin the top. No big deal cut on skin side for mix penetrating smoker is too hot that’s why you have the salmon fat at the surface You have to control heat to avoid this
D
Vert concise and informative. Thank you.
How long can I marinate it for? Would 24 hours be too long?
12 hours max is what I would do. Remember this is a cure so it pulls the moisture out of the Salmon. Thanks for watching & for the question.
What if i left it over 8 hours maybe 24 hours, would it still be good
I'm sure it would be. 👍🏼
Amazing presentation
Yes! Offset life!
Yes sir!🤘
You might try this one out. I use silver salmon. I also put my cream cheese in the smoker at the same time.
Smoked Fish Recipe
First…catch some fish!
This recipe is good for 3 nice Silver salmon: 6 fillets.
Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
In a bowl, mix well the brown sugar, salt, onion & garlic powder, and pepper.
Prepare the fillets by removing the pin bones and any rib bones from the filleting job. Make slices perpendicular to the centerline at ~5/8” spacing. Slice down to the skin but not through it.
Lay the fish in a flat tray, flesh side up. Evenly spread the sugar/salt/spice mix over the fish. The salt and sugar will begin pulling moisture from the fish and make a brine solution. Use a large spoon to spoon the brine over the fish periodically. Use the spoon to open the cuts and spoon brine into those open cuts. Do this at ~1/2 hour intervals for 5-6 hours.
After the 5-6 hours are up, remove the fish from the flat tray and use your hand as a kind of a squeegee to remove excess brine. Do not rinse the fish off! Place the fillets in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, place the fish on a rack, flesh side up. The fish need to form a ‘pellicle’. The pellicle has formed when the flesh of the fish has a ‘sticky’ feel. A small fan can speed this up but don’t be in too much of a hurry. It may take a couple hours for this to form. After the pellicle is formed, use a basting brush to baste the flesh with a honey baste that has been thinned with water. At this time, sprinkle fresh ground black pepper to your individual taste on the fish.
The fish is now ready to smoke. I smoke it at 150-175 degrees for ~3 hours. I don’t like my fish too dry but I don’t like it cooked either. This stage is up to your own preference. I use Apple Blend pellets by Lumberjack in my smoker.
After removing the fish from the smoker, I remove the skin as well as the gray flesh that is found just under the skin.
Time now to enjoy!
Cracker spread: add a little warm water to cream cheese in a bowl, add a little garlic and onion powder to taste, add diced Jalapeno peppers and crumbled salmon and mix. Use on top of Ritz crackers.
I'm definitely trying this recipe 🤘
Do i need to cure before i smoke?
Man I'm going to buy some salmon today ASAP lol... Great video bro!!
All of those salmon look great Joe and well worth making myself. Have you done just a cold smoke salmon maybe no higher than 80 degrees F?
Fantastic video to watch during my first attempt at smoking my Chinook salmon. Quite nice tutorial. But I am quite curious as to where you purchased your Peach Rub? Kosmo's Q doesn't seem to carry it, though I have just purchased the Peach Jalapeno Glaze from them. Thank you in advance for your reply.
Where you get your smoking racks
Since it is cured do you really need that high of temperature for the fish?
Hello Stepen, great question. I'm not an expert on curing but I want to ensure there would be now issues with the salmon being undercooked. 👍
You don't cook Smoked Salmon ! It's raw fresh fish that is cured dry in salt. From the home of Salmon : Scotland !
🤗
Loved the video and I also love salmon (unfortunately what I can get at the fish market unlike you). Followed your brining steps, used no rub because we make a dill spread instead. Fish was too salty and I tend to like most foods over salted.
What did I do wrong?
Fantastic. Thank you for uploading this!
Thank you for watching Rob.👍
Skin on salmon fillets need to sit way longer in a 3:1 sugar/salt brine. Skinless fillets for 6-8 hours in 3:1 cures the fillets much better. Also cutting into strips after brining gets the smoke all around more surface area of meat so it requires less time in the smoker like maybe and hour tops 175-200. Skinless and pin boneless Alaskan smoked sockeye is ultra premium stuff!
What the recipe of glaze?
Thanks a lot for the video! 🙏✌
Could you please advise what kind of rub (spices) to use for salmon to smoke if I want to create my own. I mean, from your experience, what goes well with salmon?
Blessings from Baku, Azerbaijan!
Nice , great video sir
I just stumbled upon your channel thx for the help
Thanks for watching John. 👍