Title: Smoking Salmon and Trout Part Vi - Scotch Smoking
Categories: Seafood Smoke Info
Yield: 1 Text file

How to Scotch smoke: the properly salted and cured salmon now needs smoke color and flavor and sufficient drying for good taste and texture. Often the fish needs more drying time than smoking time to avoid an overly smoky flavor. In smokers with supplementary heat drying can continue after smoking at the same temp -85 deg F. In smokers without supplementary heat use a small clear fire with as little smoke as possible. The amount of color depends not on the amount of smoke deposited but the temp.

Smoking Sequence: -Smoke for sufficient color. -Dry further without smoke to firm up if necessary. -Give the fish a polished look. ~Sweat the fish to firm up. -Refrigerate for further firming.

Smoking:- In a forced draft smoker, smoke temp at 85 F, time 10-12 hrs, smoke density medium. in a natural draft smoker, 85 deg, up to 24 hrs depending on the weather [you get stronger updrafts at 85 deg on cool days- if the ambient temp is 85 or more the smoker will have NO updraft!], smoke density light to medium.

Drying: Forced- 1-3 hrs at 85 without smoke. Natural-up to 24 hours at 85 with as clear a flame as possible so as not to over smoke.

Polish: Give the fish a moderate burst of heat [100 deg f] for 15 min to bring the oil to the surface.

Weight Loss: From salting and smoking/drying should run around 18% for fatty fish up to 25% for lean.

Sweating: For fish that are still not firm enough, sweat the fish by leaving in a cool place 24 hrs. Moisture will come to the surface. Then continue drying in the smoker.

Refrigerate: Difficult fish improve by letting the fish condition a few days in the refrigerator unwrapped before slicing.

Storage: Cool the fish before wrapping. Even at 85 the fish will sweat if wrapped before cooling and spoil quickly. Freeze any surplus as Scotch smoked fish is still perishable.

Serving: Slice very thinly. Serve with rye or pumpernickel bread and unsalted butter or cream cheese. Pass around lemon wedges and the pepper grinder. Garnish with sliced or grated hard cooked egg, paper thin onion slices and capers, country ham slices and home made flavored mayonnaises.

Extracted from: Smoking Salmon & Trout by Jack Whelan. Published by: Airie Publishing, Deep Bay, B.C. ISBN: 0-919807-00-3 Posted by: Jim Weller

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