I've been making lox for more than 30 years. A few points: Kosher salt is not iodized. The grains are also bulkier than fine table salt. Gram for gram, there is more "salt" in the table variety than the less dense Kosher. You wind up with a VERY salty, almost inedible piece of fish, AND it has a ghastly metallic taste to it. I made the mistake once. Never again! Next whisk(e)y. I like to pat the stuff directly onto the fish before the brine mix goes on. It is absorbed almost immediately, and evenly. I've used scotch, Irish, vodka, danish aquavit in the past, scotch is the best. You want smokey, but scotches from Islay are too smoky, Next, you use a whopping amount of brine! You don't need that much to get the same results, and again, more salt, more salty fish. I do a slightly more 1:1 of salt to sugar; more salt than sugar, and I split the sugar into half white, half dark brown. Your pepper proportion is great. Pepper helps preserve the fish, as does the salt, in addition to imparting flavor. Regardless, after the fish is fully covered, and less tends to give a better flavor and texture in the end, whatever is left, put it in a dark, air tight bottle, and save it for the next round. It doesn't go bad. Great lesson. I have to go now, and set up my smoker.
you are so right about the air drying, it forms a "pellicle", the dry tacky surface. Its what the smoke sticks to. Essential step, and another great video my man.
I’ve been smoking salmon for years, but I really appreciate the effort you put into this video/recipe. Haven’t ever used whiskey but sounds interesting🤓 Having a diabetic in the home, I’ve gradually reduced the sugar content in my recipe (to 1.5 teaspoons per 1/2 cup salt). Thought we would but haven’t missed the extra sugar at all. Thanks again for your efforts!
I have an older Traeger with P settings. When I fire it up I leave the lid open until the heavy starting smoke stops, takes about 5 minutes then put the lid down. Should be shorter time than putting the lid down right away then waiting for the spike and then waiting for to settle at smoke temps.
I just ate some vacuum- bagged smoked salmon I made last season (carquinez strait run) that got lost in the back of the fridge drawer. Just smoked and vacuum bagged. It wasn't bad, both my daughters liked it too so I know it wasn't just me. Probably 7 months later. Just sayin. Smell it first, if it smells good, try it, if it tastes good, don't even worry about it.
just remember to let all cooked food reach room temp before placing inside a sealed bag and then the fridge. both the condensation, and also the insulation effect of the colder outer layers of food in the fridge that keeps the center warm longer, will significantly increase its perishability. otherwise great job.
You are a good cook! Very careful with each ingredient and it shows the passion. Plus you know what you are doing and each step presentation it's cool to watch. Your deep voice it's calm to listen too. So much patience to wait hours to marinate them and dry and finally to cook them. Must be so good! :) A fresh fish is always a win!
Love all your videos - I’m vicariously fishing through you. One question tho - that salmon looks like a sockeye to me. Dark red flesh, not pink like a silver … is that really a coho?
Yes, absolutely a Coho. Every coho I’ve caught has that darker red color very similar to chinooks. Plus, he caught this fish. Would be hard to mistake the two.
Interesting how some people r worried to about the smoke being too cold when cold smoking. Or smoking it for too long. I smoke mine for 25-30hrs at 50-60° and still dont know someone who can beat my recipe
I keep learning from you sir. Please keep doing what you do. I also admire the fact that you carry a firearm for bears, cats and potential two legged predators as well.
I'll let you know how it tastes on salmon from the Kenai River. :) Grams? Are you sure you made this yourself? Who uses grams in the US? We use 3 cups Brown Sugar, 1 cup Kosher and 1/4 cup pepper up here. For an interesting kick, try it with 2 cups Brown Sugar, 1 cup dried Molasses, 1 cup Kosher salt and 1/4 cup black pepper............That's MY secret recipe. It gives it that "whisky" flavor.
Haha maybe the Smokey whiskey would make it “double smoked”..? You can definitely vacuum seal and freeze. I’ve also vacuum sealed, then briefly boiled to sterilize and kept in the fridge for several weeks.
I haven't tried leaving the brine one! But I do suppose it might end up way too salty. Even with washing it off, it is as salty as I'd like it. But feel free to experiment! 👍 Glad you're enjoying the videos. I think it's cool that so many locals are watching. I haven't tried Point No Point yet, but hear it's good!
