I made salmon jerky and it's terrific

Cafe Society
1

So, for the second day in a row, my regular grocery store was out of the Epic Salmon Bar that I like. Furiously annoyed, I decided that I would just make my own version of the same. I correctly assumed that it would not be difficult to replicate and even improve on the Epic bar.

I purchased:

One pound’s worth of sockeye salmon fillets
Three cans of Starkist canned pink salmon
A bottle of intriguing mustard-based barbecue sauce that happened to be displayed nearby

Assuming correctly that my nearest Bed, Bath and Beyond would carry a food dehydrator of some sort, I stopped there next, and purchased a Nesco dehydrator. It was only $64. Included were some packets of jerky curing powder.

Once I had everything ready to go, I proceeded in the following manner:

  1. With a long, thin fillet knife, separated the skin from one of the salmon fillets.
  2. Fried the skin in a skillet with a little butter and salt, until it was crisp.
  3. Minced one of the salmon fillets into a very fine consistency
  4. Chopped up the fried skin into tiny pieces and added them to the rest of the fish mixture for flavor.
  5. Added some of the barbecue sauce.
  6. Added some Italian breadcrumbs.
  7. Added some smoked salt.
  8. Added some honey
  9. Added the liquid from a can of kidney beans (I read that this works well as a “binder.”)
  10. Added one can of canned salmon, to stretch out the mixture.
  11. Mixed it all together very thoroughly.

Then I formed the mixture into little patties and placed them in the dehydrator at 135 degrees for about five hours.

Damn!! They came out great! They are far superior to the Epic bars. Better tasting in every way. I didn’t look up any kind of recipe, I just winged it. And the best thing about this is, I can customize it however I want. I still have two more salmon fillets and two more cans of salmon. I can make a sweeter version, a spicier version, a tangier version, I can add different fruits and vegetables to it…all for a tiny fraction of the price of the Epic bars. This dehydrator turned out to be a damn good investment.

A series of four pictures showing the various stages of the process and the finished product.

2

I’m not understanding why you wouldn’t use marinatedslicesof the salmon, rather than mincing them?

What you’ve made sounds more like dried salmon sausage, especially with the 2 binders added. I don’t doubt it’s delicious, though!

3

It sounds like Lamoral was attempting to replicate these Epic Bars, which I’ve never heard of. It sounds like the Epic Bars are just a fancyish way to use processed salmon scraps, kind of like high-end chicken nuggets. I agree with Mr. Dibble, the next step in your jerky adventure, Lamoral, should be actual sockeye salmon fillets. What you made does sound tasty though, basically dehydrated salmon patties. If it was me I’d stick strictly to the cheaper canned stuff when making patties and not waste the good sockeye fillets by mixing them with anything.

4

thanks for the pictures! did the nesco have a fan or a heat element? I just bought a london broil steak to make beef jerky this weekend…

5

May I suggest candied salmon for your next attempt?

6

I’ve been eating that, and the stuff MrDibble mentions, for all my life. I was trying to replicate the Epic bar, which I succeeded in doing - and improving upon!

Both.

7

Looks pretty good. I’ve made beef, pork, and turkey jerky, but never fish. My local chain market (Dierbergs) in St. Louis usually has teriyaki smoked salmon pieces in their seafood department. $18 a pound, but worth every penny,