When stored with cold beer and my phone number the salmon with be gone in about 1 hour. Make the call. LOL


Eagle1

 

There's a lot of variables to consider. Salt content, drying time, thickness, too many to get into here.

My experience is from commercial production, so take that for what it's worth.

Refrigerated - not vacuum packed - a few weeks to maybe a month tops.

Refrigerated - vacuum packed - 90 days (vacuum packed immediately after initial cooling)

Frozen - not vacuum packed - 6 months before it will be freezer burned and dehydrated

Frozen - vacuum packed - 18 months

A few notes:

- vacuum packing after being in your fridge for a few weeks will dramatically reduce your shelf life expectancy if held fresh and vacuum packed

- vacuum packed and frozen - shelf life is determined as a quality related issue since decomp organisms are put to sleep by freezing

- once thawed from a frozen vacuum pack the shelf life would be 30 days from thawing - however this result would be impacted by how long it is held refrigerated before being vacuum packed

- decomp organisms slow down below 32 but since most refrigerators operate in the 40 degree range, these organisms will remain active. Thus the longer they are exposed to oxygen and favorable temperatures, the more damage they will do.



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The Queen of smoked fish ( Karla) put a powder in her fish & it was good for a year in fridge when vac sealed.

Never freeze it takes the moisture & flavor out of your product.

JB

 

I accidentally ate some chicken that had been out all day in the sun. I remember thinking how good it was till about a hour later, I blew it all out for the next three weeks. Salmon in the fridge for a yearray:

 

If the fish was properly cured before going in the smoker, I'd say a month would be okay but that's just a guess. If it wasn't cured the whole way, I'd not give it more than a week unfrozen.

I like my fish sort of dry so I don't notice any change after being vacuum packed and spending a year in the freezer.

 

Beware of vacuum sealing fish and not freezing it. Botulism may be a result.

 

+1

 

I don't think I do anything too out of the ordinary when comparing my smoked fish to other batches I've had from friends & family ~ pretty standard salt/sugar brine and trusty ol' Lil Chief electric smoker... I've had a few pieces go as long as a couple weeks before and they were fine. Texture seems to get a bit more rubbery over time and they'll sweat out a little added moisture so it's not quite as good straight, but those are pretty much non-issues if you're cooking them into something else anyway like a chowder, pasta, omelet, etc; no gastric distress problems is the main thing.

 

My experience has been, a few weeks in a ziploc, or until mold appears.

I've never reached the limit in vacuum packed and in the fridge. 1 year plus and been fine.

I dry brine and smoke in big chief.

My buddy in food science told me botulism is not an issue with vacuum packing. Still too much oxygen left in there for butulism to grow. Any food science experts know the facts there?

Edit: Obviously if the seal is broken in any way or any air appears in the bag, throw it out...

 

My buddy in food science told me botulism is not an issue with vacuum packing. Still too much oxygen left in there for butulism to grow. Any food science experts know the facts there?

C. Bot does not need a true vacuum to grow. It needs a reduced oxygen environment. If you vacuum pack and seal, at the very least you're creating a reduced oxygen environment.

What also happens is under refrigeration, the sealed reduced oxygen environment allows the continued growth of decomp organisms. These organisms grow and use up the remaining free oxygen, which of course effectively reduces the oxygen further.

This combined with refrigeration temperatures above 38 (40 if smoked hard) will result in growth of c. Bot.

Now, there other factors involved. Salt content, water activity, water phase salt, drying time, thickness of meat, etc.

Without being an expert in food science, your best bet is vacuum pack and freeze. Remember to break the vacuum when thawing.

That being said, my uncle smoked sobe salmon, vacuum packed it, and mailed it me. Like 5 day trip in an envelope.

I didn't touch it of course.

My mom said it was good. And she's still alive.....


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Someone chime in with the Chem that karla put in that insured that there was never a problem.
Although her fish never made it a year in my fridge, I had LOTS of fish over the past 20 + years that was 8 months or so just vac/fridge & never had an issue. TOP NOTCH - R.I.P. Karla. PS I sure hope the peeps that bought her store get that flavored smoker going again.


Johnny B

 

Sodium something I bet..sulfite/fate nitrite/trate???


MH

 

I've gone 60-90days on smoked salmon. Vacuum packed right after smoking cool down and refrigerated. Never had a problem but reading this I'll keep it under 30(few bags just went to the freezer)

What do commercials put in smoked salmon that is in stores on shelves at room temp?

 

That's not so much what they put in but how it's processed. Google retort smoked salmon.

It also has a lot to do with water activity. Water binds with things like salt, sugars, and protein. Water molecules that are not bound with other agents are free to be available to microbe growth. The amount of free water molecules is measured in water activity. In a nut shell that is.

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Thanks for the feedback everyone . Obviously a lot of opinions but some consistency in those responses too. Looks like the best solution is to vac pac and freeze.
Cheers!
Chris

 

According to the Cooperative Extension at the University of Fairbanks, Botulinum can start to grow in refrigerated smoked salmon at 2-3 weeks. They recommend freezing or canning to store longer than that. They have a great article on smoking and canning salmon guidlines and list resources for info.

Sodium nitrite does preserve and extends shelf life but it causes cancer.

 

If you open the fridge and can tell there is fish somewhere in there you have waited to long :wink:
​

 

I was hoping someone with a degree in food science would chime in with the hard facts on this.

As I understand it, if you vacuum seal the fish and leave it in the fridge, any growth of botulism will result in air (gas?) in the bag. It wouldn't have a great seal, look normal, smell normal, taste normal, but be contaminated with botulism. Right?

So far, I've been totally fine sealing and refrigerating for 9-12 months. But maybe I've just been lucky? I'd like to know what the experts say.

 

I guess my 18 years of experience are no match for a degree.......



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I'm guessing this is all for a "hot" smoke, ie Big Chief smoker. Does a slower "cold" smoke prolong these times? I've always made mine more into a jerky style than the mushy type found in stores and I thought that it would last longer.

 

The "pink salt" is called Prague Powder. You can purchase it online. There is a commercial restaurant supply store in SE Portland that sells it in 1/5/10 pound packages. You can find it with a little online research. Sorry, but I forgot the name.

 

According to the Oregon Health Authority for food sanitation rules for food establishments, Reduced Oxygen Packaging means that there is a limited refrigerated shelf life to no more than 14 calendar days from packaging to consumption.

 

I am surprised by these comments.

Vacuum seal and freeze. I vacuum all of mine except what ill eat in the following week. everything else gets frozen, and frankly i don't notice any degradation in flavor.


Yes salt and smoke extend food shelf life but why risk it?