Smoked some salmon


 
Rich G

Rich G

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After seeing SteveF's smoked yellowtail, I was hankering for some smoked fish! It so happens I got my hands on some fresh, wild salmon, so I tossed a couple of pieces in a brine this am (1 qt cold water, 1/3 cup kosher salt, 1/4 cup brown sugar, bay leaf, peppercorns.) I brined both pieces for about 2 hours, then let them air dry to form a pellicle. I used a snake on my 26" kettle, but it ran hotter than I wanted it to.....no harm though. The little piece was done in an hour, and the larger piece in a bit over an hour and a half. Had some apple and cherry wood on for smoke. I had a nibble, and it's tasty stuff.....good salt content, smokey flavor, but not overpowering. Should make for some good snacking when we go camping this weekend!

Into the tub for a spa treatment:
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Ready to dry out:

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All done:

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Have a great weekend, all!

Rich
 
Looks outstanding Rich. That will be tasty out in the wild. Have a good trip. I made a couple of the best loaves of Tartine yesterday. Flavorful and tangy. Hitting it again tomorrow.
 
Glorious! We love smoked salmon too! Something else to try is thresher shark with a similar brine and then just cubed, skewered and grilled quickly. One of our favorites when we could more easily get thresher shark...
 
Howard V said:
looks mighty tasty...what temp were you targeting for smoker?
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I was trying to run at about 180F using the snake in the 26" kettle, but it just wanted to run at 225F (it WAS in the sun.) I expected more of the salmon fat to bubble up to the surface, which it didn't......which makes me happy. :)

R
 
I would like to smoke a salmon fillet on my Genesis. I will try this brine and use applewood pellets I have in the smoke box.

What temp? How long?
 
I'm impressed on the final look of it. I always use a dry brine for 4 hours.
Until now I have always smoked it at 180, been very nervous about smoking the salmon on the kettle just because you want to be super low for a long time and for the life of me i have not been able to hold anything lower than 225 yet....and its getting cold out so I am sure its a bit more touchy with stable heat. The high heat makes the oils break the skin, all you have to do to make it delicious is keep it in there......
Peter Condit said:
I would like to smoke a salmon fillet on my Genesis. I will try this brine and use applewood pellets I have in the smoke box.

What temp? How long?
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I do it a bit different but with great results, maybe mine is a bit more salty???
I would use dry brine, 4 parts brown sugar to 1 part kosher salt.
You need a lot, I usually make up about 4 cups of brown sugar.
4 hours, rinse well
Set on racks on the counter where the air is moving, Ii use a fan for 2 hours min.
The fish should be firm enough it sticks out straight like a cold piece of pizza
That is how you know the brine is done.
Throw it on the smoker as low as possible it takes at least 4 hours on that.
I just eat it when the corners start turning colour, the colour posted n the pics above look stellar to me though
I haven't used a wet brine so I cannot comment on pros vs cons.
 
@Peter Condit, sorry, I missed this one as that was a post from the summer on the salmon. :) The pieces weren't that big, and the grill was running hotter than my plan, so they went fast. An hour for the small piece and about 1.5 hours for the larger one. I usually try to keep it at 180F or lower, since, as Darryl pointed out, you run the risk of cooking out all that delicious salmon fat if you get too hot.

@Darryl - swazies , I've done the dry brine before as well, but usually default to the liquid brine (habit....that's how my dad taught me.) They both work equally well.

The last batch I did was on my new pellet grill, and I ran that at about 170F. Those pieces took 4-5 hours depending on thickness.

R
 
I read this with a small lump in my throat, a fabulous chef friend of mine used to smoke a salmon fillet for me. He passed to the larger life in April (not Covid related). His whole family have been friends of mine for almost 35 years. Andy had a grip on smoking salmon like no one I have ever known! My palate is a little sadder this holiday season without his talent and humor!
He was a good friend.
Now, to lighten the mood...
That looks great!!
 
Rich G said:
@Darryl - swazies , I've done the dry brine before as well, but usually default to the liquid brine (habit....that's how my dad taught me.) They both work equally well.

The last batch I did was on my new pellet grill, and I ran that at about 170F. Those pieces took 4-5 hours depending on thickness.

R
Click to expand...

Yeah that is how I used to have the best results. I would use the Traeger, set it at 180 which is the lowest it could be set at. Let that run for around 4 hours until the colour starts to turn on the skin and the put a very light coating of honey mixed with s tad bit of warm water to thin it out and just a crack of fresh ground coarse black pepper on it too. Let it smoke for another 10 minutes and done.
I watched a fella on you-tube do a batch with the wet and with the dry. He says both are equal, all I know is that after I pull the fish out of the dry brine after 4 hours it is firm and sticks straight out like a hunk of cardboard. I know the brine has done it's job by then and rinse off as much salt as I can get off. It's a huge hit with my guests. All this talk and it makes me want to go try and find some real fresh salmon....It really is one of the best things that comes off the pellet grill.
 
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