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Post by Gus65 on Jul 24, 2014 8:36:59 GMT 10
Go with the fig I reckon.May be a bit of a sweeter smoke.
I thought about ironbark for mine but didn't want to risk the tinge of bitterness that can come from too much dense hardwood.
Mick will know which is the betterof the two.
I saw tails at the local fishmongers when I was doing mine but they wanted more a kilo than my next door neighbour and I know his is super fresh.Those look pretty good. Nice and thick with plenty of flesh.
What we are doing is improving the raw product so it shouldn't matter what part you get it will still end up heaps better than it is now.Same as buying unpopular cuts of pig or cow and turning them into something special.
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Post by smokey on Jul 24, 2014 10:53:06 GMT 10
I've never seen tails sold like that, Should work well. Ive also never used fig but if I had some I'd be giving it a go over blackbutt only to see how it comes out. But blackbutt would also be excellent. I used to use it extensively when I was doing flooring. Off cuts of select grade and no gum veins were a welcome bonus after laying a new floor. I liked it because it didn't play havoc with my sinuses like brush box and a few others did when sanding the floor.
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Post by shayneh2006 on Jul 24, 2014 19:37:34 GMT 10
Well this has been an eye opener, that's for sure....
..... and I hope I have done it right.
I just pulled the Salmon out of the salt/sugar mix (that was now half of what looked like slurry). and the fillets have been transformed into, well, size reduced, stiffish and skin well pulled back.
Got it in the first of two 30 min water soaks
Will post a pic soon, but it kindof looks different to what you showed once out of the cure Mick.
Shayne
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Post by chrisg on Jul 24, 2014 20:05:53 GMT 10
I would have thought Shayne that tails would actually be damned brilliant for this. A long, long story but some (alright a lot, trying to ignore my calendar age years ago I ended up stuck in Fairbanks, Alaska, for several weeks. The forces can send you strange places with silly agendas, mine took maybe three days to complete but no transport for three more weeks. If you want to be bored Fairbanks in winter is a good choice, especially if you expected to be busy and had limited other entertainment, even neglected to pack more than a couple of books and the choices locally were - limited. I ended up chatting with some Inuits and long story short spent a few days with them. They were successful in catching some rather monstrous salmon, most of which was consumed rather quickly but the tails, seemed similar in size to those you have, were put aside to smoke. Interesting process, the smoker was a re-purposed ammo box, the medium was some dried brackeny stuff and they just lit a smudge fire in the bottom and put the fillets on a bodged up rack over the fire and put the lid on ajar then went off to do something else. If you know much about the Inuit that was probably rather arcane, dunno, I was busier messing around with some kids on sleds They came back a few hours later, hauled out the salmon and stuck it in their "cold room" a tin kennel sort of, behind the hut. I had to go off for a few days to do something fascinating like count the wings on our aircraft for London and when I went back I took along some crackers and cream cheese from the PX. To my surprise that was something new to them for eating smoked salmon Location can influence your memories of food but I'd swear it was some of the best smoked salmon I've ever tasted and WAY to much for a single sitting of about six folk. Be interested to hear your take on your try-out Cheers
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Post by smokey on Jul 24, 2014 21:59:12 GMT 10
Slurry sounds right. Press through Shayne It will be OK What would you look like if you were packed in salt and sugar for 24 hours, By god Man, snap out of it and soldier on. The pellicule ,,, all will become clear,,,,,,, slap
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Post by Gus65 on Jul 24, 2014 22:58:10 GMT 10
Mine looked different at that stage also but it turned out good. Especially when it's wet.
Lighting, camera type, screen all make it look different to real life.
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Post by shayneh2006 on Jul 25, 2014 10:34:50 GMT 10
Great story Chris
A slurry, I gather that now, as the salt would be pulling moisture out of the fish.
