Smoked Steelhead - Need a new brine/cure recipe

[Smokerjunky]

My Son called the other night and said that his buddy had caught a steelhead and had a filet in the freezer.  He asked John if I could smoke it for him and that I could keep half of the filet for smoking it. 

Of course I jumped at the opportunity to smoke the steelhead (not unhappy about getting to keep some - although I only kept a small piece of the filet since I am not the one who caught it).

The only recipe I have for a brine/cure for fish is out of the Little Chief smoker cookbook.
     1/2 Cup Non-Iodized Salt
     1/2 Cup Sugar
     1 Quart water

I followed the instructions on curing although I went a couple hourse over the 8 - 12 hour recommendation.  I rinsed the pieces with cold water and patted dry with paper towel and let it sit at room temp for about 90 minutes to let the pellicle develop.

I smoked with Pure Cherry pellets in the hopper and in the cold smoker box.

The product had an outstanding texture and flavor but I would have preferred it to be a little less salty.  My Wife and Son both said it was great and did not agree with me on the salt issue.

Does anyone have any suggestions on a cure that would not be so salty on fish?  THANKS!

[Wingman]

This is the recipe I use.  The cure time and salmon thickness control the saltiness.  Overnight is too long for me regardless of the thickness.  I brine 4 hrs. for less than 1/2 inch thick and 6 hrs. for over 1/2".  It's a matter of personal taste.  You need to experiment.

Put 1/2 quart of apple juice in a pot on the stove, bring to low boil & then down to simmer.
Add to this;
6 ounces of soy or teriyaki sauce (I like teriyaki)
1/2 cup of non-iodized salt
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp of Garlic powder
1 tsp of Onion powder
1/2 tsp of Cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp of Dried Bay Leaf Flakes (or 2 or 3 fresh bay leaves)
1/4 cup lemon juice

Stir until salt is dissolved. Then add 1 1/2 quarts of water & ice to cool quickly.

[Smokerjunky]

This is the recipe I use.  The cure time and salmon thickness control the saltiness.  Overnight is too long for me regardless of the thickness.  I brine 4 hrs. for less than 1/2 inch thick and 6 hrs. for over 1/2".  It's a matter of personal taste.  You need to experiment.

Put 1/2 quart of apple juice in a pot on the stove, bring to low boil & then down to simmer.
Add to this;
6 ounces of soy or teriyaki sauce (I like teriyaki)
1/2 cup of non-iodized salt
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp of Garlic powder
1 tsp of Onion powder
1/2 tsp of Cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp of Dried Bay Leaf Flakes (or 2 or 3 fresh bay leaves)
1/4 cup lemon juice

Stir until salt is dissolved. Then add 1 1/2 quarts of water & ice to cool quickly.

Thanks - looks good - do you rinse and pat dry after it comes out of the brine as well?

[ACW3]

Here is my post of my Cider Mill Brined Steelhead Trout

http://www.letstalkbbq.com/index.php?topic=7744.0

I made a half-batch of Cliff's (aka Tenthunter) Cider Mill Brine, cold.  It ended up being more than I needed for the fish.  If I were doing 2 fillets, I would make the whole recipe.  I followed the recipe to the letter.  I believe it was at least 6 hours of air drying.  Here is Cliff's Cider Mill Bacon Brine Recipe.

"Ingredient Amounts
4 quarts Filtered or Distilled Water
2 quarts Apple Cider
1¼ cups Pickling Salt (250 grams by weight)
1 cups Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Sugar (regular)
6 tsp. Curing Salt #1 (Prague Powder #1, Insta-Cure #1  - contains 6.25% Sodium Nitrite)

Instead of heating my brine I just pour everything into a big stainless steel stock pot where I can stir it vigorously without making a mess. No waiting for the brine to cool means I can use it right away.

Very Important: If you heat your brine to dissolve the salt/sugar, then DO NOT add curing salt until AFTER the brine cools! Heat can deactivate Sodium Nitrite/Nitrate."

Cliff will verify how good this turned out.  I gave him a sample to take home for his wife.  She loved it.

Art

[teesquare]

I will have to try Wingman's recipe. Good ingredients list!

I can tell you that the Cider Mill recipe is also fantastic for bacon and hams as well!

[Wingman]

Thanks - looks good - do you rinse and pat dry after it comes out of the brine as well?

I do.

[Wingman]

I thought I would add the rest of my smoke procedure in the Bradley.  Following are my last salmon process notes -

Smoked with apple for 16 pucks and Amazen tube w/apple pellets
Start at 115 degrees for 1 hour
120 for .5 hr, 130 for.5 hr, 140 for 1 hr, 160 for 1 hr, finish at 175
Removed as IT went over 140
Spun and rotated baskets every 20 min.
Vent set at 75%

I hope this helps.

[TentHunteR]

Cliff will verify how good this turned out.  I gave him a sample to take home for his wife.  She loved it.

Art

Oh my gosh YES!!!  I would never have thought to use that recipe for steelhead or salmon, but my wife and I both thought it was the best we'd ever had.

The piece Art sent home with me, well my wife very quickly claimed it as hers.  I was lucky to get a few small pieces of it, and she did make a schmear out of some of it, that she let me have just a little of.

It was some kind of good!

[CDN Smoker]

Thanks Team, bookmarked

[Smokerjunky]

Thanks everyone for the feedback - I appreciate the tips - definately gives me some options for the next batch.