Salmon jerky is the logical extension of both regular smoked salmon as well as salmon candy.
The way I do all three is, more or less, the same. Only the cure, cut and times are different. Let me walk you through it. First, there is my standard smoked salmon recipe, which is well regarded, incidentally. This is hot-smoked salmon fillets or blocks, brined and basted with birch or maple syrup or honey. The intention is tender, lightly smoked but fully cooked salmon.
Then there is my salmon candy recipe. This is a half step towards salmon jerky. Instead of a brine, I salt (and sugar) relatively thick strips of salmon, then smoked them and baste them until they are a bit sturdier than my smoked salmon. This allows them to be carried along on day trips, and they’ll keep a long while in cool conditions.
But salmon candy will still go bad at room temperature after a few days. That’s where salmon jerky comes in. It’s the same basic cure as salmon candy, but for longer, the cuts are thinner and the smoke time is longer.
The most important thing to know about making salmon jerky is to slice it around 1/2 inch thick, from the tail to the head. This is important. If you do cross cuts, i.e., from top to bottom of the fish. the jerky will fall apart. I also would not slice thinner than about 1/4 inch, or you risk the jerky drying too much and turning brittle.
You will also notice I left the skin on. It’s perfectly edible, and it helps keep the jerky together. If you don’t like it, peel the skin off before you eat it.
When done right, the finished product is chewy, a bit salty and a bit sweet.
I like it a lot as a trail snack, road trip food, or to eat while catching more salmon.You can play with things a bit, too. The initial amount of sugar in the cure is mostly to remove water from the fish, the same way salt does. Sugar mitigates the harshness of pure salt. But if you can’t have sugar at all in your diet, you can replace the sugar with more salt.
If by chance you forget about things and leave the fish in the cure too long, you can dunk them in a bowl of ice water to remove excess cure. In this case, it’s better to err on more time in the cure than less, because you are shooting for preservation.
As for the flavoring, I still like my maple or birch syrup baste. (You can buy birch syrup made by my friend Sam Thayer here.) But you can go with black pepper pressed into the fish after it cures and before it’s smoked, or chile powder or garlic or really whatever makes you happy. Or do a variety.
Wood choice is up to you, too, but I recommend alder, maple or fruit woods.
Let your salmon jerky cool on a rack after it’s been smoked until it hits room temperature, then put it in a container in the fridge.
Salmon Jerky
Ingredients
- 4 pounds salmon, cut in strips
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup maple syrup or birch syrup
Instructions
- Mix the salt and sugar together. Sprinkle a thin layer of this over the bottom of a lidded container. Arrange the strips of salmon in the container in one layer. Cover with the remaining cure. If you need to do this in more than one layer, heavily dust the first layer with the cure before adding more fish.
- Cover the container and let this cure in the fridge for 12 hours. If you can, turn the container upside down once during this time, or mix the salmon pieces around, so you get a more even cure.
- Remove your salmon from the cure and quickly dunk it in a large bowl of ice water to rinse off excess cure. Pat the fish dry with paper towels and set on a rack over a baking sheet in the fridge overnight if possible, or in front of a fan or in a cool, shaded, breezy place for at least 1 hour. You want the surface of the salmon to get sticky-tacky, which will help smoke adhere to it.
- Fire up your smoker. I generally smoke at about 200°F. See the headnotes for your wood choices. Smoke you salmon for at least 3 hours, and as long as it takes to get dried, but still chewy. It normally takes me 5 hours. If you are using maple syrup, paint it on the fish every 30 minutes or so after 1 hour has elapsed.
- Once you have salmon jerky, put it back on the cooling rack to return to room temperature. It will keep in cool room temperature, i.e., 60°F or below, for a long while, but I keep my jerky in small, vacuum sealed packets in the fridge until I need it. It should last like this for months.
Hank,
Your notes say internal temp to 200F, what do you run your smoker temp at to get to 200F in 5 hours?
Your smoked recipes are the best!
Ted: Good catch! I will adjust the recipe. It’s not internal to the salmon, it’s the smoker temperature. Sorry about that.
Hi Hank, I tried this for the first time today and it turned out a bit too salty. Can I use 1/4 less salt and replace with sugar?
Luke: It’s supposed to be salty, but yes, you can make that substitution.
Hello Hank. I make mine kinda the same way by mistake. I use a Bradley smoker. I want to reduce the smoke taste. The smoke taste Is way too strong the way I am doing it. Should I add smoke later in the process or at the beginning ? Thanks Hank
Ben: If the smoke is too strong for you, smoke for a few hours, then finish in a dehydrator.
We work at Mr Bs Jerky in Southington, and wanted to know if you wholesale?