Awesome cant wait just about and other week or so the king should be showing up in nisqually then my fishing starts can wait but again your doing great job bud keep it up
I am new to the world of smoking so I'm reaching out to try new things. One thing I heard on another video was to dedicate a smoker to fish because everything you put in it after will have a fish presence. Do you have any incite on that?
I know that's definitely the case for deep fryer oils, but that's the first I've ever heard of a fish dedicated smoker. With the amout of fish my family used to eat and smoke, as well as smoking other land based critters. I either was used to whatever mild fish presence there was and didnt notice it, or it might not be too big of a problem to begin with. Just make sure to have a good drip pan setup, and clean that and whatever grates or hangers you use throughly every time. Buildup of fish oils in the carbon on the grates could potentially transfer more fish flavor to other meats through direct contact.
The ratio I use is 1 cup kosher salt to 4 cups brown sugar . That's for 1 pnd or 50 pnds. Just make sure you put a fan on the fish after you take em out of the brine.
A better way to take out all the air in the zip loc bag is to zip it not all the way at least to have a hole big enough to put a straw in there it’s a better and safer and faster way to do it without using a machine u may suck up some juices but it won’t hurt lol
Send me some of your whiskey smoked salmon for me to try , and I'll tell you if it was worth all that extra effort ? L O L , It sure looks delicious !!!
Great video and thanks for sharing, but I don’t consider pellet stoves to be smokers! Traegers suck use real fire real wood otherwise you’re smoking food with sawdust from pallets and scrap wood! Yuk!
I've been making lox for more than 30 years. A few points: Kosher salt is not iodized. The grains are also bulkier than fine table salt. Gram for gram, there is more "salt" in the table variety than the less dense Kosher. You wind up with a VERY salty, almost inedible piece of fish, AND it has a ghastly metallic taste to it. I made the mistake once. Never again! Next whisk(e)y. I like to pat the stuff directly onto the fish before the brine mix goes on. It is absorbed almost immediately, and evenly. I've used scotch, Irish, vodka, danish aquavit in the past, scotch is the best. You want smokey, but scotches from Islay are too smoky, Next, you use a whopping amount of brine! You don't need that much to get the same results, and again, more salt, more salty fish. I do a slightly more 1:1 of salt to sugar; more salt than sugar, and I split the sugar into half white, half dark brown. Your pepper proportion is great. Pepper helps preserve the fish, as does the salt, in addition to imparting flavor. Regardless, after the fish is fully covered, and less tends to give a better flavor and texture in the end, whatever is left, put it in a dark, air tight bottle, and save it for the next round. It doesn't go bad. Great lesson. I have to go now, and set up my smoker.
Great info!! Thank you!
Fully agree👍
you are so right about the air drying, it forms a "pellicle", the dry tacky surface. Its what the smoke sticks to. Essential step, and another great video my man.
I’ve been smoking salmon for years, but I really appreciate the effort you put into this video/recipe.
Haven’t ever used whiskey but sounds interesting🤓
Having a diabetic in the home, I’ve gradually reduced the sugar content in my recipe (to 1.5 teaspoons per 1/2 cup salt). Thought we would but haven’t missed the extra sugar at all.
Thanks again for your efforts!
Just made this recipe, and I gotta say, this is an excellent recipe with an excllent outcome!! Thanks for sharing the recipe
Sweet! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe. It's been my go-to for a long time now! Making a batch for Christmas today!
Whatever you do, don’t use fireball as the whiskey😂😂 cinnamon does not give it a good flavor
LOL that is solid advice right there 🤣
I have an older Traeger with P settings. When I fire it up I leave the lid open until the heavy starting smoke stops, takes about 5 minutes then put the lid down. Should be shorter time than putting the lid down right away then waiting for the spike and then waiting for to settle at smoke temps.
