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How to Smoke Salmon at Home?

Smoking salmon at home is easier than you’d expect. With some prep and the right tools, you can transform fresh salmon into a tasty, smoky delight. My recipe gives you smoked salmon that can compete with the best from specialty shops. Just a heads up, this is a hot-smoked recipe, while cold-smoked salmon, like the fancy stuff from Scotland, is a whole different ballgame.

How to Smoke Salmon

Ingredients:

  • Fresh salmon, ideally with skin on
  • Kosher salt
  • Sugar
  • Maple syrup
  • Spices and flavorings (optional), such as black pepper, dill, juniper berries, garlic powder, and smoked paprika
  • Smoking wood chips, alder, apple or hickory are good choices

Equipment:

How to Brine Salmon for Smoking?

There are two classic methods for brining salmon: wet brine and dry brine.

Wet brining involves mixing water, salt, sugar, and optional seasonings like herbs or citrus. You dissolve the salt and sugar in the water, add your flavorings, and then soak the salmon in this solution for a few hours or overnight, depending on how thick the fillets are and how strong you want the flavor

Dry brining uses a blend of salt, sugar, and seasonings that you rub onto the salmon. After coating it well, you let it rest covered for several hours or overnight. This method pulls moisture from the fish, which it then reabsorbs, intensifying the flavor. Plus, dry brining is often easier and takes up less space since you don’t need a big container for a liquid brine.

How to Smoke Salmon at Home?

Step 1: Brine the salmon. Combine the brine ingredients like salt, garlic powder, and onion powder in a bowl, and sprinkle this rub generously over the salmon, ensuring it's fully coated. For an extra kick, add some chopped lemon zest and dill on top. For best results, let the salmon cure for at least 4 hours, but larger fish like trout or salmon may need up to 8 hours, and a thick king salmon could require as much as 36 hours. Just be careful not to exceed 48 hours, or it might end up too salty.

Step 2: Create a pellicle. After removing the fish from the brine, give it a quick rinse under cold water and dry it well. Place the salmon back in the fridge without covering it and let it sit overnight, until a shiny pellicle forms on the surface. This is essential for better smoke adherence during the smoking process.

Salmon Pellicle

Step 3: Preheat your smoker. Get your smoker heated up to 200°F (93°C). Choose wood chips or pellets that work well for smoking salmon, like alder, apple or hickory, as they give off a nice, sweet smoke.

Step 4: Smoke the salmon. Begin by coating the skin of your fish with a bit of oil to prevent it from sticking to the smoker rack. Set the salmon in the smoker, making sure it's skin-side down. Remember, even though you're hot smoking, you don't want the heat too high. Start with a small fire and gradually increase it.

Smoke Salmon

Step 5: Baste the salmon with maple syrup. After an hour in the smoker, brush the salmon with maple syrup or anything sweet like honey, and keep doing this every hour until it hits an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C), using a meat thermometer to check.

Step 6: Serve and store. You can enjoy the smoked salmon warm or let it cool and serve as part of a cold dish. If you have any leftovers, cool them down fully and wrap in foil or store in an airtight container, which stays good for about 10 days If you use a vacuum sealer, it can last up to 3 weeks.

How Long to Smoke Salmon?

The time it takes to smoke salmon can change a lot depending on the smoker's temperature, the size and thickness of the salmon, and your own taste for texture and flavor. To check if the salmon is done, it's best to use a meat thermometer to ensure it’s cooked just right.

For monitoring on both the smoker's temperature and the salmon's internal temp, the INKBIRD INT-11P-B wireless meat thermometer is a good choice. You can set the desired temperature and the INKBIRD app will notify you when it hits that mark.

INT-11P-B


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