Food, Wine & Spirits

Salmon Jerky
How difficult is it to smoke salmon and make Beef Jerky?

I really love smoke salmon and beef jerky but it is so expensive so I was thinking about making my own. I really don't cook at all so my knowledge about doing this stuff is weak.

I was looking into a Smokey Mountain Grill by Weber because I read great reviews. How difficult is it to make my own smoked salmon or jerky? Can this thing make jerky as well? Ignoring the cost of the grill, am I saving money by smoking my own salmon as opposed to buying it already smoked?
Well, I don't really cook but it doesn't mean I don't want to try. I just don't want to spend a lot on the smoker, meat, and other materials and then figure out that it costs a lot and I can't get it right.

Dom,

Neither are terribly tricky, but each have their own methods and can be a lot of fun. Start basic, find some recipes you like and modify them to suit your tastes, time and equipment!

Neither of them will require you to have a Smokey Mountain Grill (which is a great grill, by the way, but unnecessary, unless you know this is something you want to pursue). Both can be done, at home, in the kitchen, with equipement that you're very likely to have. As you get into it and learn, you may find yourself wanting to do bigger batches, or having greater control over the equipement. If/when this time comes, then you can put a little money into the "next step".

For now, stick with what you've already got and run some experiments!

Here's a quick little video to show how smoked salmon can be made in the home. It's a little on the preachy side and I don't really know about the exact brands she's mentioning, but the methods are all sound.

In essence, you want to have your salmon, some kind of homemade smoking device (basically a tray, with a rack and a cover of some kind), and soaked (in water for about 20 to 30 minutes) wood chips. Apple wood chips sounds good!

Then, basically, season your salmon with whatever you'd like. Salt, pepper, maybe a little lemon zest, etc. Put your soaked chips in the bottom of the pan, then put your rack in the pan, then place the salmon onto the rack, and then cover the whole thing. You want to cover it pretty tightly, but not airtight. A little smoke can and should escape. Then, put it onto a burner inside the house and smoke it over a medium-low heat. If you see that it stops smoking, open it and add a few more of the smoked chips. It will be done when it flakes. With practice, you'll get the hang of it.

You may find yourself doing dry rubs, pulling out all the moisture, creating Your Own recipes, rubs, etc. You could find that, in time, a Smokey Mountain Grill won't be enough and you'll need something even bigger, WITH WHEELS!

Let's not get ahead of ourselves...

With beef jerky, you essentially take a lean piece of beef, slice it about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick, with the grain, marinate it in something really salty, potentially sweet and maybe with some spice. You can add some Liquid Smoke, or smoke it for real. To start, the best is probably to simply put the meat in an oiled rack, then into the oven on the VERY lowest setting, and basically let it dry out! My oven goes down to about 170 degrees, so I would load it up and night and check it in the morning. Chances are, it'll go for a few more hours, then when it's ready, you'll know. Let it cool on the counter and eat it!

Here's a decent video, also showing a thing or two. They use a dehydrator (which can be purchased very inexpensively), but an oven will work just fine, for experimentation:

These are just to give you idea of the complexity. Do a little search for recipes for both and pick the ones that sound good!

Depending on how much you eat, the size of your family and your propensity towards sharing with friends, neighbors and coworkers, you can definately save some money by doing this at home. Both of these are "somewhat" specialty items and the markups can be pretty high.

I hope that I've helped in some small way. It's a lot of fun and the results can be delicious! Expect a misfire or two, but just learn the lesson and move on.

Good luck!

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