Fire it up

[misfish]

Tis the season.

2 quick ones this morning. Getting warm, so home, clean and get ready for the smoker. No selfies. 

[glen]

What did you catch them on? Now I’m hungry

Edited August 15, 2022 by glen

[CrowMan]

Looks delicious ! What species ?

What's in your brine mixture...just a straight salt and sugar mix, or a little somthin' somethin' blended in ?

I do an Indian Candy with Maple Syrup and Rye Whiskey...perfect with an nice hoppy Ale watching NFL on a Sunday afternoon. 

Edited August 15, 2022 by CrowMan

[misfish]

2 hours ago, glen said:

What did you catch them on? Now I’m hungry

Bead and skein. I was in yer neck of the woods.

 

2 hours ago, CrowMan said:

Looks delicious ! What species ?

What's in your brine mixture...just a straight salt and sugar mix, or a little somthin' somethin' blended in ?

I do an Indian Candy with Maple Syrup and Rye Whiskey...perfect with an nice hoppy Ale watching NFL on a Sunday afternoon. 

Salmon

Straight up Dark brown sugar 2 cups,3/4 cup sea salt. Will sit in the slurry for 6-7 hours, put on a rack ( tooth pick hanging ) in the fridge til morning, then in the smoker. I have glazed during the end of the smoke with many different things. I do not use whiskey. I like liqueurs pure. I have a nice pear one still from Ukraine from a good friend. Since half the batch will be for him,I am sure he will like that I used it.

Edited August 15, 2022 by misfish

[ketchenany]

At what stage do you start drinking the liqueurs? 

[misfish]

22 minutes ago, ketchenany said:

At what stage do you start drinking the liqueurs? 

Only one for me personally, but has been many years bud. Sambuca. A few coffee beans, blow out the flame and drink and chew.

[akaShag]

I do miss being down that way..........

[aplumma]

Wow 5 pots for $ 199.00 what a bargain........Smoked Salmon is pretty nice as well. 

 

Art

[Big Cliff]

8 hours ago, CrowMan said:

Looks delicious ! What species ?

What's in your brine mixture...just a straight salt and sugar mix, or a little somthin' somethin' blended in ?

I do an Indian Candy with Maple Syrup and Rye Whiskey...perfect with an nice hoppy Ale watching NFL on a Sunday afternoon. 

Please share your recipe for the Indian Candy. 

[akaShag]

I look forward to seeing CrowMan's recipe, but here is mine:

DOCTOR DOUG’S INDIAN CANDY

 

This stuff was originally called Squaw candy when I first tried it fifty years ago, then it became known as Indian candy, and now it is generally called candied salmon.  It’s all basically the same stuff.  The best is made from sockeye, in my view, and the runner-up is farmed Chilean steelhead that is available fairly regularly in the grocery store.  I have made it with coho, spring (chinook), and pink, but I am of the opinion that it would not work for lake trout (which is delicious smoked).

 

Thinner fillets work better than thicker fillets, but you work with what you have.  You can do whole fillets, or portions of fillets, and it is best to work with SKIN ON pieces.  Lay the pieces, skin down, in a Tupperware, glass or stainless container.  Not aluminum, it will apparently poison you.  Pieces may be pressed together but should not overlap to any significant degree.  Salt generously.  I prefer Hy’s Seasoning Salt without MSG, but any salt is fine.  Coarse sea salt would be good.  Then sprinkle a VERY heavy covering of brown sugar over them.  Dark demerara sugar is probably best, but any brown sugar will work.  Cover the container and put it in the fridge for overnight.  12 hours is about right, 24 would be the maximum. 

 

Spray your smoker racks with non-stick oil like Pam, put each rack on top of some paper towel, newspaper, etc (to catch drips) and arrange the fillets on the racks. Do not rinse the fillets first! Fillets should not be touching each other.  Leave these out for about an hour to form a pellicle on the surface of the fillets. 

 

Put the racks into your smoker, and start smoking.  The classic wood to use is hickory, but cherry also gives a nice flavour.  Do not under any circumstance use mesquite, it will over-power the flavour of your fish.  (Unless you prefer the taste of creosote, of course).  My Big Chief electric smoker does not have adjustable heat, it tops out at 165 to 175 F.  If you have a variable heat smoker, I would aim it at 175 to 185 F, but not higher than that.

