Third Electric Smoking

4 Salmon Filets Wild Caught at 2 Lbs. each – Prep started the night before for Dry Cure Low Sodium Method. Yes, I said LOW Sodium.

Dry Brine Method – Sprinkle lightly with salt to taste only (this is a no rinse brining). You can add other spices like garlic powder, basil, thyme or black pepper. Put in 2 gallon plastic bag and place in refrigerator overnight. 

All Salmon Fillets with Dry Brine 18 hours in refrigerator and spices added before drying; 2 salmon with Basil, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder; 1 salmon with Nellies Lime Juice, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder; 1 salmon with Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder. After seasoning I let the salmon set on counter for an hour at 8% humidity 72*F in home. The surface dried to glazy-moist tacky (pellicle).

Start of 3^rd Smoke: The 4 Salmon Fillets above, 9 Elk Steaks marinated in our close friend MaryAnn’s Philippine Marinate (12 hours), 2 Hot Italian Sausage (raw, still frozen), 5 “Casual Gourmet” Chicken Sausage (comes pre-cooked, but still frozen).

I started the pre-heat @ 13:00 with RO water in pan and vent closed. Started all the meat at 13:30 at 120*F and added mesquite twig pieces. The wood chips are dry/dead branches from mesquite trees on my property. I don’t wet them.

Increase temp to 140*F add mesquite twig pieces @ 14:30.

Add mesquite at 15:30.

Increase temp to 175*F add mesquite twig pieces @ 16:30, three hours into the smoke.

Above: is a picture of the wood chips tray with mesquite twig pieces. Below: is the smoking wood chips chamber.

At 17:30, I opened the door to the smoker for the first time to install the temperature probe. The salmon did not look like I had expected it to look. The salmon has fat beads forming on top and is looking poached. Is it too much moisture?  Increase temp to 200*F, removed water tray, opened top vent and added mesquite twig pieces. The internal temp of the salmon is 150*F. The sausage is at 164*F.

Well I pulled it off. It was a moisture problem. I pulled everything at 18:30. The internal temperature on the salmon is 162*F and the sausage is at 176*F.

All the meat tastes awesome, but the salmon is incredibly amazing. It is flaky and very moist. The mesquite flavor is better than alder smoked salmon that I did years ago in the wood smoker. I flipped the fillets over on a platter and just lifted the skin off with just my fingers.

The elk chuck steaks were well done but very tender. Yes one is missing, yummm. This pick was hot from the smoker. The sausages wrinkled up as they cooled.