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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.
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, rinse it briefly under cold running water, 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hello, I am going to be using this recipe to prepare and smoke some salmon in a Big Chief smoker tomorrow. My Big Chief does not have a thermometer and I am not sure how to monitor the temperature during the smoking process. Also, with the racks being loaded from the top and stacked, basting once an hour seems a little tricky. What do you recommend as far as monitoring temp, basting, and actual smoking time?
Emily: You can skip basting if you want, but you will get the albumin build up (the white stuff). As for temp, you are on your own. I’ve never worked with a Big Chief. I know you want it to be a cool smoke, less than 200F. The exact temps are not vital, but definitely below 200.
Emily,
Buy an instant read thermometer that has 2 or more prongs (mine has 8), you can monitor the temp of the smoker as well as your food. Also make sure it is Bluetooth, so you can check the temp on your phone.
Made this today in my Traeger. By lodging a big wood chip under the lid, I was able to keep the temp hovering right around 150 degrees. After 2.5 hours I never saw one bit of albumin appear. Closed the lid for the last 30 minutes until all filets were between 150-133 degrees, then took them off the smoker. This is a delicious recipe and I tried to follow it to the letter. Thank you for sharing this! I’m eating my first smoked salmon for lunch and it’s amazing. After being diagnosed with high cholesterol, I’m going to have to make salmon and mackerel a regular part of the old diet. I appreciate the tips and love the web site.
Thanks again!
Hi Lane, I am planning on using this recipe in my traeger. Did you use ice? or did you use the method of cracking the lid open only to help control temperature?
I have never attempted to smoke any type of fish before so this was a real step outside the box for me. I smoked two whole fillets, brining the day before and drying in the refrigerator overnight. I chose a cool day to do the actual smoking and used a very small amount of wood (2-3 sticks at any time) in my trusty sidebox smoker. All I could find locally was apple wood but it worked out very well. I had no real difficulty controlling the temperature and smoked two fillets for a little over 8 hours, basting every hour. Very little albumin formed during cooking. The results were outstanding thanks to the detailed instructions. My friends who sampled the results are from Alaska and proclaimed the finished product absolutely perfect.
I’ve made this recipe three times on a weber bullet and it turned out great. Noticed the albumin was a bigger issue when I used individual servings instead of a larger piece of salmon.
I’m about to buy a Traeger and the lowest temperature on the gauge is 165. Any idea if its possible to smoke at a lower temp than that? Does it matter? I’m more concerned about the albumin than anything else. Thanks!
Mike: I use a Traeger now, and it works fine. I get a little albumin, but I just paint it off when I am painting on the birch syrup.
Have you tried using a spritz similar to brisket to keep the temperature down and minimizing albumin secretion?
I have a Yoder 640 and it controls temps below 165 you referenced. I think 130° or 135°. They are more $ but are made from 3/16” think steel. I’ll pass mine to a grandchild someday!! They also weigh 300 lbs or so – FYI
It wasn’t practical for me to leave the fish out with a fan on my counter but I wanted it to dry faster than leaving it in the refrigerator overnight. Then I remembered that I had two clip-on stroller fans. I put the salmon in the refrigerator and clipped the fans on the shelf above and turned them on high. Two hours later my salmon was dry and the pellicle had formed. The fans are available on Amazon and have actually been used for projects way more than the stroller.
Getting ready to try smoking salmon for first time. I poured over a lot of recipes before deciding to go with yours, cannot beat that many awesome reviews. I do have one question. Should the fish go on foil while smoking or straight on rack? I’ve seen it posted both ways on different recipes.
Thanks
Dave: Straight on the rack. Be sure your grates are clean and that you slick the skin of the fish with a little oil first.
Quick question, your recipe says to pat dry, should I rinse the fish after brine?
Dirk: You can. Not 100% needed.
Keeping a 140-150 degrees was a challenge! But did it and it was superb!
This is my go-to recipe for smoking salmon for the last few years. I don’t baste mine, but the brine and form pellicle method is the absolute best. We have used both the Webber Smoky Mountain Smoker and most recently a Traeger.
Successful with both, but harder to control the temperature with the charcoal method. Thank you for posting.
Thank you. I don’t know how to control a smoker &mine is old so I’ll try to control with “quantity of wood“ to control.
You r very clear so I’m willing to try..
First time smoking salmon on my BGE, turned out awesome. I followed your recipe to a tee, the tips and notes were super helpful since this was my first time. My wife and I can’t stop eating it!! Really great job on the recipe, thanks!!!
I use a Traeger Ironwood 850. I start my salmon off at 165 for an hour, go to 175 for an hour, 185 for an hour, and then crank it to 225 til I get my internal temp at 140. I have used either honey or maple syrup and lightly baste each time I do a temp,change. OMG. This stuff is wonderful. So much so that my neighbors keep track of when I am going to smoke salmon and they take turns using up my excess surface area for their own. I have taught them all how to brine and then dry off and refrigerate overnight. Always a hit.
For the side of sauce, I use some Dukes mayonnaise, honey mustard, and a few spoonfuls of chipotle salsa from Costco and some capers on the side. Try it. Some may like it and some may not. We enjoy it!
Hey Hank – I’ve done this several times and found new and creative ways to mess something up in every cook but it has yet to turn out as anything but absolutely wonderful! I’ve done this once in an offset smoker with lump charcoal and some apple wood chips over an ice bath for like 12+ hours and I’ve done it a number of times on a pellet grill. Whether it seems to go perfectly with good constant heat and slow cook or I get a bad spike and it cooks in like 2 hours, it’s been a family favorite. Great and easy. Really love it! Thanks so much for sharing!
