It is that time a year again. Fishing season in Alaska. There’s many things you can do to preserve your tech but my favorite is smoking them.
These are pink salmon. We catch around 120 of them a year in Valdez Alaska. These are hatchery fish but spend 2-3 years in the open ocean maturing.
First step is to catch the fish. This is the funnest part minus the 5 hour drive to get to our fishing hole. We fish in the bay so snagging is legal. I fish with my wife and kids they all love it.
This picture is of me and my first salmon o
f the 2021 season. Caught on July 16 around 8pm. It is a medium size female.
Next step is to clean your fish. We prefer to fillet them to save on room. This step is Boring so I don’t take pictures of it. Then we cut the fillets into strips. Like this
Wash them off real good than into the super Secret brine mixture. Really it is just brown sugar and sea salt
We put 6-8 layers in that giant bowl and put it in the fridge for at least 24 hour but not more than 48 hours. It draws a lot of the liquid from the fish. And will look like syrup when you pull the fish out. Rinse the chunks off under cold water, and place them on your smoker racks. Allow them to dry for 20-30 min. Than into the smoker they go.
This is the salmon’s home for the next 2 1/2 to 3 hours. At a temp under 170 I try to keep my smoker at 160 for this smoke. The fish is ready when it changes color and is kinda hard to the touch. This is all a personal preference of how you like your fish. This batch was smoked with cherry wood pellets. I have found any fruit wood or alder work great for salmon. Avoid hickory, mesquite, oak and pretty much any hard woods for your fish.
The last step Is keep the kids from eating it all before it hits the freezer. We prefer to put around 15 pieces in a vaccine seal bad than freeze it for later it will keep for up to 3 years this way after that gets pretty freezer burnt.
Hope you enjoyed this and have a great day