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Smoked Salmon Drying Time

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harrisbuck
harrisbuck Posts: 21
edited September 2011 in EggHead Forum

Hey guys.  Just finished a 24 hour brine and now I'm in the drying phase.  My question is.....what is the minimum and maximum amount of time I should dry these.  If I dry for 24 hours that makes my slow smoke start tomorrow night and I'm not real crazy about that idea.

Any help would be appreciated.

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  • harrisbuck
    harrisbuck Posts: 21
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    Thanks for your response Tweev.  But I have no idea what you're talking about.  I'm drying it uncovered in the Fridge.  I'm just looking for min and max time in hours I should dry it before I put on smoker.

    Thanks.

     

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  • Hillbilly-Hightech
    Hillbilly-Hightech Posts: 966
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    @harrisbuck - According to Alton Brown, he suggests 1-3 hours. 

    However, I have heard folks drying for 4 or more hours. 

    How long did you brine, and what did you use??  If it was a wet brine & you let it soak for 24 hrs, then to be on the safe side I'd go w/ the longer drying time (4-5 hrs).  Likewise, if you used a shorter brine time, I'd maybe dry for 2-3 hrs (sorry to Alton, but I think 1 hr is just too short)... ;)
    Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup... Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee
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  • Hillbilly-Hightech
    Hillbilly-Hightech Posts: 966
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    P.S.  Just to be fair to Alton, I just read through his entire recipe, which can be found here: 

    http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/smoked-salmon-recipe/index.html

    And I see that he used a dry brine (what he's calling the "cure"), which, I'm assuming, is why he said that the drying time could be 1-3 hrs. 

    So, with that being said - general recommendations: 

    dry brine = 1-3 hours of drying time

    wet brine = 3-5 hours of drying time.

    Anyone have any other recommendations?
    Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup... Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend. - Bruce Lee
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  • LDD
    LDD Posts: 1,225
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    I don't know.. but I hope you'll post some pics of the process
    context is important :)
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  • Bayarad
    Bayarad Posts: 313
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    I think the pellicle is the film that accumulates at the surface of the fish as it dries... Consists of the fish's natural oil and is great for absorbing smoke flavor...if I'm wrong someone will correct me I'm sure!
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  • Bayarad
    Bayarad Posts: 313
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    And I would dry it no more than 2 or 3 hours and should be good to go!
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  • harrisbuck
    harrisbuck Posts: 21
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    Thanks for all the help. 

    The last one I did I let it dry for 12 hours or so and it was great.  I was just curious if it would matter if I did it longer.  At any rate, I used a combo of Soy Sauce, Water, Dry White Wine, Kosher Salt and other spices for the 24 hour brine.  I think its important to brine as much as possible to get the salty taste (if you like salt as much as we do).

    I let this one dry for about 10 hours.  Its on the smoker now at around 180 degrees for hopefully about 10 hours or so.  I'll post some pics if I can think of it.  The neighbors are jealous already.  :) 

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