 

After your first pan of smoke has finished, it is worth looking at your fish.  If your heat is correct, they will just be starting to colour up a bit but are clearly still pretty much raw.

 

IMPORTANT:  if you want a sweeter candy flavour, and/or if you want to make peppercorn candied salmon, you should do this now, or after the second pan of smoke.  For sweeter fish, brush the fillets with maple syrup.  For peppercorn, also sprinkle the fillets with coarse ground black pepper.  Then return the fish to the smoker.  For thin fillets, do it after the first pan of smoke, for thicker fillets do it after the second pan of smoke.

 

After the second pan of smoke, check your fish again.  Thin fillets may already be done.  If yes, they will be a nice dark golden colour, and you can easily take a piece off the skin with a fork.  Go ahead, taste it!  For thicker fillets, cooler smoking temperatures, and any number of variables, you may need to put the fish back into the smoker.  A third pan of smoke would be fine at this point, but I would not recommend more than 3 pans of smoke, or about 3 hours of actual smoking time.  If your fish is golden brown but not cooked through, transfer the pieces to a cookie sheet with a raised lip, lined with parchment paper, and finish in the oven at 200 F.  Allow to cool in an area with good air circulation. 

 

Indian Candy will keep for probably a couple weeks in the fridge if you don’t eat it first, and it freezes well if you make a big batch.  I like to wrap the pieces in parchment paper, then vacuum seal them.  I would not recommend keeping it for more than a year, maximum, in the freezer.

 

I do not have experience with pellet smokers or charcoal smokers, and limited experience with whole wood smokers.  Each smoker will be different in terms of smoke output and heat, so these are really guidelines to get you started.  Enjoy!

 

[ketchenany]

5 hours ago, misfish said:

Only one for me personally, but has been many years bud. Sambuca. A few coffee beans, blow out the flame and drink and chew.

Sumbuca is good but there is another! A bit pricy but you would fall for it. It goes with everything, on panettone, in espresso and even ice cream! 

[CrowMan]

That is basically my recipe as above...

Cut salmon or trout into pieces the size of a jumbo hot dog (skin on). Brine is 1 part kosher (pickling) salt, 1 part dark brown sugar, 1 part maple syrup. Let soak in brine for a minimum 12 hours, pat dry and then on a rack in the fridge (or a cool spot) for 2 to 4 hours (a "pellicle" should form on the fish) . Smoke on lowest heat possible with apple or cherry wood chips/pellets. Every 30 minutes or so brush fish with a mixture of half Rye Whiskey and half Maple Syrup.  Also sprinkle with coarse ground black pepper after the last basting. Will take from 2 to 3 hours, depending on thickness of fish pieces and temp of smoker. You are looking for an internal temperature of 165 F.

I have a Traeger pellet smoker...makes it real simple. It even has wi-fi...I can be out on my boat fishing while I control the smoking temp, and monitor the internal temp. Makes doing an 18 hour smoke with a full brisket easy-peasy. Best Christmas gift my kids ever gave me...

Edited August 16, 2022 by CrowMan

[misfish]

YUPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

Mighty fine,mighty fine

[CrowMan]

Can you say Pavlovian Response...I'm drooling..

[Snidley]

Yum. I used to get Indian Candy, among many other delicious things, from the Granville Island Market in Vancouver when I lived there. They used Spring or sometimes Coho for that Christmas treat. If you can get some the very best fish for smoking IMO is actually Arctic char. I used to have a deal with a fancy restaurant in Oakville where I would take their fish bellies of Char and Atlantic salmon and smoke them. I would give half back and keep the rest. They preferred the Atlantic, God bless them, and I kept the Char. It's lighter and sweeter than the salmon and it was probably too mild for candy (which i did not make myself). Unfortunately I made/ate so much the salt from brining gave me high blood pressure and I stopped making the stuff. It does taste amazing but if you find yourself nervous and agitated after consuming smoked food check your blood pressure. The brine can literally kill you over time.