Smoked Salmon Recipe

This smoked salmon is a kippered side wet-brined in brown sugar, sea salt, orange zest, and lemon zest, then hot-smoked and glazed with butter, citrus, and soy. I love how the fish stays moist all the way through and serves hot or cold.

I would eat salmon every meal, which is part of why I have so many ways to cook it on the site. This one is a different play than my easy blackened salmon or my honey garlic salmon, where the heat is high and the fish is in and out in 10 minutes. Smoked salmon is the long game, where the brine pulls flavor in overnight, the pellicle pulls smoke onto the surface, and the glaze makes a sweet and dark crust over a couple of hours in the smoker.

Smoked Salmon (Kippered)

The word kipper comes from the British curing tradition, where fish was split, salted, and smoked to preserve it before refrigeration ever existed. In American kitchens, kippered salmon shifted to mean a brined, hot-smoked side of salmon, especially in the Pacific Northwest where the salmon harvest is the heart of the food culture. Kippered salmon is hot-smoked at low temperatures, which leaves the fish fully cooked but tender, sweet from the brine, and dark from the glaze.

When I work a salmon side like this, I treat the fish the same way I would on a fine dining line: a wet brine for flavor, a long rest for the pellicle, and a low slow smoke finished with a glaze that lacquers the top. Save the belly fat and tail trim for a different night’s grilled salmon, save the leftover smoked side for a bowl of Alaska smoked salmon dip for the weekend, and one smoke covers the menu for 3 days.

From late spring through the end of football season, there is almost always a salmon side sitting in brine in the back of my fridge. I get a fish home from the market on a Friday, slide it into the brine, and by Saturday afternoon a delicious dish is off the smoker on a board in the kitchen. By Sunday morning, half the side is sliced thin over homemade bagels with cream cheese and capers, and what is left finishes Monday after school in smoked salmon tea sandwiches for my daughter and her friends.

I highly recommend trying this smoked salmon recipe and walking through the steps and tips below before you fire up the smoker.

Ingredients and Substitutions

These are the ingredients I use to make this smoked salmon recipe at home, plus a few easy substitutions that I have tested and can recommend.

For the brine

• Side of salmon – I look for a full skin-on, wild-caught side of salmon. King, sockeye, or coho all work. I keep the skin on through the smoke because it holds moisture and can help it from sticking to the grates.
• Cold water – The base of the wet brine. Tap water is totally fine.
• Light brown sugar – I use light brown for the molasses flavor. Dark brown works for a more intense version. I skip honey and maple here; they change the balance.
• Coarse sea salt – Coarse dissolves nicely into the boiling water. Kosher salt is a fine swap by weight. I skip iodized table salt in a long brine.
• Orange and lemon zest – I pull the zest in wide strips with a peeler so I get the colored rind, not the bitter white pith.
• Ice – I crash-cool the brine with ice so I can pour it over raw salmon without cooking the surface.

For the glaze

• Light brown sugar – Same kind as the brine. It dissolves into a quick caramel with the rest of the glaze.
• Lemon and orange juice – I use the juice from the lemon and orange I already zested. The acid keeps the glaze from going cloying.
• Unsalted butter – Butter is what makes the glaze stick to the salmon.
• Soy sauce – Soy adds salt, umami, and color depth. Tamari stands in for gluten-free.
• Smoking wood – I like using apple, cherry, or pecan on salmon. Apple and cherry are the sweeter, softer woods, pecan is in the middle. I skip mesquite; the flavor walks all over the fish.

How to Make Smoked Salmon

Make the brine and chill it down: Add cold water, packed brown sugar, sea salt, orange zest, and lemon zest to a medium pot, bring it to a boil over high heat, and stir with a spoon to dissolve the sugar and salt completely.

Ice: This is key, I pull the pot off the heat, dump in the ice, and stir until the brine is cold to the touch.

Trim the side of salmon: I lay the salmon skin-side down on a cutting board and use a sharp 6-inch non-flexible boning knife to trim off the tail end where the fillet gets thin, saving it for another recipe. I slice off the belly fat along the long edge and save it the same way. I sweep a finger along the backbone side and pull out any pin bones with tweezers or pliers.

Brine the salmon for 12 to 24 hours: I lay the trimmed salmon in a non-reactive dish (glass, ceramic, stainless, or plastic) and pour the cold brine over the top. If the fillet floats, I flip it skin-side up so the flesh stays submerged.

Refrigerate: Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, no longer.

Rinse and rack the salmon: I lift the salmon out of the brine and rinse it under cold running water on both sides for about 10 seconds a side to wash off the surface brine. I pat the fish dry with paper towels using a soft hand, just enough to lift the surface moisture, then lay the fillet on a wire rack set over a sheet tray.

Air-dry for 2 hours to make the pellicle: I leave the salmon uncovered on the rack at room temperature for about 2 hours, or in the fridge if my kitchen is warm.

Preheat the smoker to 150°F: With about 30 minutes left in the pellicle rest, I load apple, cherry, or pecan pellets into the smoker and bring it up to a steady 150°F. I brush the grates where the salmon will sit with a neutral-flavored oil so the skin does not stick.

Place the salmon away from the firebox: I lay the salmon on the oiled grates as far from the firebox as the smoker allows. Direct heat over the firebox is too hot for a salmon side and will overcook the belly before the back catches up. The far end of the smoker keeps the salmon in indirect smoke the whole time.

Smoke at 150°F until 140°F internal, about 2 hours: I close the lid and let the smoker work. Plan on about 2 hours, but I probe the thickest part of the fillet rather than watching the clock.

Make the glaze: With about 1 hour and 10 minutes left in the smoke, I combine the brown sugar, lemon juice, orange juice, butter, and soy in a small saucepan over medium heat. I bring it to a low boil and stir until the sugar dissolves into a loose caramel, then pull it off the heat and hold it warm.

Glaze the salmon every 30 minutes: At the 1-hour mark, I brush a thin layer of glaze across the top of the salmon, then repeat every 30 minutes through the rest of the cook.

Push the smoker to 200°F for 1 more hour: Once the salmon reads 140°F internal, I raise the smoker to 200°F and keep going for one more hour, continuing to glaze every 30 minutes. The hotter finish makes the lacquered crust on top and lets the glaze caramelize without overcooking the flesh underneath.

Rest, finish glaze, and serve: I pull the salmon to a board or a platter, brush one last coat of glaze across the top, and let it rest 10 minutes before serving warm. To serve cold, I cool the fish to room temperature on the rack, about an hour, wrap it tight, and refrigerate until cold.

Serving Suggestions

The morning after I smoke a side, I will pull slices warm and stack them over scrambled eggs with a spoon of homemade lemon dill sauce on the side, and that picks up the citrus in the glaze and pushes the dish straight into breakfast territory.

The leftover slices that don’t get eaten warm finish the next morning stacked into eggs benedict in place of the Canadian bacon, with classic hollandaise sauce over the top.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: I smoke this up to 5 days ahead, but the first 24 hours after the smoker are when the fish tastes best. I cool the side to room temperature before wrapping and refrigerating.

How to Store: I wrap the smoked salmon tight in plastic or vacuum-seal it and refrigerate it for 7 to 10 days.

How to Reheat: I prefer this cold straight from the fridge after day one and that is how it shows up on most plates at my house. When I want it warm, I lay portions in a baking dish under a tight foil cover and put it in a 350°F oven for 4 to 5 minutes. A quick zap in the microwave works fine.

How to Freeze: I vacuum-seal the salmon in portions and freeze it for up to 6 months. I thaw it overnight in the fridge before reheating or slicing.

More Salmon Recipes

• Blackened Salmon
• Broiled Salmon
• Honey Garlic Salmon
• Hash Browns Crusted Salmon
• Gravlax