The Basics of Smoking Fish

I've been researching the process of both hot and cold smoking for many years and during that time I've learned a lot, much of it from information freely available over the internet. In contrast however I've also read a lot of rubbish that has led me astray and in these instances I've had to find out for myself.
I've prepared this short article to give you an insight into what I've learned of the years so that you don't have to worry about what is good and what is bad advice. To make for easy reading I'll separate the two basic food that you will smoke when starting out and I'll start with fish and in particular salmon.
Normally I hang fish to smoke but that's not always the case with fish and in particular farmed fish. Many purists will tell you that farmed fish (especially salmon) isn't up to the job and you should always smoke wild salmon. The issue is with the texture of farmed salmon in that the salmon hasn't got the muscle development that you get with a wild salmon that's fought hard against the currents of the sea and rivers so for that reason it's necessary to smoke farmed salmon flat rather than hanging.
Farmed salmon is perfectly acceptable for smoking, it's just this issue with texture. I make no point about the merits or ethics of farming salmon.
Some believe that you can smoke stale fish and that the smoking process will somehow “bring it back to life”. Quite simply, don't go down this route. For a start it's not actually factual and secondly on a matter of principle, the better quality product you start with, the better the end product is too.
Many within the fishing industry will argue that frozen fish is as good as fresh because the freezing process takes place almost immediately after the catch and this is absolutely correct. Provided it's guaranteed that the fish is frozen when caught then this is a good source of fish for smoking and of course with every rule there's an exception............salmon.
When salmon is frozen, the moisture between the muscle fibers also freezes and when thawed this moisture washes out some of the natural oils in the flesh. If you ever have the opportunity to compare fresh salmon with frozen you'll notice that the fresh is just that bit firmer and that makes it easier to work with.
Moving on from oil I must write a little on the subject of fat content. First of all the fat content of a fish will inhibit the absorption of salt during the brining or curing stage and this then means that there's an element of guesswork involved when it comes to timing so all in all something that comes to you with experience.
The fat content of salmon will vary dependent on where it was caught. For example a fish that's upstream and has been “sitting around” will be thinner and have a lesser fat content than on that has been thrashing around in the lower area of the river. Going back to the merits of farmed salmon then it follows that the farmed salmon will lower in fat content and therefore require less brining than a wild salmon.

Cricket Bat Grips

Cricket Bat Grips - How Many to Use?
There is a general view that the thicker the grip on your cricket bat handle the better it will perform. What you do have to watch out for is how the balance of the bat will change if you add more cricket bat grips to your bat handle.
We have seen the arrival over the last few tears of the luminous colours given to cricket bat grips. These are fine but again there is no point in adding a grip just because you think it will make your bat fashionable.
After saying all that an extra grip (or grips) can have a positive effect, it can turn a badly balanced cricket bat into a better balanced bat, but that means the initial choice of bat was probably not the best.
The most important benefit of adding extra cricket bat grips is the feel of the bat should be improved i.e it should be more comfortable when lifting the bat and it should give you a sense that you may have a little more control over the bat when making your shots. If you don't notice any of these benefits then it is probably best to leave the bat as it is.
There are a range of different cricket bat grips on the market today. So making the right choice is a little more complicated than it was 5-10 years ago. For instance there is the octopus grip, which is a series of miniature suckers rather like octopus tenticles that give a surer grip even when your gloves become sweaty.There are the standard players grips, that have been around for years and you can even get a mixture of the two i.e the top half of the cricket bat grip is octopus and the bottom is the standard grip.
All these different choices are great and it gives you a chance to individualise your bat as well as being able to tweak it a little to perform that little bit better. What you need to be careful of though, is ensuring that any new or existing grip is attached properly. There is no way anyone can place a new cricket bat grip on the handle without the correct tool or tools. There are a number of specific implements that are ideal for the application of the grip, some are just tapered "sticks" that allow you to roll the grip over it and then transfer that directly onto the bat. Others are a little more advanced and use a vacuum attachment, which makes the job much easier and is more or less fool proof to use.
The thickness of the handle or the idea of applying an extra cricket bat grip is all down to the choice of the individual player, but please do not attach an extra grip if you are doing it to make your bat look prettier, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons i.e if you truly believe it will enhance your game. I know players who have 3-4 extra grips and I know others who purposely use cricket bats that have thinner handles than normal with one grip. So it is a personal choice but if you decide to add extra grips to your bat make sure you make the right choice.

Not Only Available In YoVille!

If you love the ‘Luxury Thin Shelves’, you’ll love Crate & Barrel’s ‘Alcove Wall Shelf’!  Nine sheet metal ledges suspend and intersect mondrian style on steel rods to frame objects of interest. Raw look with powdercoated finish. This discovery was sent in from one of our readers, Thank You, Joan!

Hollywood Furniture Line Debuts In YoVille

Live the lavish life of the 30s in YoVille with the new Hollywood Furniture line. Zynga added tons of new items inspired from the 30s. Sofas, chairs, lamps, mirrors and many more items are now available under the Classic Hollywood category in the Furniture Store.
Most items are in coins. Check the long list of pictures and prices after the link.
Thank you Spiralda for the tip.