Dan: Of course not. I am just a person with a home kitchen.
Hi Hank I commercially fished Black Cod, Halibut and all the Salmon species.Smoked Salmon for 60 years. Never had I smoked Salmon Jerky. This will be a true test for me. I have eaten many various cured Salmon. One in particular is Native Indian Sun Dried Salmon dipped in Seal Oil not bad, not bad at all especially chased with beer. Thank you for your smoked Jerky Recipe. Am going to enjoy this trial as I love Salmon smoked in various ways. Thank you Hank.
Hi Hank,
I’m going to try your salmon jerky for an upcoming backpacking trip. My question is how long will vacuum sealed jerky last unopened and unrefrigerated? I plan on using wild caught coho salmon, if that makes a difference 🙂 Thanks!
Joanne: I vac seal them, but even once opened, I’ve had them a week after opening and they were fine. So long as it’s not overly hot and humid.
Hi Hank- thanks for all the recipes, fantastic! One question: would it be possible to substitute monk fruit sweetener for the sugar? It’s granulated and has a slight molasses flavor. Would rather balance out the salt than add more in the cure step. Not sure if the monk fruit would have the same effect as sugar in this process, and if it might add a weird texture in the finished product. Thanks!
Christopher: Sorry, I have no idea what monk fruit is. So I’m not sure.
Thanks for the response, Hank. It’s a natural sugar substitute (Erythritol), similar to Stevia, for a strict ketogenic diet – medically beneficial as it does not spike blood sugar. Anyhow, I went ahead and tried it, equal parts with salt. Hopefully will be a nice substitute for a sugar-free variation of this jerky recipe. Thanks again!
Christopher Baker, did the monk fruit work?
Hi, Hank!
I’ve been using the Presto indoor electric smoker (model 06013) for several months now with pretty good luck on salmon. I did have to modify recipes to make the salmon a bit less salty, at least for my taste, probably at least 4:1 sugar:salt and really burying it for a couple of hours before putting the strips in front of a box fan (yep, I’m a dyed in the wool improvisor). Afterwards, the Presto has a ‘slow smoke’ setting that I use, and I typically let it go for at least 1:30, sometimes more in a couple of settings, as the cycle maxes out at 2 hours for the slow mode. However, it works pretty well. I’ll probably be trying this recipe too.
Now I’m going to have to get some salmon and build this recipe! I can’t get the thought outa my head! Thanks for posting this Hank!
A dehydrator will work wonderfully. I know it sounds a bit too modern, but you can use a teaspoon of liquid smoke in the cure and skip the smoker. Put it into the dehydrator after curing.
Hi Hank,
Sounds so delicious! Advice, please? I live in an apartment so I cannot get a smoker as such. I do have one of those bitty smokers that one puts on the stovetop, would one like that work for a small batch? I do enjoy your posts so much! All the best!
Jacqueline in NC ?
Jacqueline: In your case I would smoke the fish on your stovetop smoker as long as you can stand it, maybe an hour, then move the fish either to a dehydrator or your oven set on it’s lowest setting.
Where does the maple syrup come in?
Dennis: While you are smoking the fish. See that step in the recipe. You paint it on while the fish is smoking.
Hank, morning…. Seems there is an uptick in botulism in salmon the last few years… Think about adding cure#1 to the mix.. I add about 170Ppm… USDA 200 Ppm max… About 1.2 grams per pound… I can’t tell any difference in flavor… 4 stars only due to the cure…
Been reading and following you blog for years…. Love it… Dave
Dave: I’ve read those cases and they do not apply here. There was a recall in Maine of cold smoked salmon, not hot smoked. And there was the first ever case of botulism from salmon in Alaska in 2019… but that was from some idiot who didn’t pressure can his fish. This method is safe.
Thanks for sharing your information, Hank. I’ve made all 3 of these variations with bluegill, bass, and catfish for years now and my fan base keeps growing.
What temp are you smoking at and can you use a dehydrator?
Patrick: See Step 4: 200F. And yes, if you jack up your dehydrator’s temperature all the way to about 150F.
Nice
Can you do it with any other fish?
Michael: Yes, especially since as this is jerky, it’s OK if it is very lean. That will help it keep better. I never make salmon jerky from bellies, for example, because they are too fatty for this.
I’ve done your trout and salmon hot smoked. I have a friend constantly begging for more. Next up…. salmon candy.
Nós cá em Portugal só temos Salmão importado da Noruega , de viveiro, serve para a receita?
Obrigado
Hey Hank, I am a little confused about when to apply the maple syrup when making the jerky….pleasee advise
Thank you,
Tom Davis
Plymouth, NH
Thomas: It’s in Step 4. While you are smoking the fish.