Looking to smoke some Salmon. What do I need? What do I need to do?

[va_rider]

So, looking to smoke some sockeye. We were at Costco yesterday, and they were handing out samples of smoked Atlantic Salmon. My wife was a fan, and looked at me and said "you should make this".... So, now I have to figure out how to make it. I've read through some threads here, and it seems like 220+ is the way to go for heat... 1.75-2.25oz of wood, either maple or apple.

This will be a first for me. Normally, I do my salmon on cedar planks on the grill. Do I need some sort of screen? Put in a larger pan of water? Can someone walk me through the basics or point me to a tutorial?

 

[Walt]

I prefer to smoke salmon @ 170 until an IT of 135 (it will be moist & flakey but still have a very nice smokey taste) useing 3oz pecan.  220 will cause the fat to ooze out & solidify (white firm substance). 

Generally, I apply a dry cure consisting of 1 1/2c raw sugar, 1 1/2c brown sugar, 1c salt & 6 tbs black pepper.  Apply liberally then wrap in plastic wrap. Leave overnight. Lightly rinse & pat dry then let air on wire rack in fridge for 4 hours to form pillicle (tacky shiney apoearance that helps with smoke absorbsion). Apply a light coat of cane syrup & place in smoker. Should take 45 minutes to 1 hour to reach 135 IT @ 170. Always enjoyable.

I use the seafood rack with NO water pan. Also, I cut the salmon into serving size portions prior to light coating of cane syrup before placeing in smoker. More surface area for smoke absorbsion & clean presentation (not torn up trying to cut after cooked).

 

[SconnieQ]

Aaron, my recipe/technique pretty similar to Walt's, except for:

• I cut my salmon into chunks before dry brining. I like to maximize the pellicle on all edges.
  

• I don't use black pepper in the cure. I just prefer the flavor profile more without it. If you do use black pepper, be very careful with it. It can overpower the salmon. Walt's recipe rinses it off as part of the cure, so that sounds fine. Some recipes call for sprinkling some on before smoking. That could be too much.
  

• I thoroughly rinse the cure.
  

• I don't coat with anything before smoking, but that's up to you as to how sweet you want the surface. Cane syrup, maple syrup, or honey is good. You can always coat some pieces and not others and see what you like. Some people coat after smoking instead of before.

• I smoke at 170 instead of 185.
  

• If you don't have seafood racks, frogmats work even better. If you have neither, then oil up your regular racks.
  

Here's my recipe:

Salmon - Hot Smoked

Basic Salmon Cure:
1 part Salt
4 parts Brown Sugar
(If you want, you can experiment with adding things like garlic powder, fresh dill, etc., but just salt and sugar is delicious.)

Make enough cure to thickly pack around salmon.

Cut Salmon filet into pieces approximately 3-4 inches wide. Skin-on and skin-off both work and are good. I prefer skin-off, because I get more surface area for the pellicle. A lot of people prefer skin-on.

Heavily pack the cure all around the salmon in a glass or food-safe dish, cover with plastic wrap, and cure for 8 hours. There will be a lot of liquid in the dish after curing. Thoroughly rinse cure off of salmon. Blot with paper towels. Dry on rack for about 3 hours to form a pellicle. If drying for more than 3 hours, then dry for 4-8 hours on a rack in the refrigerator.

Set smoker to 170 degrees. Smoke until Salmon internal temp is 135 degrees. Many recipes say internal temp should be 145, but I think the salmon gets too firm/dry. Cherry, maple or pecan wood is good. I usually use 2-3 ounces chips or thin strips.

 

[BedouinBob]

Aaron, can't wait to see your results!

 

[va_rider]

So, did a test batch last night to make sure I wouldn't dick it up on Christmas day. It was a rousing success. I used the method described on Amazing Ribs.  Wet brined.  1.2oz chunk of apple wood. It was amazing. I think the only thing I'm going to change is : I'm going to add a squirt of maple syrup on top with the brown sugar.

 

[BedouinBob]

Wow Aaron, looks great! Merry Christmas!