I have decided to use Tassie Oak, as, It is used to smoke Salmon in all of places....... Tasmania
www.jordoschopshop.com/smoked-salmon-5.html
That, as well as I have a good supply of it here
Shayne
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Post by smokey on Jul 25, 2014 12:11:07 GMT 10
Ive just realised you said Tassie Oak and not blackbutt Still a good choice
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Post by shayneh2006 on Jul 25, 2014 16:58:42 GMT 10
Ive just realised you said Tassie Oak and not blackbutt Still a good choice No probs Mick
Well, I am done.
Did a 7 hour cold smoke and used a combination of Tassie OaK/Beech....... Well, cheated on the Beech as my snake was Beech Charcoal.
Will post some pics later, after my german BBQ
Shayne
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Post by smokey on Jul 25, 2014 17:53:07 GMT 10
German BBQ ? What have been up to
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Post by shayneh2006 on Jul 25, 2014 19:21:24 GMT 10
German BBQ ? What have been up to Just done Mick,,, see here aussiecue.freeforums.net/thread/226/german-night
Right, heres the pics of the Salmon.
Mick, if there is too many pics swamping down your thread, let me know and I will prune them back
As said earlier, I was left with a minor slurry in my cure mix.
Then a back to back 30 min soak in fridge cold fresh water
And right about now, was when I was getting worried. My Salmon went from limp to, well, pretty stiff. I had no Scotch Whiskey (not a big fan of it) but instead used what I like, American Bourbon Whiskey, and top shelf stuff too, selecting Booker Noe's, Bookers
I was pretty happy with the way the cold smoking went, being so cold in the Sydney region today, my temps stayed in the 60-75F range.
And 7 hours later, a happy chappy.
The smell of this Salmon is amazing......
Took Micks advice and sprinkled with some dried Dill, sealed and will process in 48hrs.
Thanks for sharing this Mick
Cheers A65 for your input as well
I have stayed true to the recipe as possible. All ingredients (apart from liquor) are as set. Cold smoke was + 1 hour (no big deal really).
Cheers Pal,,,, cant wait to get stuck into this gear.
I will be thinking about it when A65 is hooking into his tomorrow night, that's for sure.
Shayne
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Post by chrisg on Jul 25, 2014 19:36:29 GMT 10
Lookeedagood to me SWMBO had advised me that a seafood risotto is required this weekend which gives me a good excuse to venture outside the immediate area where there are no real fishmongers (Coles does not count) and rustle up some good fresh seafood. Took the opportunity to show her this and hinted that a simple smoke rig and some tails... The jury is out Packet smoked salmon just does not compare Cheers
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Post by smokey on Jul 25, 2014 19:43:07 GMT 10
Another perfect real smoked salmon. Looking back in the OP I didn't take a pic of them in the slurry, but rather after I soaked them. What you had was normal , They stiffen up like boards and get all slimy. When you open them up, Slice thin from head to tail and on an angle after you have removed the skin or slice down and angle off the knife to remove the slither from the skin. Make sure you freeze some, It changes the structure in a positive way when defrosted. The texture becomes softer and more of what we associate smoked salmon to be. That and any smoke bitterness seems to leave. You will know what to do after the rest time and tasting. If it's sharp, then slice, cryovac and freeze for as long as you like.
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Post by shayneh2006 on Jul 25, 2014 19:58:49 GMT 10
They stiffen up like boards and get all slimy. Yes, and that's what I forgot too mention....
Slimy....
I experienced this, not on the flesh side, but on the skin side, about mid way through the smoking when checked.
Each fillet was wiped (skin side) with a paper towel to eradicate the slim, which it did.
No problems there on after.
Your idea of freezing....... I am not going to mess around with this, eating it early and will take on your advice.
All will be sliced, portioned, vac sealed, frozen then later enjoyed.
I will however taste test a bit and if the way I did it has positive results, will follow up with a soon to be larger batch, to keep us going during the harder times (Summer)
Shayne
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Post by smokey on Jul 25, 2014 20:20:36 GMT 10
That's interesting, Maybe it had something to do with them being tails ? I don't recall slime during the smoking as they are pretty much surface dried before they go in. Im thinking fat under the skin. But it still worked and is something to watch for sure.
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