A few weeks ago I got a major craving for smoked salmon. Rather than go to buy some packaged stuff from the store, I decided it was time for a little DIY. So I searched the internet high and low for recipes and videos, as general sources of inspiration. I had never smoked salmon before, so I wanted to make sure I had a grasp of the basics.
It turns out that smoking salmon is pretty easy to do, it’s just a little time consuming. But as long as you’re patient, you stick to these steps, and you can control your smoker temp you’ll be in good shape.
Three Steps to making Smoked Salmon
There are really 3 major components to smoking salmon – brining, air cooling/drying, and smoking. Unlike red meats, which you can get away with not brining before a smoke, the brine is essential for smoked salmon. This step draws moisture out of the fish, which helps the fish smoke evenly. It’s also a component of making the fish last longer after it’s been smoked.
After an overnight brine, the fish needs to be rinsed off then sat on a drying rack (a cookie rack in my case) in a cool room with a fan blowing on it. It should sit in front of the fan for 1-2 hours, or until it develops a shiny appearance. At this point, if it’s slightly sticky to the touch, you’re good to move on to smoking.
What you’ll need for brining
1 side of salmon
Brown Sugar
Kosher Salt
A larger Tupperware or non-reactive container with a lid
A drying rack/cookie rack
Prepping and Brining the Salmon
- Take your side, or sides depending upon how ambitious you are, of salmon and cut it into slivers that are about 2-3″ wide.
- In a large, unreactive, bowl mix 3 parts brown sugar to 1 part kosher salt. The total amount required will depend on how much fish you’re planning to smoke. When I smoked 2 sides for this recipe, it took about a bag and a half of brown sugar.
- Place a single layer of salmon in your brining container. Try to use as much of the space as possible without overlapping.
- After your first layer is in, cover it with brine and fill in any gaps between pieces of fish. There should be just enough brine in the bowl to cover the salmon.
- Mix more brine if needed, then repeat steps 3 and 4 until all of your salmon is in the container and covered with brine.
- Cover with a tight fitting lid and let sit in the refrigerator over night or for 10-12 hours
Make the Honey Chipotle Glaze
Gather the following –
Food processor
1 Lime (juiced)
1 Can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/4 Cup of honey
2 Cloves of garlic (peeled)
Soy sauce to taste
This part is pretty simple.
- Add 5 or so peppers from the can to your food processor, along with 3 tablespoons of adobo.
- Add the other ingredients, including the peeled garlic and lime juice.
- Blend until smooth and the liquid is almost the consistency of a runny syrup.
- The consistency doesn’t matter too much, as long as you don’t make it too thick. This glaze will be brushed onto the fish during the smoke phase.
- Store in the refrigerator until ready to use, or up to 3 days.
Rinse and Cool the Salmon
After a night in the refrigerator it’s time to check on your fish. The first thing you should notice is that your dry brine isn’t so dry anymore. The brine has been drawing moisture out of the fish over night and has turned your container into a syrupy mess. So get your cooling racks ready, with paper towels underneath to help prevent some mess.
Run your faucet as cold as possible and rinse each individual piece of fish under the running water. Make to get all the remaining brine off, using your fingers to gently scrub if necessary. Place each piece on your drying rack and let sit, with a cool fan blowing on it, for 1-3 hours. You want to let it sit here until the fish has a slightly shiny look and almost sticky feel. Once you reach that point, you’re ready to smoke.
Smoking the Salmon (finally)
Unlike my typical smoking recipes, this one requires keeping the smoke chamber temperature below 200 degrees. You’ll also want to use a wood that producers milder smoke, so something fruity. I used apple when fine tuning things for this recipe.
Get your smoker going and aim for somewhere in between 150-170. If you’re in that window you should be fine. Once you’ve got temperature under control, place your fish on the smoker so that there’s room in between the pieces. This may mean you need to use multiple levels of grates, but it’s important that the fish not be touching each other. Close the lid and let her smoke.
After 30 minutes grab your honey chipotle glaze, a brush or sop mop, and give the salmon a light covering. Repeat this every 30 minutes until the fish is done. Brushing the salmon is also a good time to check for any albumin (the white stuff) bleeding from the fish. Use your brush to wipe away any albumin, then take it as a cue to check your fire temperature.
It can take anywhere from 2-4 hours for salmon to reach an optimal doneness, but you’re basically shooting for 135 internal. After you get there, transfer to a tray to cool, then enjoy or save for later. Salmon smoked this way will keep up to 10 days in the fridge, 3 weeks vacuum sealed, or a year vacuum sealed and frozen.
Enjoy!
