Quoting Nancy Backus to Jim Weller <=-

Something from up here ...

Title: Shawnalee's Porcupine Stew

That does look interesting... would the porcupine have been fresh caught...?

Probably. I don't know her. She's in Whitehorse in the Yukon. She
posted on a FB Group run by CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
North called The Arctic Kitchen: Recipes of the North. It started up
in Sept and already has over 4000 members. I know about 40 of them
and regonise hte surnames of a couple of hundred more. And because
FB highlights connections I discovered that Lexi's other grandfather
is on it.

--MM

MAPLE CANDIED KING SALMON part 1

5 pounds salmon, trout or char
Birch or maple syrup for basting
BRINE
1 quart cool water
2 ounces of kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar

Most of my smoking of fish involves dry sugar/salt rub for a couple
hours then rinse but sometimes I use a wet brine recipe and this is
my go to wet brine recipe for smoked salmon. I use Hank Shaw's
recipe.

Here's what you need to get started:

A smoker. I've uses a Traeger and a Bradley. Both are good. No
matter what smoker you use, you will need to be able to a) know your
smoking chamber's temperature, and b) control the heat, at least in
a rough sense.

Wood. The only downside to a Traeger smoker is that you need to use
their wood pellets. As a guy who used a Brinkmann wood-fired BBQ for
years, fueling it with scraps of almond and other fruit woods,
buying wood can be annoying, but you get better precision with this
method. I prefer to use alder wood for my salmon, but apple, cherry,
oak or maple work fine.

Salt. Buy a box of kosher salt from the supermarket. Do not use
regular table salt, as it contains iodide and anti-caking agents
that will give your salmon an "off" flavor.

Real maple syrup. Honey works, too.
A large flat plastic container.
A wire rack to rest your brined fish on.
A basting brush.

When you are ready to start, you will need smallish pieces of salmon
about 1/4 to 1/2 pound each. Any salmonid fish will work

I prefer to smoke salmon with its skin on, but I've done it with
skinless pieces and it works fine.

My salmon cure is very simple. Feel free to add things if you like.
I've added bay leaves, chiles, thyme, garlic and minced onion.

Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 4 hrs

Cure the Fish. Mix together the brine ingredients and place your
fish in a non-reactive container (plastic or glass), cover and put
in the refrigerator. This curing process eliminates some of the
moisture from the inside of the fish while at the same time infusing
it with salt, which will help preserve the salmon. You will need to
cure your salmon at least 4 hours, even for thin fillets from trout
or pink salmon. In my experience, large trout or char, as well as
pink, sockeye and silver salmon need 8 hours. A really thick piece
of king salmon might need as much as 36 hours in the brine. Never go
more than 48 hours, however, or your fish will be too salty. Double
the brine if it's not enough to cover the fish.

Dry the Fish. Take your fish out of the brine and pat it dry. Set
the fillets on your cooling rack, skin side down. Ideally you'd do
this right under a ceiling fan set on high, or outside in a cool,
breezy place. By "cool" I mean 60øF or cooler. Let the fish dry for
2 to 4 hours (or up to overnight in the fridge). You want the
surface of the fish to develop a shiny skin called a pellicle. This
is one step many beginning smokers fail to do, but drying your
cured, brined fish in a cool, breezy place is vital to properly
smoking it. The pellicle, which is a thin, lacquer-like layer on top
of the fish, seals it and offers a sticky surface for the smoke to
adhere to. Don't worry, the salt in the brine will protect your fish
from spoilage. Once you have your pellicle, you can refrigerate your
fish for a few hours and smoke it later if you'd like.

Shawnalee's Kitchen

---

Cheers

Jim

... North to south is all downhill. Just look at a globe.

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