Hey Hank, thanks for the recipe. Awesome salmon! Sharing what I did:
Rig: Camp Chef 24 SG pellet smoker/grill.
Pellet: 75% Alder 25% Mesquite
Smoked on top 24 × 14 top shelf on a wire rack inside a half sheeter.
Used a 1″× 10″×18″ patio brick wrapped in foil on a half sheeter on bottom shelf as a heat sync. This maintains the low heat and temp fluctuations you get with smaller spaces (36″ and under) and pellet smokers tend to swing temp when the door is opened.
Even though my lowest temp setting is 160° I was able to keep it at 140° constantly for the first 2 hrs. Gradually brought it up to 175 over the last 2 hrs and bam 138° finish temp.
Sauces: Maple syrup, Honey, Honey Strawberry (made from syrup leftover from fresh strawberries and large grain organic sugar and honey mixed in. Strawberry may sound like a weird pairing with salmon but it’s actually AMAZING!
Thanks again y’all for the great tips.
HAPPY SMOKIN’!!!
Hi. Hope you can help me. I’m using a WSM. Have done about 1/2 doz batches of salmon with good results, but always looking to improve. I bring temp up slowly as suggested and try to finish around 170 after 3 1/2hrs. I find after basting each hr, I have trouble keeping temp down and still maintain smoke. By the time I get it regulated, it’s time to bast again. To keep temp down I have to close off drafts, but then I find there is no smoke coming out of vent. Couple questions: Is this normal or is there something else I should be doing?
Am I still getting smoke effect even if I don’t see it? In other words, is cooler temp more important than smoke?
Thks
Craig: Not sure what a WSM is. But in general, smoke is more important than a higher temperature. If you are losing temp while basting, that’s not terrible. Far worse to see temperatures spike to, say, 275F. That’s too hot.
It says prep time is 15 minutes, but really it’s 6-8 hours, right? If you include the brining and drying? So do you start this early in the morning?
Jessica: Yes, the prep time does not include curing time. I generally set the fish in the brine in the morning, take it out that evening, let it sit uncovered in the fridge overnight, then smoke in the morning.
Try the snake method with your coals in the WSM. Maybe only use one layer of 2 unlit briquettes side by side in a semi circle. Start with a really small amount of lit charcoal. Maybe a quarter of a chimney full or less. Place the lit coals on one end of the semi circle. Place one wood chunk on top of the lit coals. See how that works for you with your temps.
Just tried this today and it was amazing. Put a little spice in the maple syrup and it came out perfect. Thanks for posting!
Hello! This recipe sounds amazing! Thank you so much for posting it. I’m very new to using a pellet grill or any type of smoker and I’m wondering if you think I could throw potatoes on there with the salmon at the same temp and get smoked “baked” potatoes? Do you think they would cook at that low temp? Thanks so much!
Brenda: I have never done it, but I suspect it would work. It might take several hours to cook through at that temperature, but you are smoking the fish that long anyway.
If you use a filet or whole fish, adjust time accordingly. This is the best smoked salmon recipe and I have used it dozens of times. Thank you!
I use a recipe similar, however I add 2 TBS of Worcester, 12 drops of Tabasco, and a sprinkle of garlic powder and pepper. I have found the most important part is letting the salmon set for about 45 minutes after rinsing the brine and warming my smoker. Happy smoking! Don’t be in a hurry.
I was skeptical about being able to follow this successfully as it looked pretty complicated but it really wasn’t. It just takes time.
This is the best damn smoked salmon I’ve ever had, let alone made.
how can I send my sisters some of this and have it get there safe to eat?
Diane: You can’t, not unless you send it frozen. This is not intended for long storage.
Hank, if you vacuum seal it won’t the salt keep it from spoiling over the couple of days it takes to get to someone in the mail? I’ve seen smoked salmon many times in the store displayed in an unrefrigerated area. Set me straight if I’m wrong.
Ron: No way. That is cold smoked salmon, and entirely different product.
I have made this smoked salmon several times now and every time I get rave reviews! Even from people who profess to make the “best” smoked salmon! They have admitted they must their crown down to me. I pretty much follow the recipe exactly with the exception that I sprinkle fresh dill on them while they are forming the pellicule. Love it! Thank you for the recipe!
Has anyone tried smoking at 225f? My broil king regal smoker does 225f as its main low smoke point but I believe it can be as low as 180f.
Cheston: Yes, and it works, but you will get more albumin seeping from the meat. Just paint it more with the maple syrup and pull the fish after 3 hours.
I’m in the middle of smoking salmon and I’m already close to 130 internal in under an hour at 200-225f … is that normal? Maybe I didn’t probe correctly
I’ve been smoking fish for ~10 years and this recipe is one of the best I’ve used. The salt level ~2TBS for 2 lb salmon filet is perfect. It wasn’t too salty as I’ve made that mistake a few times. I missed the (post-brining) drying step for years. Don’t skip this! Also, it’s the first time I’ve basted [fish] during the smoke. I used a bourbon maple syrup. (Next time I might add a little more bourbon) It made a slightly sweet skin that sealed in the juices. I was worried that it would be overly sweet and it wasn’t. If you like sweet, smear a small handful of brown sugar each time after moping with the syrup and you have salmon candy.
Followed the recipe as written and it came out great! I was a bit disappointed in the maple syrup as it didn’t seem to give much of a kick to the sweet side of the salmon. I don’t have birch syrup readily available, but I do have molasses. Would molasses work as the sweetener for the baste?
Steve: Just use more maple if you want it genuinely sweet. I just like a hint of it. Molasses might be too strong.