This weekend I went out and bought a new Big Chief Smoker to smoke up some of the silvers that I've been catching. What fun. I really like smoking salmon - I inhaled and didn't even cough.

Ok, I've got a couple of questions for all of you veteran smokers out there.

1. When I plug the smoker into a GFI outlet, it kicks the GFI instantly. I can plug anything and everything else into the GFI and it doesn't get tripped. I think this indicates a short. Has anyone else seen this? As a temporary workaround I plugged the smoker in via an extension cord to an internal outlet.

2. I brined the fish using the Luhr Jensen recipe that came with the smoker and then smoked it for approx. six hours. The fish is slightly moist in the thickest parts and relatively dry in the thinner parts. After smoking it I let it cool and then vaccuum packed it w/ my food saver. Ok, here's the question. How long will it keep? I'd like to mail some to family in Texas and am trying to figure out if I need to place it on dry ice or whether it'd be safe to just stick it in a box and mail it w/ instructions that say to put it in the fridge when it arrives.

Thanks!

Aaron

I have sent smoked fish from Washington to connectiut and florida and it has been rcvd in good condition and still good. For the brine do some searching on this website for a good brine mix. I have never tried the Luhr-Jensen brine but you should experiment with others my next brine is going to be a dry brine I here good things about them.

Try using 2lbs dark brown sugar to 1/2 cup kosher salt as a dry brine.Your freshly smoked salmon that has been vacum packed with a food saver should be just fine for shipping.I'd pay the extra for two day mail,you nailed it as to put in fridge after receiving.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

yes i had the same problem with my new smoker also i had to run an extension cord to inside the house it was really weird because i run all my christmas lights to the outlet that tripped with the smoker good luck

never had that problem with my two big chiefs. I run them both out of the same outlet and have only had the breaker trip once and I smoke alot of fish

as far as brine, this is what I use:

12 Cups of water
1# package of brown sugar
1 Cup of non-iodized salt
Tbst worcestershire sauce
Tsp soy sauce

I tend to make four batches to fill two smokers worth of fish. Of course the above amounts can be changed for taste. I also put in a little garlic powder, and one of these days when I can remember I would like to try some fresh crushed garlic on the fish during the smoking process.

Aaron....is your GFCI on a 15 amp breaker or 20 amp? If you have a non-GFCI receptacle you could try that as well.

I've switched a lot of my smoking to a dry brine also... two cups brown sugar, one cup white sugar, a cup of plain salt, and a handful of lemon pepper or other spices to taste. After coating the pieces (or whole fillets for a small fish) and sitting overnight, I rinse off and baste the fish with homemade pineapple-habanero sauce before smoking with alder. Great stuff.

For shipping, I'd recommend wrapping the inside packages up with small blue ice packs and newspaper around everything. Then throw the whole package into the deep-freeze for a day or so before shipping it. The problem with vacuum-packed food is that it's susceptible to botulism because it's anaerobic. Better safe than sorry!

Aaron:

30+ yrs. of Smoking salmon and steelhead..

1 quart water

2/3 Cup sugar----Can be white or brown

1/2 cup salt

3 T Seafood Seasoning

1 T Garlic Powder

To add a little "bite" add some Tobasco Sauce---have gotten lot's of positive comments..

Marinate 8-12 hours,

drain and let glaze over(air dry at least 1 hour, long is better)

smoke 5-8 hrs....I use alder 99% of the time

----------

I've shipped all over the USA, just vaccum seal and send. I recommend you not freeze 1st..


"Worse day sport fishing, still better than the best day working"

I have also had the same problem with the Big Chief tripping the GFI. I am curious to see if anyone has suggestions on how to solve the problem.

I've had the same problem with a little chief tripping the GFI. I think the problem is caused by a bad cord....at least it was for me. Mine eventually burned up where the plug goes into the smoker. You might try reseating yours (make sure it is plugged in all the way) and check to be sure it isn't getting hot. It is a potential fire hazard so don't just ignore it and plug it into an extension cord like several have mentioned. I bought a new cord and don't have the problem anymore.

My little chief and Brinkman electric smokers both trip my 15amp GFCI without an extension cord. My thought was the fact that all my kitchen outlets are on the same circuit was an overload of that circuit. My next thought was to up the GFCI and breaker to 20amp. Any electricians out there have any input on that?

Yes, I have smoked Salmon but I did not inhale. :p

Kyle,
I'm not an electrician (mech engr) but I don't think you're tripping the GFI because of overloading the circuit. That would trip the circuit breaker. Symptom would be that the smoker runs fine until you turn something else on that is on the same circuit. Check the label on your smoker to see how many watts it uses....mine is 250w at 120V so only about 2 amps. The GFI is detecting a current in the ground circuit. The GFI outlet itself could be bad (or installed incorrectly) or you've got a problem with both your smokers. Does plugging anything else into that outlet trip it? If everything does then its probably the outlet, if not check your power cords per my previous post.

I always check to see if anything on the same circuit is on, or even plugged in. Never had a problem with my big chief.

Technically, a GFCI protection device (receptacle or circuit breaker) operates by monitoring the imbalanced current between the hot and neutral conductors. In a perfect 2-wire AC circuit, the current returning to the power source will equal the current leaving the power source. If the difference between the current leaving and returning through the GFCI sensor exceeds 0.005 amps, the circuitry opens a switch within one-fortieth of one second and de-energizes the circuit.
First thing to do is check if the GFCI itself may be bad. Push the test switches on the receptacle or breaker. If they aren't working correctly, replace the GFCI. They can stop working over time, especially if they've been reset a lot. If the GFCI is working, try plugging in a trouble light or other item and see if it holds. If all is OK at this point, then the heating element (and associated wiring) may have developed ground paths. Last thing I can think of is that something in the construction or operation of the heating elements may be fooling the GFCI. For example, I assume there is a thermostat or over temp switch built into the heater circuitry. This may cause enough of a variation that the GFCI sensor picks it up. Sometimes very slight current variations cause the GFCI to trip even though everything is functioning properly. Contact Luhr Jensen and see what they have to say.

I don't smoke salmon anymore. It's too hard to roll, and clogs the pipe.

Mystery with the GFI solved... I called Luhr Jensen today to talk to them about the problem. The lady on the phone told me that it's fairly common for the element to get some moisture trapped in it and instructed me to remove the element and put it in my oven at 250 degrees for an hour. She said that that should fix things up and if it didn't said that she'd send me a new element.

Since I had already used the smoker for six hours yesterday in a non-GFI socket, I figured that the element was probably void of any moisture. I came home and tried the GFI plug again and viola, everything worked as expected!