Smoking Salmon and Trout Using the Big Chief Smoker

[@rrmerlin3402]

I've smoked/ cooked hundreds of pounds California king salmon in my Little chief ( before the big chief ) with fantastic results. more than once I heard " That's the best salmon I've ever ate "

[@MrAcuta73]

Simple sugar/salt brine and the little chief...I generally do 3 pans of Alder, ymmv. After last pan, I baste with a small amount of honey or lemon/honey mixture and finish. Our recipes are incredibly similar. Have a few pounds of trout/kokanee in the freezer. Best midnight snack with some cream cheese and Ritz EVER!! And I agree...smoked salmon (trout...Kokanee) chowder is to die for.

[@fishbustin7926]

A tip that I learned was, keep the box it came in and put it over the smoker. It will raise the temp a little bit.

[@anonamust8697]

You can also buy a cover (kinda like a blanket) made especially for the Big Chief, to help keep the temperature where you want it to be inside the smoker while using it in colder climates.

[@sleeksalmon]

It cooks at 165 already. I wish I could turn mine down. Its the reason why I would like to buy a smoker where I can set the temp. The only time I have wanted to raise the temp is in the middle of winter, when really I have only smoked a couple of times anyway.

[@kaidenmarthaler6017]

​@@sleeksalmonif you want to bring the temp down just Crack the door at the top by just inserting the top of the door into the smoker and leave the bottom of the door on the ground. Brings it down to about 130

[@pioneersmokehouseschannel]

Great video. I learned how to smoke fish when I was a kid with a little chief smoker and I have been a fanboy ever since. Fish is my all-time favorite for this smoker but jerky is also great. I did London broil jerky the other day.

[@AA1PR]

Glad Todd was encouragement to do this series

[@elbrus65]

Re watched these smoking salmon /trout episodes and realized there are so many ways to get this done and in the end it will be delicious...I personally use digital Bradley to hot smoke my catch...good point on freezing fish first, my boss is the one who first told me to do it for the same reasons you explain...hes done it most of his life and makes possibly the most tender and juicy hot smoked salmon I ever eaten... Love your videos brother! Have fun catching kokanee across America!

[@pattyandersen5516]

I’ve got reds in mine now in NW Alaska. Good info. Thank you.

[@darrellryan2337]

Thanks for the come back yesterday. Met you at Longview sport mans say do you ever put on a subscriber fishing get together. Would be fun to do with you at a lake somewhere I have a kayak now thanks to your videos inspiring me. Keep them coming.

[@spiltmilt]

I think this next summer I will do a subscriber kayak get together. Should be fun! Thanks for your support.

[@kayakangler7683]

Used a "Little Chief" for yesrs with pretty good results. Been using a "Smokin Tex" for several years with better results. But now I smoke the fish for about 2 hours at a very low temp (about 125 degrees) and then transfer to a professional dehydrator at 165 degrees until finished. Best results for me doing it this way. Just remember, if you're getting the white-yellow curds, that's proteins forming on top of the meat due to rapid heat induction. Best way to avoid this is to slowly raise temps.

[@dkat1108]

Wow great tip!

[@elbrus65]

Thanks for the tip

[@beesnakeable]

Great video!

[@seanpowers282]

Very well presented. Ty!

[@mikebarriga]

Thanks for the videos!

[@FilmCompassTravel]

thanks for this video! Just bought one

[@frankpiacentino9236]

Thanks

[@wattyd6867]

Excellent, excellent! I'm originally from Victoria now living in Kamloops, lots of lakes and even more trout. Ill be trying your dry brine and smoke this weekend. Looking forward to trying my big chief for the first time.. thanks again

[@stormypurser9983]

You can also can it and it will last a long time. Add a couple jalapeño slices for some spice. Best for a kippered smoke, so you could probably skip the oven and just can it after smoking.

[@dannydark3117]

Keep your box and use it while smoking. Acts as insulation and helps it retain heat during the fall and winter months

[@spiltmilt]

Yes I do this.

[@verdeanpetersen8350]

I've been using a garbage can to hold in the heat in winter.

[@waynehughes8616]

I use a big chief exclusively, have used one for several years. Based on that experience, how do you know fish is done after 10-15 minutes in a oven given a big or little chief smoker cook times are greatly affected by outside air temperature? Also, after brining in a 3:1 ratio of sugar to salt for 24 hours, is fish on salty side? In my experience, if fillets come out stiff and firm after brining, final product tasts salty after completely cooked. I would like to include your method of finish oven cooking after smoking, but I like a moist fish and don't want to over cook. Thanks for another GREAT VIDEO!

[@spiltmilt]

The cooking in the oven is primarily to carmelize the honey or jelly glaze. Because I am cooking at a relatively low heat I've only noticed any significany drying on the smallest of Kokanee fillets. My smoked fish comes out saltier than the store bought fish but that is what I prefer. U could reduce saltiness by altering the brining ratio or reducing the amount of time in the brine.

[@elbrus65]

I do calculate the amount of salt by the weight of the fish. Say 1000gm of filets I use minimum of 35gm of salt up to 50 gm for saltier product or 3.5%-5.0% salt from the weight of fish...sugar I use is either 1:1 ratio to salt or 50% from the weight of salt...although more is fine too as it will firm up the meat more... This way youre not oversalting it and not undersalting ...this standard is used in commercial fish smoking settings ...

[@BBBYpsi]

I have a question I have not seen on the Internet yet is how do you clean out your big chief smoker

[@Yofud]

cooking oil is a good method. or grill cleaner. do it after it's been used when the smoker is still warm.

[@breewoodward3651]

@@Kankudai the sawmill in my city disagrees haha

[@paulajohnson5294]

I have a big chief but have lost the book it came with. Can you give me the brine recipe form salmon that was in the book?

[@MarkAntonowsky]

What temp in the oven?

[@spiltmilt]

350 F

[@fritzj8]

Have you ever tried dehydrating the filets instead of smoking them?

[@spiltmilt]

Yes and fish jerky is amazing!

[@nickhurst1949]

Ever tried the apple first? has the highest btu of any wood.

[@spiltmilt]

Yes I've mixed it up before. You get slightly different flavors. Experimentation if the fun part.

[@marvinmcclurg295]

What temperature did you set the oven to ?

[@spiltmilt]

350

[@verdeanpetersen8350]

I am interested in how you us your smoked fish,

[@spiltmilt]

1. Smoked salmon dip 2. Smoked salmon chowder 3. Eating it plain on crackers or on cucumbers is really good too 4. Smoked salmon meatloaf (usually combined with canned salmon) 5. Smoked salmon burgers

[@seanhoisington8485]

I have a Bradley and a Traeger and wondered if just smoking on the Traeger might be ok but only keeping it on the smoke setting … and then getting to 160 degrees … or will that dry it out?

[@spiltmilt]

They shouldn't dry out as long you get a good tack on them before smoking.

[@jasonjoyal3753]

Love the videos. I've been doing canning as per your instructions and everything is working out great. Salmon,beef,chicken. My question, is this method of smoking appropriate for canning. If not, do you have a suggestion for a "cannable" smoked salmon. Brine,etc.?

[@spiltmilt]

For canning I would just forego the finish in the oven and pack them into jars after a couple pans of smoke

[@timross7046]

Great video. Did you scale the fish before fileting them?

[@spiltmilt]

Yes.

[@philiptrump8472]

Do you ever can after smoking?

[@marksuma9078]

What temperature is the oven

[@gearygrouphhi]

I'm trying bigger salmon filets, about 2x's the size of yours. Same process? Any hints?

[@spiltmilt]

Longer brine times and be sure to monitor internal temperatures

[@lyndsayrondpre6023]

Is it ok to just do one pan of wood chips?

[@spiltmilt]

Absolutely

[@pattyandersen5516]

What temp was the oven? Thank you.

[@spiltmilt]

350

[@mikejameson4545]

I don't see the link for the brine preparation?

[@spiltmilt]

Its easy to make your own or you can just use this amzn.to/3l8wbgP

[@kutyre]

So only 1 hour and a half of smoke? Each pan burns for about 45 min .... i watched other videos that they smoked 3-4 pans of chips for over 8 hours im confused

[@spiltmilt]

8 hours is smoke is not at all necessary. I get 1.5 to 2 hours of smoke from each pan, so 4 hours max

[@tbcooperstube]

What temperature and how long? I’ve done it higher 250 for 2 hours, but also lower like 150 to 180 for up to 6. Which do you think is better?

[@spiltmilt]

I prefer hotter faster but you have to be careful to not dry it out.

[@FFL-vg9ro]

Above 200 degrees, you are cooking the fish, not smoking it.

[@anonamust8697]

@@FFL-vg9ro That’s right. Good observation.

[@hankandjackson]

How long do you smoke for in this smoker? I’m smoking the same.

[@spiltmilt]

4 to 6 hours

[@hankandjackson]

Spilt Milt Productions awesome thx. I cut my pieces much smaller so was able to fully smoke them with no oven afterwards. Turned out perfect. I’ll try your technique my next batch.

[@ShenpaiWasTaken]

@@spiltmilt I thought the 2 pans of chips would indicate that they were only in for 2 hours before going into the oven. Was there another 2-4 hours of smoking?

[@breewoodward3651]

@@ShenpaiWasTaken I too am confused

[@richardcontant4659]

Welll, there is cold smoking and hot smoking... I prefer the cold smoking, but the fish will have to be eaten fast.

[@scotth.5720]

You don't soak your chips huh?

[@spiltmilt]

I tried but I prefer the smoke I get with dry chips

[@marzsit9833]

this is a low temperature smoker, not a texas-style hot smoker. it won't work if you soak the chips.

[@grk8458]

FIRST COMMENT

[@scotth.5720]

Is this a thing? Do you win some prize?