Brined & Smoked Salmon (aka Bad Ass Smoked Salmon)
Recipe & Notes by Bryon Adams
This simple dish was made for an addition to our Thanksgiving get-together but could be made any time of year. The brine can be made a day ahead of time or started early the day-of to allow the brine time to work its magic.
The brined and smoked salmon had a sweet flavor to it but was balanced with the smoke. I wasn’t too salty, but I do think I could have backed off the salt a little bit. Taking the salmon to the final temp that I did produced a slightly dry fish that was very tender and had a nice level of smoke to it.
Things to try:
- Experiment with addition to the brine solution – maybe garlic, ginger, herbs, beer?
- Cut shallow slits in the salmon and rub in jerk paste on the salmon.
- Top filet with butter and fresh herbs while smoking
- Substitute soy sauce for salt
Serves 6-8 (depends on thickness of salmon, how much your friends like the dish, etc.)
Ingredients
- One 2-3 lb salmon fillet (skin optional)
For Brine:
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1 1/2 cup warm water (cool before adding salmon)
For Smoker:
- Charcoal for a medium fire achieving 250°F
- 3 hickory chunks
- Water pan underneath salmon
Thermapen Mk4 (currently 25% for Cyber Monday) from ThermoWorks takes a quick temperature reading of Bryon’s Brined & Smoked Salmon. The Thermapen Mk4 can also be used for taking temperatures of mash, sparge and cooling wort temperatures when homebrewing. Bonus!
Directions
At least six hours before you want to smoke the salmon, prepare brine solution by combining salt, brown sugar, white sugar, and warm water until salt and sugars are completely dissolved. Let brine solution cool and add salmon. This can be done in a Ziploc-style bag or sealable glass/plastic container. The key here is for the fish to be completely submerged or covered by brine. Allow salmon to rest in brine for six hours to overnight.
When ready to cook, prepare a medium fire for your smoker with a target temperature of about 250°F. Place water pan underneath the grill that will hold the salmon. Place salmon on a grilling pan or directly on oiled grill rack. Add enough wood to get a good smoke going; the fish won’t be on there very long. Smoke salmon until temp of 150°F is achieved for doneness. I have taken mine as high as 176°F in order to dry it out a little bit and give a bit more smoky bark; that left it somewhat moist and flaky still. Pull it off the smoker closer to 150°F if you like it more moist. Serve immediately.
