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A friend of mine was visiting and tried some smoked steelhead we made. Then he ate all we had. He loves it.
Now he is in Afghanistan for a year and we want to send him some. Here's the question. We brine it, dry it til a skin forms, cold smoke it heavily for several hours, then toss it in the oven at 175 until it is good and rubbery. The inside is still a bit moist but fully cooked. For our own use, it is then vacuum packed, frozen and eaten when wanted. To send over there will take between 3 days and 3 weeks from what I hear. Will that moisture be a problem? Should we get it dry inside?
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I have a friend who grew up in alaska and after they smoked it they would jar or can it. It still tasted good but would last.
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Not an expert on the topic but smoked salmon/steelhead that has a long shelf life is basically treated as canned fish. So besides curing/ smoking you need to heat it after it's vacuumed packed to kill any bacteria and botulism spores. I'll let you look up amount of time at various temps as I don't want to be held responsible if it doesn't work. Changes the flavor and texture but still reasonable good especially when you're in the middle of nowhere. For long life steelhead and salmon I prefer jerky over smoked. It'll take some effort to get a descent safe product of either unlike the stuff you put in the freezer or fridge. I'd suggest breaking down and buying him jerky or smoked steelhead/salmon. That's what I do for backpacking trips. If you go that route I'd be happy to chip in assuming this is someone deployed.
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It needs to be either very dry, as in jerky, or it needs to be canned. Sending him a commercial product might be easier.
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Use pickling salt in your brine in place of regular salt. It works better as a preservative than regular salt. Should not effect taste.
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He's not worth buying commercial product for. He's an old retired **** over there on a big contract, he can buy his own if he wants it. If he heard me say that, he would laugh.
I always use pickling or kosher salt for all sorts of canning and curing uses. No iodine and no metallic taste, either.
I'll see what is involved in making it into jerky. Might be a good trick to learn anyway.
Thanks everybody.
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Jerky sure looks easy enough. Cut into strips, brine it, smoke it, then dehydrate. And it keeps 2-3 months in a cool dry place. I'll let you know tomorrow how it turns out.
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I like to brine mine in Teriyaki for a day, then I really lightly smoke it, just to get enough flavor into the meat. Take out the fish when it is still very moist, then can it in half-pint jars. Like 11 lbs. of pressure for 100 minutes. My friends all love it, and it makes great sandwiches. Also, if you bubble wrap really well, those jars do not break...I have done it.
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my wife has been sending cookies to her brother in Afg, they get there every time in 6 days. Just fyi
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The jerky came out great and was easy. I cut the meat into 1/4" wide strips and cold smoked them. Then it went into a vacuum marinade container with brine for a few hours, then into the dehydrator for 3 hours at 145. If you are impressed with how much deer meat shrinks, you'll be amazed with fish jerky. We started with 2.5lb meat and ended with barely 1 lb of jerky.
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I "hot smoke" mine until it starts to get "cracks" in the meat, then vacuum pack. It lasts for weeks and week in the refrigerator. I think it would be just fine shipped. Besides, what's to lose. He'll know if it went bad, but I really don't think it will between the brine and smoking.
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[quote BBART]He'll know if it went bad, but I really don't think it will between the brine and smoking.[/quote]
He said about three times a week, they send a local into town to get them lunch. He sent a picture of the meal and said they call it beef, but he hasn't seen a cow yet, so he hopes it is sheep or goat.
If it goes bad, maybe he will blame the town food.
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