smoking at last!

[jenny_haddow]

Well, I finally fired up the Bradley this weekend, (Christmas present!) and filled it with two sides of salmon and a good quantity of haddock fillet.

All I can say is WOW!!!!!!

Jen

[welsh wizard]

Sounds Brilliant, well done - next time just before you put the salmon in the Bradley, drizzle some honey over the filletts - double WOW in our household.

Cheers WW

[Wilf]

Fired ours up Easter Sunday, Hot smoked a Chicken, a piece of Chilli Brisket and some spicy sausages, then had the sausages with a couple of beers outside while the rest finished off as it wasnt a bad day, roll on summer.....

[Fallow Buck]

Wiz I did what you suggested with the Honey on my salmon and it was really good. I gently warmed the honey and then brushed each fillet with two coats.

Hmmmmm!!! I need to do another one now!!

FB

[welsh wizard]

Hi FB - yep, honey and Salmon seem to go very well together, I suppose it is the sweetness cutting through the salt. I have also tried putting whiskey on the fillet before now and that is interesting!

OOI do you hang yours up or lay them flat for smoking?

Cheers WW

[saucisson]

I usually use some sugar, about 10g a kilo, when I cure it, I'll try it with honey instead next time.

Forecast is for 24 deg C at the weekend, what's the maximum weather temperature people cold smoke at ?

Dave

[jpj]

depending on where your smoker is housed
i use a large chimney style smoker, so we move things about and we cope all year round. high-summer upwards stops the smoking of cheese
can you smoke at night if it's a problem for you?

[saucisson]

I have a north facing corner that barely sees the light of day, much less any sunshine, that's where my smoker lives. That corner has been between -4.7 and +19.6 degrees C so far this year, I was just wondering if there is a temperature I should stop using it at.

Dave

[jpj]

any higher than 30c on the inside is a no-no
anything higher than 27 will need regular attention to monitor progress and possible problems

[Fallow Buck]

Wiz,

I used JD in my brine for the last batch and it was really nice. Not enough to be overpowering but just there

Jenny,

How did you do the smoked Haddock? I really liked it in a chowder annd thought if I catch any cod this year I might smoke some in a similar way.

Alternatively I could allways go to the market!!!

Rgds,
FB

[jenny_haddow]

FB

I did an 80% brine solution and left the haddock in for about half an hour, I left the salmon in for about 2 hours. Put it in the Bradley and smoked for about 3 hours. Here's a picture of a fillet which I shall turn into a smoked haddock risotto today. We had a kedgeree the other day which was good, but favourite is lightly cooked with a poached egg, one of the best breakfasts in the world IMHO.

Here's a picture of a fillet



I'm really impressed with how the smoker performs, so it's kippers this weekend.

Cheers

Jen

[jenny_haddow]

Ref: kippers.

Any tips on splitting them gratefully received

Thanks

Jen

[saucisson]

I take the herring and face it towards me, the right way up, place the tip of a sharp filleting knife just behind the head and cut the head in half towards the mouth. I think a purist would stop just short of cutting the head completely in half but my hamfists tend to go all the way. Then I turn it around and slice down alongside one set of ribs until the guts are exposed and hook them out, along with roe and milts if present, leaving the belly intact. I have a Tesco finest hand split Kipper in the freezer at the moment, I'll get it out and take some dissection photos if you would like to see what we should be aspiring to. Assuming a Tesco hand split kipper is what we should be aspiring to

Dave

[saucisson]

any higher than 30c on the inside is a no-no
anything higher than 27 will need regular attention to monitor progress and possible problems

Thanks jpj

Dave

[jenny_haddow]

Thanks Dave,

I have a tesco's finest in the freezer for reference. Your description is in invaluable though, I shall venture forth. Do you hang your kippers or smoke them flat? So far I've smoked everything on racks. I say so far, I've only had one go!

Jen