 

[SconnieQ]

Looks perfect!

 

[Jsorn]

Looks awesome

 

[schmoopyke]

I prefer to smoke salmon @ 185 until an IT of 135 (it will be moist & flakey but still have a very nice smokey taste) useing 3oz pecan.  220 will cause the fat to ooze out & solidify (white firm substance). 

Generally, I apply a dry cure consisting of 1 1/2c raw sugar, 1 1/2c brown sugar, 1c salt & 6 tbs black pepper.  Apply liberally then wrap in plastic wrap. Leave overnight. Lightly rinse & pat dry then let air on wire rack in fridge for 4 hours to form pillicle (tacky shiney apoearance that helps with smoke absorbsion). Apply a light coat of cane syrup & place in smoker. Should take 45 minutes to 1 hour to reach 135 IT @ 185. Always enjoyable.

I use the seafood rack with NO water pan. Also, I cut the salmon into serving size portions prior to light coating of cane syrup before placeing in smoker. More surface area for smoke absorbsion & clean presentation (not torn up trying to cut after cooked).

 

[schmoopyke]

I have a totally NUBE question.....Alot of these dry rubs make a huge amount of rub.  Is it possible to save any of the left over dry rub in a safe manner.  Im thinking vacuum seal. Does it need to be refrigerated? Thanks for any advice in advance.

 

[DivotMaker]

Schmoo - I just make up the rub in a plastic container (Tupperware), put what I'm going to use in an old shaker bottle (I keep empties from store-bought rubs), and store the rest in the cabinet.  It keeps a long time, in the dry, cool cabinet.  No need to refrigerate.

 

[va_rider]

I have a totally NUBE question.....Alot of these dry rubs make a huge amount of rub.  Is it possible to save any of the left over dry rub in a safe manner.  Im thinking vacuum seal. Does it need to be refrigerated? Thanks for any advice in advance.

I make my rubs in mason jars. Makes it easy to dump everything in, then shake it up. Leftover rub remains in the mason jar, and gets put under vacuum with the FoodSaver. Keeps it fresh, and keeps the brown sugar in a lot of rubs from clumping due to moisture.

 

[Glock_21]

Salmon is one of the few things that I still do on the pellet grill.  Mainly because I usually have a pork butt or a brisket in the #3 at the same time. 

Sam's has some really good salmon fillets.  They are not frozen and the skin has been removed.  My process is very simple.  I rinse and dry the fillet.  I give it a good coat of brown sugar and then a little dusting of Traeger Salmon Shake.  A little goes a long way with the Salmon Shake.  The fillet then goes on the pellet grill for 2 - 2.5 hrs or until the fillet starts to "flake".  Sometimes I will douse it with some spray butter during the smoke. 
I love me some smoked salmon.

The Salmon Shake is also good on ribs.

 

[DivotMaker]

I make my rubs in mason jars. Makes it easy to dump everything in, then shake it up. Leftover rub remains in the mason jar, and gets put under vacuum with the FoodSaver. Keeps it fresh, and keeps the brown sugar in a lot of rubs from clumping due to moisture.

Great idea!

 

[wehill]

Aaron, my recipe/technique pretty similar to Walt's, except for:

• I cut my salmon into chunks before dry brining. I like to maximize the pellicle on all edges.
  

• I don't use black pepper in the cure. I just prefer the flavor profile more without it. If you do use black pepper, be very careful with it. It can overpower the salmon. Walt's recipe rinses it off as part of the cure, so that sounds fine. Some recipes call for sprinkling some on before smoking. That could be too much.
  

• I thoroughly rinse the cure.
  

• I don't coat with anything before smoking, but that's up to you as to how sweet you want the surface. Cane syrup, maple syrup, or honey is good. You can always coat some pieces and not others and see what you like. Some people coat after smoking instead of before.

• I smoke at 170 instead of 185.
  

• If you don't have seafood racks, frogmats work even better. If you have neither, then oil up your regular racks.
  

