7 STEPS TO GREAT SMOKED SALMON

The most difficult part of making great smoked salmon is catching the salmon…but that is a story for another day. If you’re a fisherman here in the Northwest you already know of the banner salmon runs we’re enjoying right now. I work part time for a family owned third generation meat market, Smoky Davis Inc., here in Boise, Idaho. The past few weeks we’ve been filleting/smoking record numbers of salmon for area fishermen. But…smoking your own fish is easy, economical, fun, and yields smoked fish you’ll enjoy sharing with friends and family.

In our learning module, All About Salmon – Part I, we teach how to fillet, smoke, and can salmon. Here is a very simple brine and the step by step process so can make your own great smoked salmon. This what we call our “Old Fashioned Brine” and is one of three we use in the module. The module consists of thirteen video segments totaling one hour and twenty six minutes. Join “PC” to see the whole show!

Filleted

STEPS

1.  Fillet fish and cut into smaller pieces. Do not skin the fillet. I like strips that are 3″-4″ long, 1″ – 1 1/2 ” wide and the thickness of the fillet. .  But…your preference is what counts and you can smoke a whole fillet if desired.

2.  Mix one cup rock salt, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, with two cold quarts water. Note – all the rock salt will not dissolve.

3.   Place fish pieces into a food grade plastic or glass container and pour brine over the fish making sure all pieces are covered.

4.  Brine for 12-14 hours or overnight at 40-45 degrees.

5.  Drain brine and rinse fish pieces if desired.

6.  Place fish on smoker racks and air or blow dry with a small fan until pieces are dry.

7.  Smoke with the wood of your choice to a temperature of 145-155 degrees.

Smoked Salmon

As with any other skill there is a learning curve associated with smoking fish. This blog serves as an introduction to our “PC” learning module, “All About Salmon”. Though it’s just a guess I figure I’ve smoked between 2000-3000 pounds of pounds of salmon over the years, I still enjoy the process and the results. When you join Powerless Cooking(R) you’ll have direct e-mail access to me with any of your ‘smoking questions’!

On a side note I show you how to get the absolute maximum yield from your salmon!

Please Check out our selection of electric and propane smokers plus smoker accessories in our Powerless Cooking(R) Store. https://www.powerlesscooking.com/shop/

Anyone can shop in the store but “PC” members receive a 10% discount on checkout.

Join “PC” today!  https://www.powerlesscooking.com/plans-pricing/