How To Cure And Smoke Salmon Like A Pro At Home!

Smoking salmon like a pro at home is very easy. It is all about getting the best salmon you can find and making a cure that compliments the natural flavor of the fish and the smoke flavor.

This recipe is geared towards a 9-12 oz fillet of salmon, but you can double or triple the recipe for an entire side of salmon.

Ingredients:

9-12 oz salmon fillet, skin removal is optional

1-1/2 c brown sugar, light

1/2 c kosher salt

1 lemon or orange zested

1/2 tsp cardamom

1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Tools needed:

Mixing bowl

Measuring cups and spoons

Microplane zester

Smoker (I use an offset smoker)

Lump charcoal

Oak wood splits or chunks

Heat safe thermometer

Glass pie dish or baking dish

Plastic wrap

Plate

Paper towels

How to make it:

First, make the brown sugar cure.

Pick the leaves from the thyme stems, rough chop and place into a mixing bowl.

Add sugar, salt, pepper cardamom and lemon zest to the bowl and mix thoroughly to incorporate and break up any clumps.

Lay some of the cure down on the glass dish about the same size of the salmon. Place salmon onto the cure and gently cover the fish with the cure, lightly packing it onto the fish. Make sure the entire piece of fish is covered with the cure.

Cover dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 24 - 36 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator after the cure time and rinse off the cure under cold running water. Dry the fish off completely with clean paper towels.

Place fish onto a plate and put in the refrigerator uncovered for 4-6 hours to form a pellicle. A pellicle is basically a skin of proteins that form on the outside of the fish that is tacky. This helps the smoke stick to the outside of the fish and helps retain moisture.

Warm up smoker to 225-250. An offset smoker is a little more difficult to control the temperature, therefore I go off of an internal temperature of the fish rather than time. I like to use lump charcoal for the heat and oak wood for flavor. You can also use apple wood or cherry wood for flavor. Generally, a 9 oz piece of salmon fillet will take around 1 to 1-1/2 hours to reach an internal temperature of 140 degrees F.

Once the target temperature is reached, remove fish from smoker and rest 5 minutes before serving. Goes great served over parsnip puree with roasted carrots or other root vegetables.

This salmon has a nice depth of flavor. The cure compliments the smokey finish of the oak wood and stays super moist and tender.

Enjoy!

Logan