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I finally got off my lazy arse and pulled out the bottom container of the freezer, went through it all to see how many canning jars I would need. After they thawed out I found most of the salmon fillets were good to go but all the Kokanee and landlocked coho, even the vacuum sealed packages were freezer burned. 
I was sick to have to discard them but remembered that the last few years I was giving all my fish to those that fished with me because I knew I had a crap ton in the freezer.
Over the many years that I've procured fish and game, I might have let 2-3 bags of fish go to waste, it's like loosing a deer that you shot at and couldn't find, just made me sick…
After I got over my pity party, I light smoked half using a dry brine that consisted of 4 cups of brown sugar and 1 cup of sea salt for the coho, the second batch was smaller so I only used 3 cups brown sugar and 1/3 cup sea salt for the sockeye (that amount was left in the container). Knowing how sodium affects my equilibrium I figured it was good to go. I was right, the Red salmon tasted a hint of salt, just right. The first batch was a tad salty to my taste but I bet most who love smoked salmon would think not enough salt.
I only needed 18 jars, the wife said to order extra so I got 24 more. Only 16 will fit in the PC so two were sacrificed for taste testing purposes don't cha know, I emptied those jars on a cookie sheet and placed them in the oven at 170* for 45 minutes to finish cooking them.
30 minutes till I turn off the heat.
I was sick to have to discard them but remembered that the last few years I was giving all my fish to those that fished with me because I knew I had a crap ton in the freezer.
Over the many years that I've procured fish and game, I might have let 2-3 bags of fish go to waste, it's like loosing a deer that you shot at and couldn't find, just made me sick…
After I got over my pity party, I light smoked half using a dry brine that consisted of 4 cups of brown sugar and 1 cup of sea salt for the coho, the second batch was smaller so I only used 3 cups brown sugar and 1/3 cup sea salt for the sockeye (that amount was left in the container). Knowing how sodium affects my equilibrium I figured it was good to go. I was right, the Red salmon tasted a hint of salt, just right. The first batch was a tad salty to my taste but I bet most who love smoked salmon would think not enough salt.
I only needed 18 jars, the wife said to order extra so I got 24 more. Only 16 will fit in the PC so two were sacrificed for taste testing purposes don't cha know, I emptied those jars on a cookie sheet and placed them in the oven at 170* for 45 minutes to finish cooking them.
30 minutes till I turn off the heat.
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