Help with pellicle formation please?

[clarep]

Hi - I'm trying my first cold smoked salmon. Unfortunately, I had to be away the night I put it in the fridge for the pellicle to form. I was worried it wouldn't dry as all the info i've read says well ventilated & maybe use a fan. Well I used a fan with the fridge door open & now it looks too dry - is there anything I can do to ressurrect it or have I mucked it up completely?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
clare

[Batman]

Did you by any chance weigh the salmon before it went into the fridge to dry? If so you can calculate the weight loss, mine is normally 6-9% but commercially it can be as much as 15%.

I doubt that you have dried it too much just overnight. The last side I dry cured felt very dry on the surface but was lovely and moist after smoking and resting. So I would go ahead and just smoke it and then enjoy.

[wheels]

I'm with Tony (Batman) on this one. It should be OK. Fish does look very dry at this stage. The 15% figure he gives is also the minimum overall weight loss, after smoking, that commercial producers generally require for product stability and safety. My own, and other members, experience is that most of this will be achieved by the salting/drying rather than the smoking.

[saucisson]

If after smoking you're worried it is too dry on the surface, wrap it in clingfilm, or better still vacpack it, and the moisture within the fish should re-equilibrate so some extent,

Dave