There was an abundance of Coho salmon, or Silvers as they are also known, in the late summer and early fall this year. In fact, there were so many in the terminus areas where they school before heading up creeks and rivers to spawn that Alaska Fish and Game increased the catch limit in these areas. We decided this profusion plus some good weather in the forecast meant it was time to restock our smoked salmon. We took our boat out for a few hours one day and caught a couple nice sized fish and then hubby went with friends to their cabin and they limited in just four hours. Now all we had to do is process all that fish.
We – and when I say we at this point, it’s really the husband – gill and gut salmon on the boat and then keep them on ice overnight. They rigor and then relax and then it’s time for fillet day. For the record, I can clean and fillet fish but I don’t have to – he does it so often and would rather just do it himself. Who am I to complain?
We save the heads and filleted out bodies for crab bait. That is true recycling – Alaska style!
After the fish is filleted and cut in to portions – some into butterflies we’ll freeze for later dinners and the rest into pieces and strips for smoking – it goes into the brine of brown sugar and salt. We brine in an ice chest to keep the fish cool.
Eight hours is the max time for the brine – go longer and it will be too salty. And that wet slimy brine doesn’t have any additional water – just the moisture from the fish mixing with the dry ingredients.
After the brine time, the fish is double rinsed. It gets dipped into the first bucket of cold water and then into a second bucket of fresh water before it’s laid out on the smoker racks.
It’s always a question of whether we’ve guessed the amount right to fill the two smokers we have. Nailed it this time with four fairly large cohos. The fish is brushed or sprayed with one of our secret ingredients and we like to sprinkle part of it with cracked pepper.
Now it’s time for the fish to air dry and glaze over in front of a fan. Usually we plan to do this overnight so we were outside rinsing and laying out the fish in the early evening – just in time for the no-see-ums to satisfy their blood thirst on us.
And finally, it’s time!! The racks are popped into the smokers. I know, I know – one of these days we’ll build our own custom-sized smoker but for now the Big Chiefs will do. We use mostly alder chips and this year, hubs got the brilliant idea of soaking the chips in some spiced rum for a little different spin. And once again we wait – this is not a quick process so it’s important to plan your time right.
Every few hours, the pans of chips are replenished to keep a good smoke going. Tip … be sure your doors and windows are closed. While it smells good outside, it will become cloying when you’re trapped with it in your house for hours.
The question is always how long to smoke – that really depends on how cold it is outside and how big your pieces of fish are but plan for at least 8 hours. In this case, it took 13 hours by the time all the fish was done – we removed some of the smaller pieces after about 9 hours. And this would be the point where we were wearing headlamps in the Alaska fall darkness and resolve to cut the pieces smaller next time. Finally, all the fish is out of the smokers and into the fridge.
The last step is packaging it all up. The Foodsaver gets a workout as it all gets vacuum packed and then into the freezer it goes.
When we head south, we take along a freezer box full for friends and family. In our house, hubby will make his smoked salmon dip for most parties or holiday dinner – perfect with some wheat thins. And we’ll pull out a package occasionally and eat it as is or with cream cheese and hot pepper jelly or capers and minced onions on crackers. We have friends who eat it with Gouda cheese and pickled garlic. The first thing I made however, was an Alaskan omelet – cream cheese, chives from the garden, and smoked salmon. It’s perfect for a Sunday breakfast or a evening meal.
But those strips – those wonderful belly strips where all the good fats make the fish so moist – those are just for us and are eaten right from the fingers with no embellishments!
We – and when I say we at this point, it’s really the husband – gill and gut salmon on the boat and then keep them on ice overnight. They rigor and then relax and then it’s time for fillet day. For the record, I can clean and fillet fish but I don’t have to – he does it so often and would rather just do it himself. Who am I to complain?
We save the heads and filleted out bodies for crab bait. That is true recycling – Alaska style!
After the fish is filleted and cut in to portions – some into butterflies we’ll freeze for later dinners and the rest into pieces and strips for smoking – it goes into the brine of brown sugar and salt. We brine in an ice chest to keep the fish cool.
Eight hours is the max time for the brine – go longer and it will be too salty. And that wet slimy brine doesn’t have any additional water – just the moisture from the fish mixing with the dry ingredients.
After the brine time, the fish is double rinsed. It gets dipped into the first bucket of cold water and then into a second bucket of fresh water before it’s laid out on the smoker racks.
It’s always a question of whether we’ve guessed the amount right to fill the two smokers we have. Nailed it this time with four fairly large cohos. The fish is brushed or sprayed with one of our secret ingredients and we like to sprinkle part of it with cracked pepper.
Now it’s time for the fish to air dry and glaze over in front of a fan. Usually we plan to do this overnight so we were outside rinsing and laying out the fish in the early evening – just in time for the no-see-ums to satisfy their blood thirst on us.
And finally, it’s time!! The racks are popped into the smokers. I know, I know – one of these days we’ll build our own custom-sized smoker but for now the Big Chiefs will do. We use mostly alder chips and this year, hubs got the brilliant idea of soaking the chips in some spiced rum for a little different spin. And once again we wait – this is not a quick process so it’s important to plan your time right.
Every few hours, the pans of chips are replenished to keep a good smoke going. Tip … be sure your doors and windows are closed. While it smells good outside, it will become cloying when you’re trapped with it in your house for hours.
The question is always how long to smoke – that really depends on how cold it is outside and how big your pieces of fish are but plan for at least 8 hours. In this case, it took 13 hours by the time all the fish was done – we removed some of the smaller pieces after about 9 hours. And this would be the point where we were wearing headlamps in the Alaska fall darkness and resolve to cut the pieces smaller next time. Finally, all the fish is out of the smokers and into the fridge.
The last step is packaging it all up. The Foodsaver gets a workout as it all gets vacuum packed and then into the freezer it goes.
When we head south, we take along a freezer box full for friends and family. In our house, hubby will make his smoked salmon dip for most parties or holiday dinner – perfect with some wheat thins. And we’ll pull out a package occasionally and eat it as is or with cream cheese and hot pepper jelly or capers and minced onions on crackers. We have friends who eat it with Gouda cheese and pickled garlic. The first thing I made however, was an Alaskan omelet – cream cheese, chives from the garden, and smoked salmon. It’s perfect for a Sunday breakfast or a evening meal.
But those strips – those wonderful belly strips where all the good fats make the fish so moist – those are just for us and are eaten right from the fingers with no embellishments!
Alaskan RED 
Oh man……..my mouth is watering!! Wish I could get in on some of that.
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Lisa, what a stunning post – both the narrative and the photos – about smoking salmon. I’m always impressed with your blogging skills. I also love, love, love smoked salmon. It’s one of the things I miss about living in Alaska (among many, of course).
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