Smoking Fish

[AnotherAmateur]

I like smoked salmon. You got a great deal on that smoker. I have a Cookshack smoker oven that cost quite a bit more than you paid. I'l bet your smoked salmon is just as good as mine though. Nice video!

[Rummelhart]

@AnotherAmateur Thanks! Right now I'm using an old washer tub and a stop sign, some old 'fridge racks on concrete blocks to smoke (the old smoker kinda died after much use). And discovered a new (old?) way to smoke: Take clean, dry straw or grass, make wads about the size of a football, soak; make coals of (preferably) beach wood in the tub. Throw on soaking-wet grass, put salmon on racks, cover, lotsa smoke! When grass finally ignites, flip salmon to sear both sides. Fast,yummy!

[Rummelhart]

@AnotherAmateur Check out my blog - look for CLALLAMATBAY on blogspot, August 2011, for lotsa smoking pictures with the grass method.

[Search4diabetescure]

A lot of meat wasted. When filleting the meat (1) use specialized knife that has a very sharp edge; (2) take your time and be precise and meticulous as if you are a Dentist and working on someone's mouth, or a precision wood carver. This way the knife is able to be used very close to the bones and very little meat is wasted.

[Rummelhart]

@Search4diabetescure It is NOT wasted; every scrap of this fish was smoked, head, backbone, the lot. I'm not the silly people who fillet and throw the backbone in the water, claiming -- with a sneer, in front of a child -- that a part of a salmon's body is merely "crab bait." Oh, yeah, I heard and saw a guy do that.

[Search4diabetescure]

@Rummelhart - I think I am in love!

[Rummelhart]

@Search4diabetescure With the fish and the cats, I hope.

[Elva89]

Awesome great video but going a little to fast.

[Rummelhart]

@Elva89 Not for girls.

[Elva89]

@Rummelhart True leave that stinky stuff for the men.

[Rummelhart]

@Elva89 If we leave it to men they keep all the good parts for themselves and beat up the flesh. Better to have the fish without the middlemen and all the ego and attitude that fish are enemy soldiers, rather than creatures that gave their lives so we could live.

[Elva89]

@Rummelhart Totally true.

[Tazraz8]

2.25 a pound? wow im a little jealous

[Rummelhart]

@Tazraz8 There are times we can get pink salmon for $1.00 a pound -- but they sell out quick, we have to watch for them. Last year an overloaded fishing boat went down off the reef, and in the early morning, while the cold shadow was still on the beach, we were all down with buckets grabbing sockeye for smoking. Younger folk were getting them for the elders. The male fish were beginning to spoil, but the females were fresh & nice. Seabirds & seals got a feast!

[FVNostrovia]

Cool video. Thanks! (I love smoking salmon. Like candy)

[Rummelhart]

@FVNostrovia Accidently a great material for smoking salmon; nearly-dry grass. Very mild, dry flavor, that doesn't cover the taste of the fish.

[FVNostrovia]

@Rummelhart

That has almost been decriminalized here in CA but for now still illegal. Til then I will have to wait for your recipe along with a good brownie recipe if you have one :)

[Rummelhart]

@FVNostrovia Ha ha ha. Hay or straw, of course, the same kind the Belgians use to simmer salted ham (to remove the saltiness).

[expressview1]

Wow...That's Cool Donna! ... Just as hungry as that Cat!

[Rummelhart]

@masterplomo1 At least I don't catch-and-release: which is just tormenting animals for the fun of it, and teaching kids cruelty, too.

[madisonelectronic]

Jeez that's a really fat kitty. Teach it to chase bears or get it a treadmill.

[Rummelhart]

@madisonelectronic Leo's on a diet. But he THINKS he could chase a bear.

[FoulOwl]

I tried to smoke salmon one time,but the fins kept popping through the rolling papers.And talk about a bitch to keep lit!....sorry I couldnt resist.Great video though.

[Rummelhart]

@FoulOwl

You're only about the 40th person to use that joke.  Thanks for enjoying the vid!

[Brutalnemisis]

Where were your fish caught at?

[Rummelhart]

That one? Pacific Ocean, off the Washington State or BC coast (most probably).

[meema1]

Leo the "thousand pound cat" lol.

[biggestdigger]

A fun post.

Thanks

[Rummelhart]

I've decided if a comment is too illiterate, it gets wiped. The poor spellers are usually the rude and stupid, too.

