Chum lox doesn't sound so good does it? OK, here's my question and story. I was out fishing this weekend and got a big chummer. I decided to bring it home to show the kids and also now figured it was a good excuse to get that smoker that I always wanted rather than borrow my buddies yet again. As I proclaim to the household that I brought home a fish I was confronted with the words, "what are you going to do with it?" from the wife. I explain my plans to get a smoker. She explains that as long as we are now temporarily living in an apartment that she is going to call a smoke house for me and we can take it to get it smoked. Long story short I now have two vacuum packed sides of chum that look like lox. Everytime I call the smoke house and ask them how they smoked the fish I get the kid that doesn't know anything. My question is this, is it worth unwrapping and trying out if it was indeed cold smoked and is that the same thing as lox?

Some of the best smoked salmon I've had was cold smoked. I've never had cold smoked chum,but it'll probably be fine. I guess I look at it this way...you paid to have it smoked so you might as well try some.

I know this will shock some if not all of you.

Most manufactured smoked salmon is chum salmon. Whether you buy it at a store or a restaurant.

mmmmm? , I know every one knows they are called Keta at the stores but now they are also marketing them under the name "Silver Brite"

Yuck.

Give some to your neighbor first. If they like it, then go for it...

Sounds wonderful...

So is lox the same thing as cold smoked?

I invision punching through the vacuum packed bag with a straw and drinking it outlike one of those juice bags the kids get.

Thanks, man, I needed that at lunch time. [where is the "blowing chow" smiley when you need one?]

I would finish it off on the grill or in the oven, I think, to the desired done-ness.

Lox is made to be sliced REAL thin. The texture just doesn't seem right if you're eating big chunks. Slice it real thin, and try it on a cracker with a little cream cheese.

Never had chum lox, but I've tried other cold-smoked fish and it was mighty tasty.

No reason not to try it...

Yes, cold smoke is what is commonly sold at bagel stores as "lox."

Jensen's Smokehouse near Greenlake in Seattle does some excellent cold smoking as well as hot smoking (the more common smoke in the Pacific Northwest).

I tend to only cold smoke the best of the best salmon- ocean caught Columbia springer kings for an exceptionaly oily and flavorful lox.

Any chums go through the hot smoke process.

Another alternative is to investigate grav lox receipes (just do some searches on the web) which you can do yourself without a smoker. This a traditional dish in some parts of the world that actually isn't smoked at all but cured over several days in salt and herbs (very salty, a little tough, but very tasty).

One other tip, a little smoked salmon goes a long way, so I reccomend packing it in chunks rather than fillets.

I've made lottsa LOX (Grav Lox). Everyone who has tried it absolutely loves it. Usually use ocean caught kings and large silvers, using only the filets from the belly section. Always use fresh dill weed, and lots of it, which is convieniently available bout the same time that the salmon are. I think it is more important to start with a super high quality fish when making lox than with smoking. I also highly reccomend adding some Wrights Liguid Smoke to the brine. Our favorite way to eat it is on a toasted bagel (or cracker) with cream cheese and a thin slice of onion or added to scrambled eggs. As mentioned earlier you want to slice it at an angle, VERY thin (paper thin). Enjoy!

Thanks for the replies. I called the smokehouse and found out that it was indeed hot smoked. I guess it just looks a lot more "moist" then I expected. I was unable to determine how hot it got in the process however. I'll still just looking at it but plan to try it over Thanksgiving. -Old Chum

I have a couple other smoked salmon related questions that I thought these experts may be able to help with: How long does vacuum sealed smoked salmon last in the refrigerator? How long in the freezer and is this recommended? Is Chum Salmon really very good to keep and smoke?

Thanks!
John

When I just picked up my vacuum packed salmon they said it would be good for 1.5 months in the refrigerator and about a year in the freezer.

I know the recipe for lox. It is a simple dry rub of about 2/3 sugar 1/3 salt plus herbs. The salmon is rubbed with this mix, which deyhdrates it. The extruded water is drained off, then more rub is applied. After 2 or 3 days the meat actually changes texture and assumes that "LOX" character that so lends itself to being sliced thin.

I have a sister who works for a fish packer in Alaska. She says chum used to be the staple for volume lox buyers, (Las Vegas.) Typically use coloring dye to give it some color. Most have switched to using farmed fish instead.

It really comes down to making do with what you've got when it comes to the decision to keep and smoke a chum this time of year. Me, I caught more than enough chrome blackmouth, springers, and sockeye to vacpac and fill my and my relatives freezers, started smoking chrome fall kings and silvers in August, and quit keeping fish the last week of September when I filled the rest of everyone's freezer space with smoked chromers. Do I need chum? No.

Now my bud who has no boat or particular skill at heavy duty predatory angling has been meat fishing for chum for the smoker. I even tried some of it, and since you could probably smoke the inside of your shoe and it would taste ok, his was edible, though pale and dry compared to the stuff I turned out. But that's the main thing, the quality of the fish going in the smoker is the main ingredient in turning out quality smoked fish.