So I was down at Pike Place market this weekend... Tried, then bought a couple strips of salmon jerky from the flying fish guys -- it was EXCELLENT...

Anyone had success making their own? Smoker only? Smoker then dehydrator?

Thoughts?

Dehydrator is definitely part of the equasion.... I know a guy that's been making some recently and he brought some out fishing, he had made it out of a summer steelhead he had taken and it was excellent. It needed a little more heat/pepper and it would have been top notch/killer...

Keith

I've done this one a few times and it's killer! A bit of work but way better than the "normal" way I've been smoking for years and years.

First cut your fish into hand sized fillets with the skin off. Next, fill large ziplock bags (the thick freezer kind) with the fish. Make sure there is room for the brine. I use two brines for the jerky. The first is the Teriyaki brine:

2 cups of Brown or golden sugar
2 minced cloves of garlic
1 cup of teriyaki sauce (I use the golden dragon kind found in save-on)
1 Tablespoon of cracked black pepper
1 Tablespoon of Cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons of Worchester Sauce
1 cup of apple juice
1 cup water
half cup of pickling or kosher salt

Put ingredients in a pot and simmer till all the salt and sugar is melted.
Let cool overnight and then fill the ziplock bags of fish with the brine.
Seal the bags and let it brine for about 24 to 36 hours depending on the thickness of the fish.
Flip the bags over every 8 hours so that all the pieces get good coverage
Fish should be firm when the brine has gone through.
The recipe above should be good for about 3 pinks so vary the proportions accordingly.
Don't worry too much about over brining because this brine is not too salty.


After the first brine is finished, take fish out and pat dry. Then slice into 1/4 inch thick strips.

Next prepare the sugar brine:

2 cups of golden or brown sugar
1 cup of honey
1/8 cup lemon juice
Simmer over low heat and add enough apple juice to dissolve the sugar into a thick syrup.
Make sure sugar is melted as much as possible.
Let cool overnight (you can make this brine the night before the fish is ready from the first brine).

Put fish back into the Ziplocks and Ladle the sugar brine into the bag making sure all the fish gets covered.

Let the fish sit in this brine for about 2 or 3 days. The fish should be very firm with a translucent look to it. The sugar brine will
also be watery after a couple of days.

When ready, take fish out. Put fish on racks and air dry with a fan for an hour or so.

You are now ready to smoke. I use a little chief and smoke it for 3 panfuls or about 4 to 5 hours. If its warm out, it may be done quicker. If its cold it may take longer. Don't use more than 3 panfuls of smoke or else it may be too smokey. When ready the fish should be like jerky, i.e. a bit chewy.

Again it seem like a lot of work but believe me it is well worth it!

That looks like quite a bit of work but looks killlllllller!!

Keith

I think they call that squaw candy. That does sound like a lot of work, but its usually worth it.. saving that recipe to try later on ,THANKS

Here is the recipe I use. I find my big chief smoker does a better job than my dehydrator.
http://alaskaoutdoorjournal.com/Departments/Recipes/Canning/salmonjerky.html

I use a variation the above recipe Shawn has linked, except just mix the ingredients in one cup of warm water with one cup of Soy or Teriyaki sauce, and leave out the ginger.

Cut the pieces in strips of about 1/2 inch after removing the skin from the fillet.
Brine for about 45 minutes to an hour.

Air dry the cut strips for a couple of hours to overnight. If I go overnight I usually put the trays in the fridge.

Smoke about eight hours in a Big Chief or until the strips are pretty much like jerky.

Some folks like it smoked really hard, others a bit moist. so experiment the timing to determine what makes the most desirable for yourself and family/friends.

Recipe for Salmon Jerky

1 Tablespoon--------------Garlic Power
1 Tablespoon--------------Black Pepper, course ground
2 Tablespoon--------------Seasoning Salt(Johnny's or Lowery's)
1/4 - 1/2 cup of Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon--------------Salt, might even use less because of seasoning salt
1 - 2 Tablespoons of Cajun Seasoning "Fish Mix"

Mix all the above.....This is a dry mix

Cut salmon in strips....1/4 " thick, no bones...waste alot of fish but end product is worth it.

Put mix on the fish, put in gallon plastic bag, turn it to make sure all the fish is covered......leave set for 1 - 2 hours.

Don't rinse, arrange on racks, 1 pan of chips, smoke for 6 - 7 hours....Very good!!!!

Drifter, where do you get the Cajun seasoning? receipe looks good and I would like to try out.......thanks

I did a few chums like this last year and it was a big hit:

Split your salmon and remove rib bones (or filet if you want). Freeze the fish (or thaw) until slightly frozen, but still can be cut. This will allow you to cut really thin strips, like bacon. Starting near the top of the filet, cut strips long-ways toward the tail. Don't slice all the way through the top end of the filet, but leave all the strips attached near the collar of the fish. When done you should have a complete side, all stripped out but intact at the collar. Then go ahead and use your brine of choice- mine is just kosher salt and brown sugar.

Instead of cooking on racks, cut a few wood dowel pieces to the width of your Big Chief smoker on the top 'rack.' Then arrange your salmon, alternating strips on either side of the dowel. If the pieces are too long just double them over. You are trying to get each strip to hang freely during smoking. You should be able to hang 2 or 3 sides in your Big Chief, and they look really cool when they are finished.

I have been wanting to try a method that alton brown had on one of his shows. Basically taking the fish stripped, brine it, and then air dry it. His method for air drying was to take heater/ac filters to layer the fish in and then bungie cording it to a box fan. Let it run for 8-12 hours. This gets the jerky dryness instead of the smoked. Sounds good just haven't had time yet.


Food network jerky

N W Panhandler;

I had a friend who gave me some.........then I ordered some from the following:

http://louisianafishfry.com/

I also use when I cook "white kinds of fish"......mmmmm good

There is a Spice Chain store named Penzy's. When we go down to Portland we stock up on all things spice, especially the Cajun Blackening. I'm pretty sure they are also in Pugetopolis somewhere.

Sounds good,Gonna need to try a couple of these out soon.Good luck,
SZ

JohnQ:

Thanks....I've seen it in others stores locally, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, but I can't remember which store.

Would recommend if anyone finds it, that you buy more than 1.......Is very good!!!!!

thanks Drifter, is on order.......

Apparently Orygun is the closest Penzy location (s):

Portland, OR
New Store Hours
11322 SE 82nd Ave
(503) 653-7779

Mon.-Sat.: 10:00AM - 6:00PM
Sun.: 11:00AM - 5:00PM

View Map
Portland, OR-Downtown Pearl District
NOW OPEN
120 NW 10th Ave
(503) 227-6777

Mon.-Sat.: 10:00AM - 6:00PM
Sun.: 11:00AM - 5:00PM

View Map