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.
Ingredients
For the Salmon:
- 3 cups water
- 3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup sea salt
- zest of 1 orange
- zest of 1 lemon
- 4 to 4 ½ pound side of salmon
For the Glaze:
- ½ cup brown sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Juice of 1 orange
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Instructions
- For the Salmon: Start by bringing the water, citrus zest, brown sugar, and salt to a boil.
- Once the sugar and salt are dissolved, remove them from the heat and add the ice cubes to chill the brine. Set it aside.
- Next, trim the side of the salmon, removing the belly fat and the tail end of the fish. You may also see a few bones on the backbone part of the salmon which should also be removed. See the chef's notes below.
- Add the salmon to a non-reactive dish and cover it completely by pouring it on the brine.
- If the salmon doesn’t want to stay under the brine, you can flip it over so that it is scaled side up.
- Cover and keep it in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours. Any longer than 24 hours and it can become too salty.
- Remove the salmon from the brine and rinse it under cold water.
- Place the salmon on a rack and pat it dry and let it cool for 2 hours to create the pellicle.
- Brush the smoker grates with a neutral-flavored oil where you plan to place the salmon. Be sure it is as far away from the fire as possible.
- Smoke at 150° F for 2 hours or until it reaches an internal temperature of 140° F.
- For the glaze: With about 1 hour and 10 minutes left in the first intial smoking process, add the brown sugar, soy, butter, and citrus juice to a small-sized sauce pot and bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar and make a caramel.
- Brush the salmon with a thin layer of the glaze after 1 total hour of smoking and then again every 30 minutes of smoking.
- After 2 hours, turn the heat up to 200° and smoke for 1 hour. Continue glazing.
- