Monday, December 28, 2009

How to smoke salmon fish

How to smoke salmon fish.

The first step in smoking salmon is to soak the fish in salted water.

This is called brining.Some people like to flavor the brine with seasonings or liquid smoke.Here is a basic brine recipe suitable for about 10 pounds of fish fillets:

Brine Recipe;

1 gallon water.

2 cups table salt

2 cups sugar.

Dissolve the above ingredients in a large bowl and add the fish fillets. Allow them to marinate for at least 45 minutes before removing.

The longer you allow the fish to marinate in this mixture, the saltier it will become.

If you marinate the fish longer than 90 minutes, it will start to become very salty. You can however, reduce the amount of salt and marinate the fish a little longer for a sweeter taste. I find the above brine works well with 45 to 60 minutes of marinating.

Just make sure you do not add too much salt.

Of course, you can always add spices and herbs to the brine as well. You might consider adding one or more of the following to suit your own tastes:

Chili powder


Soy sauce

Worcerstershire sauce

Lemon juice


Lemon pepper

Your favorite seasonings

After brining the salmon,allow to dry in the open air.

This allows the salmon to take on a glaze.

How to smoke;

The smoking process is the same whether you use a standard covered grill, like a Weber Kettle, or a smoker. For the sake of this discussion, I will assume that you will be using a charcoal grill of some type.

Prepare a fire in the grill using charcoal or hard wood like alder or oak. When using charcoal, I prefer mesquite because it has a mild flavor.

You can add alder, apple or oak chips for flavor before you put the fish on the rack.

After the coals are prepared, push them to one side of the kettle or grill. Apply the wood chips to the coals and replace the rack.

Place the fish on the rack on the opposite side of the coals. Cover, making sure that the air flow hole on the lid is over the fish, not the coals.

Adjust the air flow holes so that there is just enough air to keep the coals glowing. Increase the air flow as necessary during the cooking process.

Most generally, I find that when I smoke salmon, it doesn't last long enough to go bad.

So, to expedite the process, I use a method that I call smoke baking. Simply put, I bake the salmon with a very warm or hot smoke for about 45 minutes to one hour. Allow the fish to "bake" in the hot smoke for 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on thickness.

Salmon prepared in this manner may be eaten warm or cold. Refrigerated, it will last 2 weeks or longer, if it lasts that long.

The longer you smoke fish the drier it will become and the longer it will last.

Many people dry salmon to make jerky that will last the winter. This is typically smoked outdoors or in a smokehouse.

This dried salmon can be reconsituted with moisture when making soups or when cooked in rice.

The flavor of the smoked salmon is largely dependent on the woods used for flavoring. Most hardwoods are suitable for smoking, however in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, the preferred wood for smoking is Alder or apple.

Alder and apple is abundant in these regions and has a mild flavor that does't overpower the flavor of the fish. Oak is also used for smoking salmon in California, but unfortunately the trend to use oak is a dying tradition.

Dried corn cobs can also be used for smoke and seem to add to the natural sweetness of the salmon.

You may smoke salmon in a covered gas grill. Assuming that you have a grill with burners on each side, fire up one side but not the other.


The smoke in a gas grill will be warm and the fish will therefore smoke rather quickly. Keep the flames at a minimum and allow to smoke for 45 minutes before sampling.

Good luck fishing and Salmon smoking..