# First Hot Smoked Salmon with QView!!!



## tallbm (May 21, 2020)

Well I finally did my 1st hot smoked salmon (I do cold smoke lox normally) and it came it really well.  I didn't fuss or muss and this is about as simple of a smoke as you can get and it proves you don't have to do anything more than season and smoke the Salmon for a hot salmon dish :) .  Here is the QView and then the writeup :)








So fresh farm raised Atlantic Salmon was on sale for $5.99/lb for a whole fillet so I bought a nice thick one.  My intentions were to do hot smoked salmon.... I had been so busy that it sat wrapped in the fridge for like 4 days so I KNEW I had to make it happen quickly as fresh fish doesnt stay fresh too long hahaha.

I had done a little research and most people marinate in soy sauce and do some other things I would really like to do but I had no time for any of that as this stuff had to be cooked fast, it was already smellin a little fisshy.

So it went down like this on the day of smoking:

Skinned it (was going to leave skin on but once it was smelling a little fishy i figured skin better come off
Cut thinner belly away from thicker part of fish
Cut all of it into chunks
Seasoned both sides with Salt, Pepper, garlic, and Onion (no marinade at all)
Put on veggie/fish mat, put on my trusty basket and put on smoker rack
Set smoker to 210F so hot part of smoker turned out to be 212F, cold part was 190F, and 210F in the middle
Loaded the AMNPS with a little bit of left over pellets from last smoke and then some 85% Alder and 15% Mesquite from a blend bag i bought years ago that I'm trying to use up (yes a little Mesquite works well on fish lol)
It probably smoked and cooked for about 3-3.5 hours
I wanted to cook the salmon a little bit harder in hopes of killing any extra fishy taste, I think it worked out fine
I let it hit 161F in the thickest fish piece


In all I'm pretty happy with the smoke.  Had I smoked the fish the same day or next day from buying it I wouldn't have taken it to 161F but cooking it that hard did not ruin it and I think it may have averted any unwanted extra fishyness that wasnt there when it was fresher lol.
Smoke flavor was great and texture was flakey but more dry than I want, I think around 145-150F may be the magic temp number range.

SO Lessons to take away form this smoking adventure are:

You can Hot smoke salmon with minimal prep
You don't need to form a pelicle, marinade, or fuss with it much at all, just season and toss in the smoker
You know a little Mesquite doesn't hurt the fish at all
You can cook a little harder to 161F if you want to protect against some unwanted extra fishyness (the not good kind), but a lower internal temp (IT) is more desirable
  Smoker temp works just fine in range of 190-212F
This much Salmon (about 2.5-3lbs before cooking) will take about 3-3.5 hrs at 190-212F smoker temp ... for planning purposes :)

I'm about to make bout to make lunch with some of it now.  Gonna shred some cabbage, add some noodles, add some sharp cheddar, some mayo, a touch of BBQ sauce, and mix the smoked salmon in for a kinda BBQ Smoked Salmon Cabbage Salad  :)

I hope this info is helpful as I found very little on quick simple hot smoked salmon approaches on the site :)


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## jcam222 (May 21, 2020)

That looks tasty!! I’ll have to try that.


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## Blues1 (May 21, 2020)

Now on my list as well!


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## tallbm (May 21, 2020)

jcam222 said:


> That looks tasty!! I’ll have to try that.





Blues1 said:


> Now on my list as well!




Thanks guys.  It is pretty simple and if u can get the good prices then I say go for it.... especially as this might be one of the more readily available meats in the meat counter since it is naturally more costly.


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## texomakid (Aug 25, 2020)

Man look what I found in the search for Salmon? I'm all over this right now!!!! Fixing to fire up my smoker & I found the perfect quick guide to a no prepped fillet.

Thanks 

 tallbm


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## tallbm (Aug 25, 2020)

texomakid said:


> Man look what I found in the search for Salmon? I'm all over this right now!!!! Fixing to fire up my smoker & I found the perfect quick guide to a no prepped fillet.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> tallbm



Hahha im glad its helping u! Let us know how it comes out :)


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## texomakid (Aug 26, 2020)

Well it had a fishy smell but the flavor was really good. I did SP with a dash of Weber's Garlic Herb. 2 hours in the smoker to an IT of 145. I guess using a brine I can get the fishy smell out because everything else was very good.


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## tallbm (Aug 26, 2020)

texomakid said:


> Well it had a fishy smell but the flavor was really good. I did SP with a dash of Weber's Garlic Herb. 2 hours in the smoker to an IT of 145. I guess using a brine I can get the fishy smell out because everything else was very good.


I'm glad it turned out well!

Mine was fishy from sitting in the fridge 4 days and no telling how long in the meat counter hahaha

A brine can probably get rid of some of that fishyness but I notice if I get good quality salmon (some stores vs others) and cook it that day then I have no issues.


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## Bearcarver (Aug 26, 2020)

Looks Outstanding Tall !!
Nice Job!
Like.

Bear


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## tallbm (Aug 26, 2020)

Bearcarver said:


> Looks Outstanding Tall !!
> Nice Job!
> Like.
> 
> Bear



Thanks!  I was thinking of doing these again for my father's birthday.  He loves fish and seafood dishes :)


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## smokerjim (Aug 26, 2020)

even though salmon isn't one of my favorite fish, that does look good!


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## tallbm (Aug 26, 2020)

smokerjim said:


> even though salmon isn't one of my favorite fish, that does look good!



Thanks!   It was good and got better each day after!  Getting better everyday after is a common thing with BBQ but not a common thing with fish hahaha.
It's good to know this stuff was ready to go and kept going.


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