Put that in your pipe and smoke it! (question about smoking salmon)

[hlflanagan]

Hello all,

Recent health events have required that I reevaluate what proteins I eat (blasted doctors have removed beans, eggs, and almonds from the approved list, darnit).  So, after some thought, I think I need to step up my fish intake, and smoked salmon makes a mighty fine snack.  It's just ridiculously expensive to buy, and given that I live in the Pacific Northwest, it's cheaper to buy the whole darn fish and do it myself.

So, any recommendations for smoker brands, particularly ones that are sturdy enough to survive multiple owners?

Thanks!
Heather

[thurston howell iv]

I use a regular grill to smoke. You can use a basic round Weber style or something fancier (larger). If you do it right it all comes out relatively the same.
The one I currently use is a barrel style (charcoal only) unit from Lowes. It's around $100. My favorite part is the cast iron grates. They take a beating and work great. (Sometimes the same models will have coated grates- avoid them as they peel).

http://www.lowes.com/pd_44754-49769-2121_4294610386__?productId=3033621&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=

[Spork]

I think the best smokers are generally home made by a guy named Bubba out of an old propane tank...  but I'm too cheap to buy one of those.  Some day I'll make my own.

I have had  this model for about 15 years and it still works like a champ.  (Caveat: when I bought mine it was not made by Charbroil but was made by New Braunfels Smoker Company... I have no idea if they have gotten better or worse since being bought out.)

I've done salmon a few times... but mostly have done traditional beef, pork, chicken, etc.   One thing I learned about smoked salmon: It was disappointing when it was fresh.  It tasted much better after sitting wrapped up in the fridge a day. 

Edit to add:
My one complaint on the Bandera is the thickness of the steel.  It could be thicker.  If you're smoking on a cold rainy day, there isn't a lot of thermal mass.  I'd personally like something in the 1/4" range.   The downsides of that would be: heavy as crap, takes a little while to heat it up and $$$.

[Cromacster]

A friend of mine built this with spare parts and a steel drum off craigslist.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-Your-Own-Ugly-Drum-Smoker-UDS/

The best bbq I've had anywhere.

[aksoleil]

Smoked salmon is so good! My boyfriend and I live in Alaska and we process the salmon we catch every year. We've got a bunch frozen that we are smoking as we get the time. Here's the smoker that he has had for years, the Little Chief top loader smoker.

http://www.amazon.com/Smokehouse-Products-Little-Electric-Smoker/dp/B000VZMBL0

It needs to get warm enough to smoke the wood chips, so this winter we built an insulated case to go around. Then we proceeded to accidentally time our smoking to a blizzard. It worked anyway.

[GizmoTX]

If you are talking about smaller quantities of salmon and/or don't have the space for a dedicated smoker unit, we use the Cameron stovetop smoker. We first learned about it from a chef who uses them regularly in his restaurant & cooking classes. It does a hot smoke & the flavor is delicious. I buy frozen wild sockeye portions from Sams Club which are plastic wrapped in individual portions, thaw the sealed portions in cold water for 30 minutes, unwrap & pat dry, season with kosher salt & ground black pepper, & stovetop smoke them in 15 minutes. The smoker uses 1-2 tablespoons of small wood chips in the pan bottom; I like alder the best for salmon. It comes in two sizes, with the mini being good for 1-2 people.

http://www.amazon.com/Stovetop-Smoker-Original-Camerons-Stainless/dp/B00004SZ9D/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426181508&sr=8-1&keywords=cameron+stove+top+smoker

[hyla]

You can make a good hot smoker out of a metal trash can, a hot plate, and a round grill grate.  Just do a google search on trash can smoker and you'll find photos and instructions.  I've smoked trout and whitefish on one and it came out great.

[AnotherEngineer]

Another Alaskan chiming in. I've used a mix of homemade boxes over propane burners and commercial units for hot smoking. Cold smoking (lox) only takes an old fridge, some ducting, and a small grill. Salmon hot smokes at a low temperature, so it lends itself to diy setups. I got a Masterbuilt electric smoker for about $120 last year. I looked at the Little/Big Chief, but wanted to control the temp and be able to use it in winter as summer is too precious to spend three days smoking a batch. There are similar propane units. Decent insulation and reasonable temp control, but I could use more space. However, not everyone has 50 lbs of salmon to smoke at a time.

[abiteveryday]

Another PNW guy here, I use a Weber smokey mountain cooker and have been really happy with the results.   Even the pink salmon (BIG run this year!) end up being really darn good on a cracker with cream cheese.     I just smoke over cherry chunks I get from my sister in law after pruning her trees.