How is SMOKED SALMON made in Factories & How are Salmon Fillets Produced?

Smoked salmon, valued for its salty and homely flavor, is often considered a delicacy due to its relatively high cost. The secret to preserving its delicate taste lies in the age-old smoking technique. But how are thousands of salmon processed each year? In this video, we will discover how smoked salmon is made in the form of large fillets in factories. The history and development of smoked salmon begins with the basic need to preserve and extend the shelf life of food. For thousands of years, smoked fish served as a survival food. Smoking has been used by Native Americans and Scandinavians for thousands of years as a preservation technique. People cured their catches by hanging them to dry or smoking them over an open fire. This allowed residents of cold climates to accumulate nutrient-rich fish for the long winter months. To preserve salmon, it undergoes high temperatures to keep it edible for an extended period. During World War II, a smoking method was developed to preserve fish and transport it for a longer time. Salmon almost faced extinction due to overfishing and pollution. When this happened, prices soared and laws regulating salmon fishing were established to protect the species. Today, salmon is part of our diet and is considered a luxury food. To produce smoked salmon, you need a fresh salmon of the highest quality. So, it is brought daily from Scotland, where freshness is the most important quality. No more than two days pass from the moment the fish is caught in the water to its consumption, emphasizing the commitment to maintaining freshness. The first phase begins with fishing and transporting the salmon to the factory. The factory receives the first delivery of fresh salmon, each weighing over 10 kilograms. Once the fish arrives at the factory, they are placed on the conveyor belt of the processing machine, which can select larger fish at a rate of up to 20 fish per minute. Next, the fish is filleted by hand. This involves skillfully separating the useful parts of the fish from the unwanted ones. Salmon cannot be smoked in one piece, so the work of the filleters is to cut them to size. The filleting team carefully examines each salmon before proceeding to its experienced manual cutting. Handling wet fish is not easy, so they spread a layer of sea salt on the tables to prevent it from sticking. The salt also acts as a purifying agent. First, they cut off the head and tail, then split it in half and remove the backbone. This is important because 90% of salmon is filleted by machine nowadays, and when done by hand, a higher quality fillet is obtained, making it easier to work with. The salmon is expertly trimmed and scraped so that it can fully absorb the salt. During the brining stage, no matter how clean they are kept, bacteria will start to decompose them soon, as most organisms need water to survive. To eliminate them, moisture is extracted from the salmon, and this is achieved through brining. Each worker sprinkles a mixture of sea salt and brown sugar over the fish. The first part of the transformation process is the curing. The salmon will be in the brine for about seven days before undergoing the smoking process. After curing, the fillets weigh 10% less, preserving the salmon's flavor. The salt absorbs moisture from bacteria, and the sugar maintains wet weight and adds a nuance to the final flavor. The fillets are checked and cleaned after curing. The salmon is then moved to the smoking oven, which will further reduce the fish's water content. In the oven, the salmon is These fillets are now more robust and retain all their flavor. For smoking, oak shavings from old scotch whiskey barrels are used. Workers load the oven's combustion chamber with the first layer of shavings, quickly igniting a fire to generate heat without generating excessive smoke. Then another layer of shavings from the bottom of the barrels is added, smothering the flames and producing a During this process, the fish loses another 10% of its weight. Most of the time, it air dries, and the smoke provides an antibacterial layer that coats the fish to prevent deterioration. Preservation was the original purpose of smoking fish. Today, smoking fish is all about enhancing the food's flavor and color, and when it's done right, the results are superb. Once approved by the person in charge, the grates are removed, and the fish is left to cure so that its meat acquires a firmer texture. The fillets undergo a process of absorbing smoke over several hours, followed by hanging to mature for a minimum of two days. Hanging them instead of laying them down prevents the salmon from becoming too moist or greasy. Once out of the oven, the first thing to do is remove that crystalline layer called a film. The smoked layer is removed, leaving a beautiful salmon fillet. After smoking, the salmon is filleted by hand. This way, post-curing, a more authentic and pure salmon flavor is achieved. The bones are carefully removed by hand with tweezers. Not only do they remove the backbone, skin, and fins, but they also eliminate all the small bones, doing it by hand with tweezers or pliers. They extract 32 bones from each fillet. After removing all the salmon bones, each fillet is hand-cut to maintain absolute quality and consistency. Next comes the delicate process of trimming the salmon. Hand-cutting enhances its flavor because the slightly irregular surface of each slice helps release the flavor. Salmon is best consumed fresh, preferably on the same day it comes out of the oven. Since smoked salmon is typically served in very thin slices, the final filleting is yet to be done. Here, the salmon is diced and cut into thin slices before packaging for export worldwide. After filleting, it's time to package the salmon. It is packaged depending on its destination. The slices are skillfully reassembled and wrapped to be delivered as soon as possible. It undergoes a strict quality control procedure, resulting in a fresh and high-quality product that is vacuum-sealed to preserve its freshness during transportation to the consumer. The purpose of vacuum packaging is to preserve its nutritional and organoleptic properties. The packaging involves removing the oxygen from the inside of the salmon package. This prevents the fish from oxidizing, contributing to prolonging its shelf life and quality before reaching the consumer. A vacuum-sealed salmon can last up to 18 months in perfect condition. For retail sales, products are vacuum-sealed because it helps maintain the shelf life. For restaurants and hotels, as they distribute six days a week and the fish comes out of the oven the same day, vacuum-sealing is not necessary. They simply deliver fresh fish every day. Retail packaging comes with instructions explaining the production technique, so people know exactly what they are buying. This traditional smoked salmon boasts a delicate texture, it's not over-smoked and the salmon is not oily. These salmon slices are sent to restaurants and retailers, and in just two days since it came out of the water, you get a traditional product that has remained unchanged for over 100 years and is consumed worldwide. If you want to know how canned tuna is made, watch the video on your screen. Like the video if you have enjoyed it and share it with your friends. Also, subscribe to this channel by activating notifications to continue learning. Thank you for watching.