[GAStudios]

its more fun to catch em yourself

[Rummelhart]

Yes it is. Which is why I stopped fishing for greenling off the beach -- it was FUN. Tormenting animals for the fun of it isn't good for me; it's why I don't catch-and-release. If I'm not eating a fish, I'm not going to torture it and exhaust it for my amusement. Ric's fish are fast-killed and clean, better than I can do. And as for salmon -- these are from the Neah Bay tribe. They're working hard ot support the wild salmon, and I'd rather support them. Google: Makah

[Rummelhart]

Nah, we just pick 'em out. Actually, never found any in Ric's fish (Jack Mackerel Fish Company). If raw fish were deadly the Japanese would all be dead.

[mrva99]

Old video but good!.... Several questions... I need help....Do you brine?, what wood do you use?, How long?, What temp?. Loved your video please make more on this!\

[Rummelhart]

I just pack in kosher salt, sometimes brown sugar, wrap in a towel and stick in the vegetable crisper to draw out the excess liquid until I can get to smoking. I dunno from temperature; I just raise the level of the grills and stick the wood-stove oven on top, and keep adding little alder sticks. Leave the door open to suck the smoke up through the smoking chamber.

[AtenRa]

This was such a fun vid to watch. I loved the running commentary and the sudden random look at the cats.

Hope you've had four wonderful years of delicious smoked fish since this vid!

[Rummelhart]

Yes; just swapped beach glass for two King Salmon fillets, smoked them to fulfill promises to two goat farmers; this weekend is the 300-mile goat-swap trip and PARTY.

[MartinGuitarLover1]

Thats about a $40 filet by me. man i wish i could get whole salmon like that

[Rummelhart]

The Jack Mackerel Fish Company up here sells salmon like that -- beautiful, cleaned, icy-fresh, kept in tubs of pebble ice - for $5.95 a pound. Sometimes we can get pinks for a $1.00 a pound; it's all good. I take 'em home on the bicycle ("A woman needs a man like a fish needs a..."). It's at Clallam Bay, in Washington State.

[Rummelhart]

Sadly, the original oil-drum smoker was old when I got it, and has since been junked. I now smoke over a pit, walled w/old concrete chunks, using 'fridge racks, covered over with discarded cedar shakes from the sawmill. Smoking does NOT have to be expensive or hard. Any old stuff laying around can be a smoker.

[BeeRich33]

Any chance we can see your smoker?  You said you got it for $2?

[jst2k09]

Beautiful fish, gorgeous color!!

[imjacobyournot]

That just looks plain delicious. You need to post more vids of smoked meat, regardless of what kind of meat it is.

[Rummelhart]

I don't smoke a lot of stuff; mostly this was entertainment for a visiting friend. But the smoked salmon was superb. My smoker is a stack of broken concrete blocks, some rejected cedar shingles from the local sawmill and a few refrigerator grills. You don't need fancy to get good smoking going.

[RMDelete]

wow, where was that salmon from? Usually fish from the US has some kind of parasitic worm in it dangerous to humans. Then again what doesn't kill you makes you stronger I guess. Nice vid!

[Rummelhart]

I had to put the comments on an approved basis because I was getting so many hits from guys who were terrified of a woman handling a knife and cutting meat. At least that SEEMED to be their hangup... ??

[excalibur440]

I liked your vid, you'd make a hell of fishing partner.. ;0)

[ringoramjet]

WHAT A WOMAN!5 STARS

[LittoBUbbo]

lol you guys are so entertaining!! =] i ate smoked salmon for a week straight.. bought it from a warehouse and i cant stop eating it by myself...

[Rummelhart]

Yeah, I may not be the world's greatest fish-processor, but we're going to chew it up anyway, and it sure tasted good -- which is what counts.

[interstategar]

get yourself a good long felet knife that can handle a salmon. The trick to filleting is using the correct knife. Also sawing the meat is wrong. Use one stoke in the same direction so you won't tear the meat.

[Rummelhart]

Great advice! I once forgot my knife on the beach and had to clean a greenling with a broken mussel shell. Worked okay!

[femenime8star]

lol! i think it was funny!

and look delicious when she aet the salmon lol

[068694]

Never cut towards your thumb always cut towards your chum (preferably use a sharp knife)

[Rummelhart]

LOL! I'm a comic book artist, not a cook -- but the fish tasted just as good!

[bullcanyon]

Little advice. If you're knife was sharp. You wouldn't struggle fileting near as much.

[assassinhmfc]

thought you were going to show us the fish smoked....looks nice though

[bowcatz]

I hear the cats meowing like mad. Sounds like that around here when I am fileting the catfish on the tailgate of my truck. Meow! Meow! Meow!

[notguilty67]

yum

[micusdecimus]

I had a huge salmon fillet with teriyaki, red onion, garlic and parsley last night! mmmm! Love the cats.

[thenhbushman]

we eat all of the fish, including the intestine and stomach in Taiwan.

[Rummelhart]

You need to send recipes! Or film the process.