Smoked Salmon

[Salmonsmoker]

Back in early Oct. I took a nice 27 in. King along the Joe. We ate some at the time and put the rest in the freezer. On wednesday I took a chunk of filet out of the freezer
to thaw. (I had a new recipe to try: whenever trying a new recipe I follow the directions exactly - then work on my own modifications.) Over night on Wed. it brined. Yesterday afternoon - it went into the smoker and we had it for dinner last night.

Here how it was prepared:

For the brine:

3 Cups water
3 Cups dry white wine
2 Cups soy sauce
1 2/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup table salt
1/2 tsb garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp Tobasco sauce.

Proceedures:

Combine the above ingredients and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved.

Put fillet into the brine and cover - refrigerate overnight

Discard brine.

Rinse fillet under running water and pat dry.

Air dry for 1 to 2 hours (until shiny film forms.

While Filet is drying:

Spray smoker rack with non-stick spray.

Preheat smoker to 100+ degrees and add wood chips. When smoking profusely,...

Put filet in smoker

Hold at 100+ degrees for 3 hours with lots of smoke.

Bring smoker up to 180 degrees and bake for an additional hour or until fillet has reached the desired degree of doneness(sp?).

This fillet was large so we ate it with a thick slice of garlic bread as the only side dish.

Next time:

I really like the flavor of smoked salmon, so I will replace one cup of the Soy sauce with water - also will probably leave out the Tobasco (I like hot/spicy foods, but felt that the tobasco and such a strong soy flavor detracted from the desired smoked salmon flavor.)

Overall, this was a very delicious dinner. With the above modificatins, it will be an excellent addition to the recipe book.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

ss

[Salmonsmoker]

Bringing this one current in response to question from El Cezador

Salmonsmoker

[el Cazador]

Thanks a ton for your help!!

I have a gas grill though. Can this be done with a gas grill? It's a Weber so I don't have lava rock under the grates...

I do have one of those mini Weber charcoal grills, but would have to dust it off. For quality, I'd be willing to do whatever it takes short of buying an expensive smoker.

What kind of wood should I use??

As you can probably tell, I'm really new to this...but very enthusiastic!!:D

eC

[Salmonsmoker]

el Cazador,

The Weber grill will work however, it will tend to cook the fish before it has had enough time to absorb much smoke flavor. With that in mind, I would use the bark from a Shagbark Hickory tree (found in the woods and along country roadsides in Southern Michigan) because Hickory has a very storng smoke flavor. The Hickory chips that one buys in the store are from the whole log. The really good Hickory flavor is in the bark. For short smoking times, use just the bark after soaking it for an hour or two in water. Lay it directly onto the metal plate under the cooking-grate, and set the grill at it's very lowest temperature setting possible.

A charcoal grill works well if you put the charcoal around the edge of the area - not directly under the meat. This slows down the cooking process. Also, place the soaked bark directly on the hot coals.

Still, with either of the above, you will want to closely monitor the done-ness of the meat. It will easily overcook.

You can build a wooden smoker.... put 4 wooden steaks in the ground with a nail on the side such that they will hold an old oven shelf. Put a wooden box (or even a cardboard box) over the steaks so that it comes to the ground. Once that is fitted, remove the box and the shelf and dig a six-inch-deep trench from the center of the 4 steaks back about 5 feet and cover it with a board. Then, at the far end of the trench, dig a small pit (about a foot deep.) Place an electric hot plate (pick one up at a garage sale for a buck or two or buy one new at Meijers for 12 to 15 bucks). Place a small pan with wet chips on the hot place. Cover with some metal roofing (easily obtained from a pole-barn job site) so that the smoke generated by the hot plate must go down the tunnel and into the box before exiting out a vent hole in the top.

With this kind of set up, you can add as many hours of smoke (I usually use about 4) as you want prior to cooking the fish on the grill.

Hope this helps. If you have more questions, please let me know.

Enjoy.

Salmonsmoker.

[el Cazador]

Alrighty!
I'm going to give this a shot this weekend. My plan is to do several mini loads, with the assumption I'll screw it up the first few times. I'll let you know how it goes. thanks!

[el Cazador]

Salmonsmoker,

Thanks a ton for your help.
This past weekend I smoked my first salmon filet. I had trouble keeping the temp below 200 on my mini Weber charcoal grill, but between the brine recipe you gave me and careful watching the fish turned out AWESOME!! I took the filet to a family gathering last night and it was a HUGE HIT!

Just wanted to thank you for all of your help...you've just added a new member to the "Smoke-it-yourself" fraternity.
:D

[Salmonsmoker]

el cazador,

Glad it worked out so well for you. Keep experimenting and trying new ideas. (At the present moment, I have several pounds of cheese in my smoker - keeping a close watch on it to make sure it isn't melting.)

If I can be of any more help, please let me know.

Salmonsmoker.

[WALLEYE MIKE]

Salmonsmoker, I use basically the same recipe stated above except I use brown sugar instead of white, and I use a 1/4 of mollases. I soak it for at least 2-3 days and smoke it for up to 5 hours on low heat(150 deg or less). My dad says it's better than you get up north. I like mine a little on the moist side and heated just slightly in the microwave. I'm always picking at it while it's smoking. I don't catch too many salmon so I buy it from the store for 1.99 a pound when it goes on sale.

[Salmonsmoker]

Making current