How to Smoke Wild Alaskan Salmon

[Salmon & Sable]

I will be offering one or more free classes on how to smoke wild Alaska Salmon this fall and winter in the DC and NoVa areas. These classes will show participants how to prepare, smoke then vacuum seal and freeze their own salmon. This is something I have done with my family in Alaska since I was a boy and I am really excited to share my technique with folks in my new winter home of North Arlington, VA. Nothing excites me more than procuring my own food then eating it fresh or putting it up for the winter. Learning to smoke, vacuum seal and freeze fish is a lot of fun and a valuable skill. Its very rewarding to present smoked salmon at a party that you smoked yourself!

For those of you who don't know my wife and I, we are Traveler Terpening and Nicole Ziegler. We are commercial fishermen from Alaska who fish for salmon in remote Western Alaska--on the Ugashik River to be specific. Although I have been a commercial fisherman since I was a boy, we only just started direct marketing our salmon to the public this summer. Our business is called Cold Country Salmon.

We will be back from our fishing season toward the end of August and the first salmon smoking class will be held in the first week of September. Other classes will follow and will be posted to my website blog, Twitter and Facebook. Participants do not need to bring anything other than a smile and maybe a notebook to take notes in. I will provide all materials including wild Alaskan salmon, a smoker, a vacuum sealer, etc. I will also provide a printed handout detailing the process. Additionally, each participant will be able to sample my own smoked salmon.

As I do not have a retail space for my business, I am currently looking for a suitable venue for this class. While I have a number of locations in mind, I would like to hear from folks if they have just the right place in mind. I am open to presenting this class for a private group at someone's house as well. As these classes are free to anyone, I would like to keep the class size small (10 or less participants per class) and the atmosphere fun and casual.

If you are interested in attending this class or have any ideas about a venue, I would very much like to hear from you! Until the end of August, email is the best way to reach me.

[JuneBacon]

Very interested in this.

Are you experienced in cold smoking cheeses as well? I assume it is the same process in the winter months? People might be interested in that too.

I would suggest that you start a Facebook Fan page for your business, where people can "Like" your page and receive updates on their feeds (Instead of personally friending you). There are certain advantages to having a Fan page in addition to your person page.

Thanks for the info, please keep this thread updated with any new information!