Hate to admit it, but I've done the norm: smoked chum. Had fresh chromers from the chuck up north, adn I've also had some with those stripes, even from the chuck as well, but honestly, with the chrome and striped, they were both the same quality.
I've done the peppercorn, the cajun, the garlic, and the famous "Indian Candy." Of course, all these recipies calles for the usual base: brown sugar, soy sauce, some pepper, some garlic powder and onion powder.
A well-known Asian one, that my wife's Japanese family does, is with maggi seasoning, green onions, ginger powder, and sesame seeds, mixed in with the above base. But honestly, that Asian style works better with the barbeque. With sockeye, it's unbelieveable. :thumbup:
With the Indian Candy, you use the base, then glaze it with honey or real maple syrup once in awhile as you're smoking/drying it...mmm, just like candy, eh? :beerchug:
Now, the above marinades is the wet-style. Some guys opt for the dry rub/seasoning style. That works well too, as the fish's juices act like the marinade, and mixes with the dry rub. The saltiness of the rub sucks out the love juices of the salmon. Works well. :cheers:
As far as measurements, it's not a panic, just add to taste. Obviously, it depends how big the batch is. Some like it more sweet, and others more salty. Surprisingly, your liquids don't need to be too much, as the fish juices add tons to the mixture, as it's being marinated. If you want a more accurate count, you can send me a message.
When I marinate the fish, I usally do it overnight, or at least 12 hours, depending how big the fish is. Now people can debate and say that too much spices can take away with the real flavour of the fish. That may be true for a more superior salmon species, such as sockeye. But for chum, I'm sure we can all agree that we can be more liberal with the spices, as the flavour can be more mild or bland. Besides, the chum tend to be bigger, so needs more flavour.
A friend joked with me once and said anything that tastes like crap can be modified into something delicious with the right flavourings. As he said, even his leather cowboy boot would be good with some b-que sauce. But I slightly disagree with him. :cheers: If something is really that nasty tasting, it's impossible to mask it with all the spices in the world. O0 Reminds me of the 'ol Seinfeld episode, when George Constanza's father spiced up rotten meat during the war, for the soldiers, and they all ended up blowing chunks.
This is a good idea Ortho. Thanks for starting the thread.
Another favourite is pickled salmon. I had pickled spring, and it was amazing. A native dude did it up. Man oh man, it was crazy good. And I'm not a usual fan of pickled salmon. Anyone ever had pickled herring roe,,wheew, it'll clean you out boy! :happy:
