I smoke a lot of salmon, and I am proud of this recipe, although it would be the height of arrogance to say that what I do is the end-all, be-all of salmon smoking recipes. Lots of people smoke their salmon in lots of ways, and many of them are good. But I’ve been smoking fish for many years, and I’ve developed a system that works well.
Keep in mind this is a hot-smoking recipe. Cold smoking, which is the kind of slice-able smoked fish you get in fancy boxes from Scotland is an entirely different thing.
Almost everyone in Salmon Country hot smokes their fish. If you’re unfamiliar with hot-smoked fish, think about those golden smoked whitefish you see in delicatessens; those are hot smoked.
How do you eat it? Well, you can just eat it plain, or you can flake it and make it into a smoked salmon salad, you can pound it with butter and make salmon rillettes, serve it in deviled eggs, tossed with pasta… you get the point.
Here’s what you need to get started:
- A smoker. I’ve uses a Traeger and a Bradley. Both are good. No matter what smoker you use, you will need to be able to a) know your smoking chamber’s temperature, and b) control the heat, at least in a rough sense.
- Wood. The only downside to a Traeger smoker is that you need to use their wood pellets. As a guy who used a Brinkmann wood-fired BBQ for years, fueling it with scraps of almond and other fruit woods, buying wood can be annoying, but you get better precision with this method. I prefer to use alder wood for my salmon, but apple, cherry, oak or maple work fine.
- Salt. Buy a box of kosher salt from the supermarket. Do not use regular table salt, as it contains iodide and anti-caking agents that will give your salmon an “off” flavor. I use Diamond Crystal, which is cut finer than Morton’s.
- Something sweet — salmon love sweet. I prefer to sweeten my smoked salmon with birch syrup; It’s just like maple syrup, only tapped from birch trees instead. Super cool stuff. But maple syrup is just as good. Just use real maple syrup, OK? Not the imitation crap. Honey works, too.
- A large plastic container. Buy the big, flat ones from the supermarket. They stack easily in a normal fridge, so you can have two different brines going. And they clean easily and are pretty cheap.
- A wire rack. You need to rest your brined fish on a rack with plenty of air circulation to form the all-important pellicle (more on that in a bit), and you will use it to rest the smoked fish before storing it.
- A basting brush. You probably already have this in your kitchen, but if not, pick one up. Get the flat kind, like you use to paint detail on window trim.
When you are ready to start, you will need smallish pieces of salmon about 1/4 to 1/2 pound each. Any salmonid fish will work with this recipe. I’ve done it with king salmon, sockeye, coho, and pink salmon, dolly varden, plus kokanee, steelhead and Lahontan trout.
There is no reason it would not work with chum salmon or any other char or trout species. And yes, it works with farmed Atlantic salmon, but I never eat the stuff.
I prefer to smoke salmon with its skin on, but I’ve done it with skinless pieces and it works fine.
Smoked Salmon
Note that my salmon cure is very simple. Feel free to add things if you like. I've added bay leaves, chiles, thyme, garlic and minced onion. All are fine, but subtle. And since I often use smoked salmon as a base for another dish, I want mine to remain simple and clean-tasting.
Servings: 5 pounds
Calories: 132kcal
Ingredients
- 5 pounds salmon, trout or char
- Birch or maple syrup for basting
BRINE
- 1 quart cool water
- 1/3 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt, about 2 ounces of any kosher salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Mix together the brine ingredients and place your fish in a non-reactive container (plastic or glass), cover and put in the refrigerator. This curing process eliminates some of the moisture from the inside of the fish while at the same time infusing it with salt, which will help preserve the salmon.
- You will need to cure your salmon at least 4 hours, even for thin fillets from trout or pink salmon. In my experience, large trout or char, as well as pink, sockeye and silver salmon need 8 hours. A really thick piece of king salmon might need as much as 36 hours in the brine. Never go more than 48 hours, however, or your fish will be too salty. Double the brine if it's not enough to cover the fish.
- Take your fish out of the brine and pat it dry. Set the fillets on your cooling rack, skin side down. Ideally you'd do this right under a ceiling fan set on high, or outside in a cool, breezy place. By "cool" I mean 60°F or cooler. Let the fish dry for 2 to 4 hours (or up to overnight in the fridge). You want the surface of the fish to develop a shiny skin called a pellicle. This is one step many beginning smokers fail to do, but drying your cured, brined fish in a cool, breezy place is vital to properly smoking it. The pellicle, which is a thin, lacquer-like layer on top of the fish, seals it and offers a sticky surface for the smoke to adhere to. Don't worry, the salt in the brine will protect your fish from spoilage. Once you have your pellicle, you can refrigerate your fish for a few hours and smoke it later if you'd like.
- Start by slicking the skin of your fish with some oil, so it won't stick to the smoker rack. Know that even though this is hot smoking, you still do not want high temperatures. Start with a small fire and work your way up as you go. It is important to bring the temperature up gradually or you will get that white albumin "bleed" on the meat. I can control my heat with my smoker, so I start the process between 140°F and 150°F for up to an hour, then finish at 175°F for a final hour or two. NOTE: What my smoker is set at is not necessarily what the actual temperature is. Smoking is an art, not a science. To keep temperatures mild, always put water in your drip pan to keep the temperature down. If your smoker is very hot, like a Traeger can get, put ice in the tray.
- After an hour in the smoker, baste the fish with birch or maple syrup, or honey; do this every hour. This is a good way to brush away any albumin that might form. In most cases, you will get a little. You just don't want a ton of it. Even if you can't control your temperature this precisely, you get the general idea. You goal should be an internal temperature of about 130°F to 140°F. (Incidentally, yes, I keep the smoke on the whole time. I don't find this to be too much smoke, but if you want a lighter smoke, finish the salmon without smoke or in a 200°F oven.)
- You must be careful about your heat. Other than failing to dry your salmon long enough, the single biggest problem in smoking salmon is too high heat. If you've ever seen salmon "bleed" a white, creamy substance, that's a protein called albumin. If you see lots of it, you've screwed up; a little is normal. Here's what happens: If you cook a piece of salmon at too high a heat, the muscle fibers in the meat contract so violently that they extrude albumin, which immediately congeals on the surface of the fish. It's ugly, and it also means your salmon will be drier than it could have been. You prevent this with a solidly formed pellicle, and by keeping your heat gentle. If you let your heat get away from you and you do get a white mess on your salmon, all is not lost. Just flake it out and make salmon salad with it: The mayonnaise in the salad will mask any dryness.
- Once your fish is smoked, let it rest on the cooling rack for an hour before you put it in the fridge. Once refrigerated and wrapped in plastic, smoked fish will keep for 10 days. If you vacuum-seal it, the fish will keep for up to 3 weeks. Or freeze your fish for up to a year.
Notes
One last piece of advice: Try to fill up your smoker with fish. This process takes a while to do, and your smoker doesn't care if its full or half-empty, so you might as well make a big batch.
And keep in mind this recipe is for basic smoked salmon. Other options are smoked salmon candy, a great snack, and, once you have your smoked salmon, you can use it in smoked salmon dip on crackers.
Nutrition
Serving: 113g | Calories: 132kcal | Protein: 21.3g | Fat: 4.9g | Saturated Fat: 1.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2.3g | Cholesterol: 26.7mg | Potassium: 198.7mg | Vitamin A: 100IU | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
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HI there,
My first time doing this. Can you please clarify what you consider to be a “thick” piece of salmon (relating to the brining time).
Thanks so much! 🙂 I really don;t want it to taste salty
Shirley: Roughly two inches thick is considered thick for salmon. So really only large chum salmon or kings.
AWESOME!! Since I did not have your reply in time, I brined my King for 7 hours, rinsed and patted dry as concerned it would be too salty. Put in fridge for pellicle longer than needed. Put oil on skin side and garlic oil on flesh side and smoked for 2 1/2 hours and basted with 1/2 maple syrup and 1/2 honey every hour as suggested.
SOOO yummy! Smoked with Applewood chips as could not find alderwood.
Would love a little more smoked flavor – what would you suggest? Don;t want to leave it in longer as dont; want it to be too dry. Thoughts??
Thanks ever so much! 🙂
Just tried your basic salmon brine recipe so simple but simply delicious!!! Smoked on the pit boss smoker/grill came out great! Thanks for the recipe and the tips. Hoping you have an elk Jerky recipe since I have a 4th season elk tag in Colorado in November.
Been using this brine and technique for a number of years and it always comes out perfect. Chinook, coho and pink turn out amazing.The brine doesn’t over power and lets the fish be the star.
We eat it as is (fork the only accompaniment), on salad, in dip, with rice or pasta.
Hello there. I was looking for a recipe for smoking salmon. I found this one that had a lot of positive reviews. I love the step by step instructions. I live in Alaska and this is my new hobby. This is a most excellent recipe!! I can hardly keep ahead of family and friends demands ( requests). For me, it’s a two day process. I cut the pieces and brine them for four hours. I pt them dry and place the pieces on butcher paper and put a fan on them for four hours. After that I stack them in layers (with butcher paper between layers) and put them in the fridge till the next morning. I do the first three hours at 135- 150° for the first hour. Basting every hour with maple syrup. I finish with the last hour between 175-200°. It’s the best recipe ever! I’m just giving some detail. Again- I can hardly keep ahead of the demand. Long time smokers are asking for this recipe. Thank you so much!
I keep hitting a stall at 130. Is that normal, or is something else going on?
Scott: I have no idea. I never bother to check temperature when I smoke salmon. I’ve done it for so long I just know it’s done by feel. Normally about 3 to 4 hours at about 175F.
Not sure what I did wrong, but very disappointed with results. Very dry, very salty – not even good as jerky….gonna try to salvage to make dip. Brined for 10 hours, dried under fan for 4, smoked with alder at 185 for 2 1/2 hours
Johanne: In regards to the saltiness, it’s a fair bet that your piece of salmon was too thin or small. Smoking is an art, not a science, so you do have to keep looking at it while it smokes. If it gets the albumin (white stuff), baste it, if it’s looking done earlier, pull it. I check on mine every 30 minutes or so.
Johnanne,
If you smoke the fish at 185 right from the start it will dry out as you experienced. Make sure you start at 150 for at least an hour and the fish needs to be at room temp, not chilled, when you put it in the smoker.
Keep at it! When you perfect it you will not stop making it!
the best
Que delicia! We didn’t listen and only did half a batch. Now we want more!
Can’t make enough of this
I always thought a dry brine was the only to go, this recipe changed my entire way of thinking. I’ve used it on Cohos and even lake trout. Fantastic!
Followed this exactly for my first attempt at smoking salmon and it was amazing!!
Great recipe. Use it often. Step 3 is critical!
Great recipe. The salmon is delicious!
I was looking for a different recipe when I came across yours and decided to try it. Absolutely wonderful taste.
I rinsed the brine before drying, can I add the brown sugar back in with the coating ingredients while smoking?
Colleen: I prefer to baste with honey, maple or birch syrup.
colleen, you and me both. I really do think rinsing before drying is a very important step.
What internal temp should the salmon be before removing from smoker?
Hank recommended 130-140F which is consistent with food safety guidelines
Hi Hank,
Do you recommend the same temperature in an offset?
What flavor of pellets do you recommend?
Sandi: Whatever you like. It doesn’t matter all that much. I typically use alder.
Ive used this recipe over and over! Absolutely awesome!
Hi Hank
Soo glad I found your smoked salmon recipe always struggled making it right and still trying to perfect it I have a family function Friday and bought some salmon to smoke but put it in the freezer
I just read that that might’ve been a bad idea wondering if you have any tips or did I screw up and need to start over with a fresh not frozen piece
Or how this will affect the way I make it
Thanks much again:)