Here's my recipe:

Salmon - Hot Smoked

Basic Salmon Cure:
1 part Salt
4 parts Brown Sugar
(If you want, you can experiment with adding things like garlic powder, fresh dill, etc., but just salt and sugar is delicious.)

Make enough cure to thickly pack around salmon.

Cut Salmon filet into pieces approximately 3-4 inches wide. Skin-on and skin-off both work and are good. I prefer skin-off, because I get more surface area for the pellicle. A lot of people prefer skin-on.

Heavily pack the cure all around the salmon in a glass or food-safe dish, cover with plastic wrap, and cure for 8 hours. There will be a lot of liquid in the dish after curing. Thoroughly rinse cure off of salmon. Blot with paper towels. Dry on rack for about 3 hours to form a pellicle. If drying for more than 3 hours, then dry for 4-8 hours on a rack in the refrigerator.

Set smoker to 170 degrees. Smoke until Salmon internal temp is 135 degrees. Many recipes say internal temp should be 145, but I think the salmon gets too firm/dry. Cherry, maple or pecan wood is good. I usually use 2-3 ounces chips or thin strips.

Kari, I used your method on my first smoked salmon on the #3.  In spite of a screwup on the schedule for the dry brine and drying in the fridge then waiting another day for the actual smoke it came out really good.

The only thing I really need now is a better source of salmon here in Oklahoma City.  What I used this time was some farm fed salmon filets from Sam's Club.  For a guy who is used to catching his own salmon on the Anvik River in Alaska this stuff turned out really great.  Can't imagine how it would do with some real Anvik River Salmon.

Thanks for the extra advice.

 

[Libohunden]

Kari,

I tried your dry brine method on some salmon last weekend and I don’t think I’ll be going back to wet brining salmon again!  It was excellent!

 

[SconnieQ]

I'm late to the party, but that's great to hear! I think wet brining might be more practical for operations that have hundreds of pounds of salmon, but it can't beat the dry brine for pellicle and flavor in my opinion.

 

[Ken]

I've been having a lot of success with steelhead.  It's available at Costco for $8.99 in WA.  The flavor is mild with a lot of natural fat.  When I see all of my grandchildren fighting the adults for their share, I know it's a hit. 

I do a basic overnight brine of 4 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. That enough for 1 pound of fish. Rinse well and then several hours in the fridge on a rack until it forms a glaze.  I brush it with dark maple syrup just before it goes into the smoker at 170 and an IT of 138 and its done.

 

[bogeyjim]

Picked up 2 lbs. of wild caught Sockeye salmon at Costco (skin on).  I started to attempt to remove the skin but quickly nixed that idea, as I could see the result was not going to be pretty. 

I then followed Walt & SconnieQ's suggestions on salt/brown sugar overnight  brine.  This morning rinsed thoroughly, patted dry and left in frig on wire rack for six hours.  I then lightly brushed with pure maple syrup (no fake stuff when you live in NH).

Used about 1 1/4 oz. each of alder & maple, set smoker just shy of the 170 mark, and target temp on my Smoke thermometer at 135.  I've got to somehow adjust my analog dial as the smoker temp was heading up toward 200.  I turned the dial back and monitored a swing of about 154-185.

Hit target at 1 hour 25 minutes.  Unfortunately the salmon had that white fatty substance on the surface (which I wiped off with a paper towel).  Obviously need to keep the temp down more next time.  Tried a bite and it was tasty, just a bit dry.  Also noticed my wood had only charred.

So a few questions oh wise ones:  Shorten the Smoke time next time out?  And on the wood, used Smokealiscious pieces that were each about 3" long and 1" square in an aluminum "boat" inside the firebox.  Should I split the wood pieces in half next time?, ditch the "boat" and just load in the firebox???

Sorry this has turned into a novel, just want to become better at this hobby!

 

[Walt]

For low temp cooks like this, I only use chips. Not enough heat or time to use chunks, no matter where its purchased. Like you said, the heat apparently got a bit too high if the albumin was visable on the surface. 45 min to an hour is all it usually takes to reach 135 IT (moist & flakey). Keep @ it, you'll perfect it before long. Good luck...