Smoked Salmon

[jigstick]

Im firing up my smoker tomorrow to do some pork shoulders and brisket.  Ill be using apple and hickory wood.  I have some vacuum sealed salmon that I need to use up.  It is filleted.  But the bones and skin are still in and on. 

Can I smoke it as is?

 

Do I need to brine it first?

 

Any good recipes for smoked king salmon?

[eyesncoke]

I always brine. Simple - coarse salt with a little brown sugar and water of course. Usually I'll leave in the brine for 24 hours, but a lot of guys go shorter than that. But I like a little saltier flavor. Then I'll put on a rack and leave in the fridge for about 24 hours to dry out / form pellicle. For recipes, I keep it pretty simple. 2 most used are to rub on vegetable sprinkle (Club House) and then shredded mozzerella and the other is lay on some hot pepper rings and top with shredded pepper jack. Sometimes just plain old smoke and a drizzle of maple syrup does the trick too. I find the beauty of smoking is to just try a bunch of different stuff, lots of options, and you can always change it up lots.

[Adk1]

THE BRINE IS A MUST DO! I did some salmon and didnt brine it first. all the white (good fat) came out of the fish and it was pretty dry. I will always brine it from now on. This is a great website:

 

http://www.smoking-meat.com/

Edited May 30, 2014 by Adk1