Lack of weight loss problem....don’t most have this problem!

[Ruedeleglise]

Help please!   Yet again!!

I am having trouble getting the required loss of weight have smoked my salmon. 24 hrs with salt/sugar. 24 hrs resting. 6 hrs smoking at 23 degrees C.

This isn’t new I have always had less of a loss than the 15% advised since I started cold smoking even in the summer with less atmospheric humidity.. This last attempt as above resulted in 30gm loss from 660gm, only about 5%.  

[Smokin Monkey]

@wade?

[Wade]

From what you say it looks like you are not smoking for long enough as it is the air flowing over the surfaces of the fish while it smokes that remove much of the water.

Try the following:

• 24 hrs with salt/sugar. 18-24 hours depending on the size of the salmon side.
• 1 hour resting to dry the surface. - though this is not really necessary.
• 24 hrs smoking at 23 degrees C.

[Ruedeleglise]

Thanks. Now resmoking my last effort! 

[Ruedeleglise]

Thanks the 20 plus hours of smoking has worked well. I note you only say 1 hour of drying after the initial 24 hrs or so of salt / sugar. A number say that this 12 to 24 hrs gives a pellicule surface etc. So in your experience this is not entirely necessary? Makes the whole process much swifter without.

[Wade]

The wait to form a pellicle is really from the hot smoking days where the "cold" smoking time is quite short before the heat starts to set the surface proteins and the surface hardens. In this case it is important to get as much smoke to adhere to the fish surface before this happens. When you are cold smoking the smoke has a longer time to adhere to the surface - up to 24 hours. 

So the answer to your question is that when using this method for cold smoking waiting for the pellicule is not required - as sufficient will still form inside the cool cold smoker at the beginning of the smoke.

[Ruedeleglise]

Yet another excellent explanation. Thanks.