I just ate some vacuum- bagged smoked salmon I made last season (carquinez strait run) that got lost in the back of the fridge drawer. Just smoked and vacuum bagged. It wasn't bad, both my daughters liked it too so I know it wasn't just me. Probably 7 months later. Just sayin. Smell it first, if it smells good, try it, if it tastes good, don't even worry about it.
just remember to let all cooked food reach room temp before placing inside a sealed bag and then the fridge. both the condensation, and also the insulation effect of the colder outer layers of food in the fridge that keeps the center warm longer, will significantly increase its perishability. otherwise great job.
I checked the comments for this comment lol
You are a good cook! Very careful with each ingredient and it shows the passion.
Plus you know what you are doing and each step presentation it's cool to watch. Your deep voice it's calm to listen too.
So much patience to wait hours to marinate them and dry and finally to cook them. Must be so good! :)
A fresh fish is always a win!
I just saw this! Thank you so much for the kind words! It really is delicious 😋
I personally use a yoder 1500.. I can tell that’s a real salmon look at the beautiful reddish color
Use kosher salt :) If you use iodized salt, it can add a metallic taste.
Looks amazing bud you have made me sooooo hungry now lol I am going fishing tomorrow to get some salmon lol 🤣
Love all your videos - I’m vicariously fishing through you. One question tho - that salmon looks like a sockeye to me. Dark red flesh, not pink like a silver … is that really a coho?
Yes, absolutely a Coho. Every coho I’ve caught has that darker red color very similar to chinooks. Plus, he caught this fish. Would be hard to mistake the two.
Ever use brandy ? Also what kind of whiskey did you use ?
yup trying this next. Great video
Just made some last night again...... Damn it's good.... Smoking the collars from now on too!
Gr8 vid. You should try a cold smoke and see the difference!!!
Great vid man cant wait to try it. I dig the catch and cooks man
Thank you Mark! You will love the video coming in a couple days..... I will happily do more catch & “instant cooks” for you.
Rain? In Washington?? Go on!
That salmon looks good!
I love the catch and cooks 👍🏼 keep them up
Piri tour
good video bro , I wonder if I can do this with any other fish ? tide lines
Thank you! Only one way to find out....! 🐟 Let me know how it goes
Yes sir you can do it with trout , steelhead trout or salmon !!! Any fish or any meat !!!
Dang. It’s so weird not seeing you using your famous Danish Sea Salt
danish sea salt gang does not approve :@
Nice menu yum yum
Thank you! Tasty...
How have I not seen this episode before?! Smoked salmon is ASMR for me…
Diggin way deep! 😂 🤤
@@NWFishingSecrets I only discovered you this year, so we got lots of old episodes to catch up on…
Interesting how some people r worried to about the smoke being too cold when cold smoking. Or smoking it for too long. I smoke mine for 25-30hrs at 50-60° and still dont know someone who can beat my recipe
Wow. Now that is amazing. So you just smoke it at that temp for 25-30 hours and it’s good to go? No need to hit 140degrees F?
OMG bud looks amazing I love smoked salmon
Good looking boat man!:)
Thanks! I'm actually part of a boat club. Way cheaper than owning one of those puppies!
Interesting how does boat club work?
I keep learning from you sir. Please keep doing what you do. I also admire the fact that you carry a firearm for bears, cats and potential two legged predators as well.
Just saw this comment! Thank you 🎣
I'll let you know how it tastes on salmon from the Kenai River. :) Grams? Are you sure you made this yourself? Who uses grams in the US? We use 3 cups Brown Sugar, 1 cup Kosher and 1/4 cup pepper up here. For an interesting kick, try it with 2 cups Brown Sugar, 1 cup dried Molasses, 1 cup Kosher salt and 1/4 cup black pepper............That's MY secret recipe. It gives it that "whisky" flavor.
looks good
Love your videos
Thank you! 👊🎣
Kosher salt is pure and clean, other salts have anti caking ingredients or iodide
You probably could put the glaze in a spray bottle.
Alright life lets see how my trout does with jamison. Gotta try my new camp chef smoker yayah 😜
Lmao
Like the vid so far
Are we talking American whiskey or a smokey Isla malt from Scotland. And, can you freeze the end result once it is vacuum sealed?
Haha maybe the Smokey whiskey would make it “double smoked”..? You can definitely vacuum seal and freeze. I’ve also vacuum sealed, then briefly boiled to sterilize and kept in the fridge for several weeks.
