Dry vs wet brine salmon

[estetter]

Wondering if anyone has experience with both and which one you like better. Would seem the dry brine might end up closer to salmon jerky? But salmon's very oily anyway. This is for appetizers tomorrow.

[grantgallagher]

Ive never tried dry brine with salmon. I can say ive done meatheads fancy schmancy salmon with the wet brine and its been outstanding every time.

[MeatMonster]

If you use the 4 cups brown sugar 1 cup kosher salt cure approach, it ironically turns to liquid after a few hours any way. I have used that method a couple of times and it's come out awesome.

[estetter]

Sounds like it won't dry it out too much. I'll give it a shot thanks guys!

[barelfly]

I have only used the 4:1 sugar to salt method as well and it has been amazing. I also let it set out with a fan air drying it after curing/brining to develop pellicle. I know some articles say to skip this step, but that’s just how I have done it and it really does turn out well.

Have fun fun with the process!

[EdF]

Main thing is it helps the smoke to stick.

[Frozen Smoke]

What MeatMonster said. Brown sugar and kosher salt. I add a spice called Caribbean Calypso that has orange, lemon and lime dried zest along with ancho and some other chilies in it. The brine turns to a syrup after a couple hours. Rinse it off and pat dry. Set on some wire racks and let the pellicle form. Low smoke at about 120 until salmon turns dark and is slightly firm to the touch. Excellent stuff!

[Skip]

My preferred method with salmon is simply dry brine with any commercial rub containing salt and add some extra brown sugar or pure maple syrup then smoke away.

[Spinaker]

I do it both ways. I f I am in a hurry, I just use kosher salt and load it up. If I have some time, I will do a wet brine. To tell you the truth, I don't think I can tell the difference.

[Jerod Broussard]

For pan frying I dry brine overnight and add black pepper immediately after plating. I would rate it up there with any dry-brined product.

As Meathead states, "DO NOT OVERCOOK!.......That is far more important than brining."

[HorseDoctor]

All depends on what I'm looking for in a finished product. If I'm cooking salmon (grill, roast, saute, etc), I'll "dry brine" for an hour or so. If I'm looking for hot smoked salmon then I want it "salt cured" and will use a mix of 1 cup salt and 2 cups brown sugar per gallon of water overnight. If I'm doing gravlax, lox or cold smoked salmon, then I "dry cure" by packing in dry salt for 24 hours +/-.

[Elton's BBQ]

I only do dry brine/cure,, why? Well works for me.. and gives a great result..

[estetter]

I did a wet brine, brown sugar and kosher salt plus garlic, 24 hours. Did them on the WSM this time instead of the electric, some brown sugar at the end for glaze and holy cow. I think there was a big difference using the WSM vs electric, really got alot of BBQ flavor to it. It disappeared fast.

[Troutman]

I've switched from using salt and brown sugar to using a cup of dark soy sauce and a cup of brown sugar instead. Soy, as you probably know, has a ton of salt in it so you get the brining affect but the other ingredients add a more complex depth of flavor. Try it some time !!

[VideoWolf88]

Only things I put on salmon are Old Bay and Dijon mustard.