Smoked Salmon

Hello all:

I want to do some salmon on my WSM soon..I bought some frozen Alaskan salmon fillets from the Schwann guy. Around here it's not so easy to get fresh fish so I figured the frozen fillets were the best I could do.

I am wondering if anyone out there is handy with preparing salmon and if so what tips you can give me in smoking this salmon...preparation, temperatures, times, woods, etcetera.....

I am also wondering if I need to be concerned about the salmon falling through the grates and if there are tools available to prevent this.

Some of my friends from the Pacific Northwest tell me that smoked salmon is great.

Thanks.

Robert

Chris has a section on cooking salmon.
go to the main page and it's under how to cook...
Remove the row a bones with a pair of needle nose plyers before you rub the salmon.
Use a light wood ie: alder, cherry, or apple.
Enjoy
Jim

Robert-

I got a recipe for a pacific indian style smoked salmon several years ago that goes like this:

Dry Rub

combine 1 cup coarse salt w/ 1/4 cup of brown sugar and a tablespoon of dried tarragon leaves. Rub the salmon and refrigerate for 6-8 hours.

Remove from refrig, rinse and pat dry. put it back in the refrigerator uncovered for 2-8 hours to let it dry. (time is not critical). Prepare the smoker. Take the salmon and place it skin side down on a couple of layers of cheesecloth and trim to fit. Then rub the flesh lightly with a light vegetable oil, then rub it with a little brown sugar(perhaps two tablespoons per whole fillet) and sprinkle on some more dried tarragon. (perhaps 1 teaspoon per whole fillet.) It helps if the cheesecloth is lightly oiled, (prevents sticking to the grill). Put the salmon on the smoker and smoke it for two hours at 250 degrees. You can cook it longer if you like it firmer.

After the salmon comes off the grill, peel of the skin with the cheesecloth and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until cold. Serve on wheat crackers with cream cheese. (we prefer Nabisco Wheatsworth Crackers.) Your guests will love it and think you're a genius.

The salmon will keep for about a week in the refrig.