Damn clean that smoker lol
Any ideas on how I could use a gas grill or charcoal type to dry it out? Or make shift hillbilly smoker lol? I am serious though
smoker pan
Would it ruin it if you didn’t wash the brine off or would it be an overload of flavors ?
But I really enjoy your videos I live in port orchard and fish a lot of the same spots have you tried point no point ? Kingston
I haven't tried leaving the brine one! But I do suppose it might end up way too salty. Even with washing it off, it is as salty as I'd like it. But feel free to experiment! 👍 Glad you're enjoying the videos. I think it's cool that so many locals are watching. I haven't tried Point No Point yet, but hear it's good!
I’ve tried the no rinse once….really really salty…no edible
Damn that salmon looks like fire
Can use a straw to suck out the remaining air to pretty much vacuum seal your product
Please pick me, I love the Washington hoodie!!!by the way I love your videos I have watched almost all of them!!!
Another great video keep it up
Thank you Jason! Working on a couple big ones that should be done this and next week!
Awesome cant wait just about and other week or so the king should be showing up in nisqually then my fishing starts can wait but again your doing great job bud keep it up
Jason Gaspar can’t wait for Kings as well. Never fished the Nisqually, maybe we can go together!
Good cooker brother, I’m chef too :)
Is that a Jeanneau 795?
I am new to the world of smoking so I'm reaching out to try new things. One thing I heard on another video was to dedicate a smoker to fish because everything you put in it after will have a fish presence. Do you have any incite on that?
I know that's definitely the case for deep fryer oils, but that's the first I've ever heard of a fish dedicated smoker. With the amout of fish my family used to eat and smoke, as well as smoking other land based critters. I either was used to whatever mild fish presence there was and didnt notice it, or it might not be too big of a problem to begin with. Just make sure to have a good drip pan setup, and clean that and whatever grates or hangers you use throughly every time. Buildup of fish oils in the carbon on the grates could potentially transfer more fish flavor to other meats through direct contact.
Let’s say I want to do 50 lbs what’s the ratio trick you use ?
The ratio I use is 1 cup kosher salt to 4 cups brown sugar . That's for 1 pnd or 50 pnds. Just make sure you put a fan on the fish after you take em out of the brine.
delicious
Thanks! It's my go-to till this day 🤤
Did you put sugar cubes or something in the whiskey? I’ve never heard of that?!?
That's whiskey stones :)
Black salmon hoodie merch.
A better way to take out all the air in the zip loc bag is to zip it not all the way at least to have a hole big enough to put a straw in there it’s a better and safer and faster way to do it without using a machine u may suck up some juices but it won’t hurt lol
The only difference with the regular salt and kosher salt is the granular size that’s all
I gotta know....what kinda whiskey did you use ?
ha! that one might have been with Longbranch. What "would" you use? 🤣
@@NWFishingSecrets the one and only Captain Morgan!
@@ryancase2013 that's rum you idiot.
Yes!!!
How did 1000 gs of brown sugar turn into 500 gs?
I’m bout to get a new camera and northwest fishing secrets is it OK if I do fishing videos like you
do an episode on removing pin bones from a fillet lmao i cringe at the bones lol
Back in the day when you didn’t use danish sea salt.😂
Oh wait now that I started watching the video I realized why.
Why was the salmom salty ?
Insane
Bourbon?
The whiskey flavour is marginal if any at all. Just sip it while your making it and don't waste the money.
You didn’t take pin bones out
Geezus like 3 days of prep from start to finish..
all it s great .except the cup of weski that it forbidding to drink it as i m Muslim men ...but i love solemn fish meal
Send me some of your whiskey smoked salmon for me to try , and I'll tell you if it was worth all that extra effort ? L O L , It sure looks delicious !!!
My man put 303 grams 😂
Gram conversions anyone? :-)
The rinsing is not really necessary.
A
1st
troy hooper lol 2nd!!
Great video and thanks for sharing, but I don’t consider pellet stoves to be smokers! Traegers suck use real fire real wood otherwise you’re smoking food with sawdust from pallets and scrap wood! Yuk!
That knife doesnt seem to sharp.