This weekend I went out and bought a new Big Chief Smoker to smoke up some of the silvers that I've been catching. What fun. I really like smoking salmon - I inhaled and didn't even cough.

Ok, I've got a couple of questions for all of you veteran smokers out there.

1. When I plug the smoker into a GFI outlet, it kicks the GFI instantly. I can plug anything and everything else into the GFI and it doesn't get tripped. I think this indicates a short. Has anyone else seen this? As a temporary workaround I plugged the smoker in via an extension cord to an internal outlet.

2. I brined the fish using the Luhr Jensen recipe that came with the smoker and then smoked it for approx. six hours. The fish is slightly moist in the thickest parts and relatively dry in the thinner parts. After smoking it I let it cool and then vaccuum packed it w/ my food saver. Ok, here's the question. How long will it keep? I'd like to mail some to family in Texas and am trying to figure out if I need to place it on dry ice or whether it'd be safe to just stick it in a box and mail it w/ instructions that say to put it in the fridge when it arrives.

Thanks!

Aaron