How to Smoke Salmon

Guide Note Salmon is one of the most popular foods in North America, and smoking is an easy and tasty way to enjoy your salmon. This article will show you how to smoke salmon.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Step 1: Choose Wisely
• Step 2: Fillet the Salmon
• Step 3: Brine or Cure
• Step 4: Smoke the Salmon
• Smoked Salmon Uses
• References for How to Smoke Salmon

Smoking Salmon Tips

1. Choose a good salmon.
2. Fillet the salmon for easier smoking.
3. Prepare the cure to your taste.
4. Cure the salmon.
5. Smoke the salmon.

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• by April Sanders

Introduction

• Tasty and full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids, salmon can be cooked in a variety of ways, including smoked.¹ Smoking salmon is simple and can be done in two different ways: hot smoked (kippered) and cold smoked (lox).² Cold smoked salmon is cured at about 80 degrees, but is not fully cooked and still raw enough to host parasites.³ This guide will focus on hot smoked salmon, which is fully cooked.¹

What You'll Need

(Creative Commons photo by Alpha)

Ingredients

• -Fresh or frozen salmon
• -Sugar (brown, granulated white or a mixture of the two)
• -Non-iodized salt
• -Seasonings/flavorings according to your personal preference
• -Wood chips of your choice

Equipment

• - Large bowl
• - Non-metallic container large enough for the salmon⁴
• - Smoker to smoke the salmon in (electric, barbecue, stove top, etc.,)

Step 1: Start With A Good Salmon

• Your smoked salmon is only as good as the fish itself!⁵ Here are some things to look for when you are choosing which salmon to smoke.

1. The salmon should not smell fishy.⁶
2. The flesh of the salmon should be silvery and shiny; bright and moist.⁵
3. The flesh of the salmon should be firm, and not discolored along the edges.⁶
4. When buying an intact salmon, look for bright and clear eyes.⁵
5. For best results, avoid frozen salmon ⁷
   • -If you must use frozen salmon, make sure the salmon is rock hard, evenly colored and tightly sealed.⁶

Step 2: Fillet the Salmon

• 

  (Creative Commons photo by Claudecf)
  It is much easier to smoke salmon if you fillet it first.

1. Remove the head.⁷
2. Cut straight down behind the gill, perpendicular to the backbone.⁸
   • Do not cut through the backbone.
3. After cutting down to the backbone, make sure you cut and free the lower (belly) section.⁷
4. Turning your knife upside-down (blade facing up), slide it along the backbone and cut up.⁸ Then, turn your knife back over and cut down along the backbone.⁸
5. Cut all the way to the tail.
   • -You will cut through the rib bones, so make sure you are using a good, sharp fillet knife!⁸
   • -Leave as much meat as possible on the salmon.⁹
6. Turn your salmon over and repeat on the other side.⁸
7. Remove the ribs.⁹
   • -The best way to do this is to remove the first one or two ribs, as they are positioned differently from the rest.⁸
   • -Then, remove the rest of the salmon's ribs by cutting carefully under the ribs, removing as little meat as possible.⁸
8. Remove the ventral fins.⁸
9. Trim off any fatty pieces to your own personal preference.
10. Remove the pin bones, small thin bones down the center of the fillet.²
    • -Remove with pliers, as if you were removing a splinter from your finger with tweezers.²
11. Cut the large fillet into smaller pieces for easier smoking.⁷

Step 3: Brine or Cure

• Brining and curing preserves the salmon and removes excess moisture.⁴ The difference between brining and curing is that a brine is a wet solution while a cure is a dry rub.¹⁰ A basic brine is a mixture of salt, sugar and water, although, some brines skip the sugar.¹ A basic cure is a mixture of sugar and salt. Either method will work in this instance. It's up to you to experiment and decide what you like best. This guide will focus on a dry cure.

For a Cure You'll Need

1. Sugar. You can use brown or white sugar depending on the flavor you want. Start with 2 cups. You'll need more or less depending on the size of the salmon.
2. Salt. The salt must be non-iodized, like regular table salt, kosher salt, sea salt or canning salt. Use equal parts salt and sugar.¹⁰ Start with 2 cups.
3. Seasonings (optional). This part is up to you. Try pepper, garlic, parsley, lemon pepper, etc.,

• 

  (Creative Commons photo by stu_spivack)

What to Do

• 1. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Cover the salmon fillets liberally with the mixture on all sides of the salmon.¹¹
  3. Place in a non-reactive container.⁴
  4. Cover with a lid.
  5. Place in the fridge for 12-24 hours.¹⁰
  6. Remove the salmon fillets from the container and gently rinse them off in cool water¹¹
  7. Dry on a rack for 2 to 3 hours at room temperature in an area with good air circulation. If needed, use a fan.⁴
     • Drying creates a thin layer of protein called a pellicle, which keeps the salmon moist and attracts smoke flavor while smoking.²

Brine Variations

1. For a citrus-based brine, add pineapple-orange banana juice.¹²
2. For deep dark flavor, try a recipe that utilizes liquid smoke.¹³

Step 4: Smoke the Salmon

• Using an electric smoker is fastest and easiest way to smoke your salmon.¹⁴ But don't worry, if you don't have an electric smoker, you can use your barbecue, a stove top smoker or even a makeshift smoker made from a cardboard box and hot plate.^{15 16 2}

1. Preheat for 15 minutes.¹⁴
2. Add wood chips.
   • -Alder, Hickory, and Oak chips are good choices.⁴
   • -Make sure to soak the wood chips overnight, so they're nice and wet.¹⁵
3. Add the rack of salmon fillets.¹⁴
   • -There should be several inches between the wood chips and the salmon.⁷
4. Let smoke for up to four hours.⁴
   • -The length of the smoking time will depend on the size of the salmon and the temperature of the smoker.²
5. Try to keep the temperature of the smoker between 140-165 degrees F.^{4 14}
   • -You don't want the temperature of the smoker to get higher than what you want the internal temperature of the fish (140-165 degrees) to be. Otherwise the fish will cook too quickly and not soak up the yummy smoky flavor.²
6. The salmon is done when it's heated all the way through and flakes easily.⁴
   • -Remember, make sure the salmon is between 140-165 degrees.

• Smoking time will vary depending on weather conditions.¹⁴ The hotter the temperature, the less time it will take to smoke your salmon, but less smoking means less flavor.²

Smoked Salmon Uses

• Now that your salmon is smoked, eat it as a main dish or use as an ingredient in a fabulous recipe. Try these yummy ideas or be creative and make up a few of your own.

Smoked Salmon Lunch, Brunch and Appetizer Recipes

• 

  (Creative Commons photo by Bethany King)
  All Recipes: Smoked Salmon Frittata
• All Recipes: Smoked Salmon Mousse
• Cooks.com: Smoked Salmon Chowder 
• RecipeZaar: Smoked Salmon Canapes
• RecipeZaar: Smoked Salmon Scramble

Smoked Salmon in Pastry and Bread

• Epicurious: Smoked Salmon Barquettes 
• All Recipes: Smoked Salmon Quesadillas
• Just Smoked Salmon: Just Smoked Salmon Sliders
• Just Smoked Salmon: Smoked Salmon in Puff Pastry

Pasta With Smoked Salmon

• Just Smoked Salmon: Fetticcini With a Creamy Salmon Sauce
• Just Smoked Salmon: Smoked Salmon Lasagna
• RecipeZaar: Smoked Salmon Pasta
• Epicurious: Smoked Salmon Pizza 

Sweet Smoked Salmon Treats

• Just Smoked Salmon: Smoked Salmon Indian Candy
• Just Smoked Salmon: Brandy Candy

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References for How to Smoke Salmon

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} About.com: Smoked Salmon  
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} YouTube: Where There's Smoke, There's Fish Part 2 (Time: 10:25)
3. ↑ FDA: Potential Hazards in Cold-Smoked Fish
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7} About.com: How to Smoke Salmon 
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} All Recipes: Salmon: A Fish Story
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} US Food and Drug Administration: Fresh and Frozen Seafood
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4} How To Do Things: How to Smoke Salmon
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7} Northwest Fly Fisherman: How to Fillet a Salmon
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Mahalo: How to Fillet Salmon
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} YouTube: Good Eats Where There's Smoke, There's Fish Part 1 (Time: 10:24)
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Salmon University: How to Smoke Salmon
12. ↑ Just Smoked Salmon: Steve's Smoked Salmon Brine
13. ↑ Just Smoked Salmon: Matt's Favorite Brine
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4} About.com: Fish: Smoking 
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} You Tube: Hot Smoked Salmon (Time: 4:50)
16. ↑ You Tube: Smoked Salmon (Time: 4:28)