# First time smoking Salmon



## chcolmenares (Dec 31, 2014)

We got a real nice salmon fillet a couple of weeks back and I announced that it would be my first attempt at smoking fish. I then promptly forgot about it. 

Yesterday I thawed it and decided to smoke it. I had read about the time needed to smoke it but not much about preparation. At lunch I kind of figured out I had missed the part of brining the fish. I made a quick brine with kosher salt and brown sugar and left the filet in if to 2 1/2 hours. Got the older running and 2 hours later I got this beauty!













image.jpg



__ chcolmenares
__ Dec 31, 2014






It was really, REALLY  good. Next time I'll try to brine and cure it.


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## cmayna (Dec 31, 2014)

Looks good.   Did you get the internal temp up to 140ish before you pulled the fish from the smoker?  Yes next time plan a longer brining time, then allow at least 2 hours to dry to form a good pellicle, then off to the smoker.


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## bluewhisper (Dec 31, 2014)

Smoking salmon is highly variable. You'll see many methods described here. Brine or no brine, rub or no rub, drying or no drying, sugar or no sugar. Maybe grilling with just a hint of smoke.

My two main preferences are lightly seasoning/smoking/cooking, closer to simply baking it, for eating a large portion, or more intense seasoning and smoking for snacking tidbits like a few flakes on a cracker or mixed into a spread.


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## Bearcarver (Dec 31, 2014)

Here's my method for hold in your hand snacking Smoked Salmon:

*Smoked Salmon*  

Bear


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## chcolmenares (Jan 1, 2015)

I just smoked it for 2:10 hours, based on some of the posts from the forum. Temperature on the smoker started at 230ish and dropped all the way to 190 (temperatures in the 20s made temperature control a bit of a challenge).


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## chcolmenares (Jan 1, 2015)

BlueWhisper said:


> Smoking salmon is highly variable. You'll see many methods described here. Brine or no brine, rub or no rub, drying or no drying, sugar or no sugar. Maybe grilling with just a hint of smoke.
> 
> My two main preferences are lightly seasoning/smoking/cooking, closer to simply baking it, for eating a large portion, or more intense seasoning and smoking for snacking tidbits like a few flakes on a cracker or mixed into a spread.



Yes, I'm starting to gather different recipes ... I guess I will be smoking a lot more than just meat in the upcoming months!


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## smokepone (Jan 1, 2015)

Thanks for sharing.  It is done the list a little, but will be done.


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## chcolmenares (Jan 1, 2015)

Bearcarver said:


> Here's my method for hold in your hand snacking Smoked Salmon:
> 
> *Smoked Salmon*
> 
> ...



Looks delicious!  I'm salivating already!  Thanks for the link!


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## wade (Jan 1, 2015)

If you are looking to cure the salmon next time you may find this helpful

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/171886/comparison-of-salmon-curing-methods

Also a more traditional lightly smoked salmon that uses cold smoke.

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/140785/smoked-fish-fillets-salmon-cod-and-haddock-q-view


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