As requested by a couple of members, Salmon Brine and Smoker recipe

Ok I met a couple of other members the other day and a lot of us have salmon starting to pile up in the freezer, so to help you out here is an amazing sweet and not salty smoked salmon recipe.

Ingredients:
Brine
1/4 cup of salt (canning, sea, any salt that is iodine free)
1/2 cup of honey
1/2 cup of brown sugar
about a gallon of water

Glaze
1/3 cup or so of honey
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

Ok first start off by choosing a thinner piece of salmon or cut thicker fillets down to anywhere between 1 to 2 inches thick. you can leave the skin on or off (it will fall of on smoker so either works).  so now that you have your fillets about 1 to 2 inches thick place them in a gallon zip lock bag then add the honey, brown sugar and salt.  kind of mix it all around coating the salmon, next add the water room temp or chilled.  when you add the water fill the gallon bag up but make sure you can still close it.  Remove all the air from the bag by squeezing it out and then seal.  Again mix the salmon and brine around in the bag until it looks well mixed, water will be a brownish color throughout. 

Now that you done with that place the bag in the fridge and keep it in there for about 12-24 hours but no more than 36 hours.  Once that time has elapsed remove the bag from the fridge and you can either dump out the brine in the sink or save it for the drip pan in the smoker.  so remove the salmon and pat it dry with a paper towel trying to remove excess moisture, next air dry it in room temp or a fridge  for about 1 hour.  While that is air drying you can start up the smoker, I use a Webber charcoal smoker but electric works good too.  Once you have your coals heated up put the smoker together with drip pan 1/2 to 3/4 full with water (also the brine can be used here or apple juice) remember to oil the top rack with olive oil or Pam spray so the fish does not stick.  Next place the fish on the rack and cover.  I then add the wood, I like hickory so I add it up to 3 times during the smoke to get a strong smokey flavor.  Smoke for about 20-30 min then flip the salmon cover and add wood again, smoke for another 20-30 then flip again, on this second flip start to apply the glaze of honey and garlic powder. then add wood agian if needed.  At this point the salmon should be pretty close to being done. flip once more adding the glaze and remove fish once it flakes off and looks cook all the way through.  in total it should cook between 1:20 to 2 hours depending on thickness and heat of smoker.  I don't time it very much I do it off taste and looks so the times are approximate values.

Now enjoy your catch it is really good and not salty like other recipes i have tried.  Salmon should be good in the fridge for up to 10 days...but i have never had it last in my fridge past 2 days, this stuff is like candy.

I you have any other questions or want other recipes shoot me a message or reply to post.. Also I will be hitting the water this Friday July 20th here on the Monterey side for salmon if they are still here or give the WSB/Halibut a look.

Hey Thomas!

I met you out at SWS awhile back when your Hobie had a problem steering and you helped me measure a Ling I caught on the beach!

You should try and make it out for the pay it forward paddle in monterey on Saturday!

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Ps....the recipe looks great!

Pps...did you happen to take any pics of that ling I caught that day? I didn't really get any good ones....if you did let me know!

Thanks Thomas!!! Nice to meet you on Sunday. See you out there.

Thanks for the recipe Thomas! I like that its simple and quick. I will try this on my batch of Salmon I cauht this past weekend

smoking salmon using this recipe as I type.  Will update as I go

I should have made the salmon pieces smaller, it took forever but good God this stuff is good.  I used alder, next time might go a bit stronger on the smoke.  Mixed with pasta, with capers and cheese, or just chowed on, this stuff is da bomb. 

Thx for sharing. If i catch one of those suckers his year, i'll have the recipe handy!

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ummmmmmmm  Smoked Salmon on a toasted Begal with some cream cheese...is there anything better!!!

Thanks for the brine bro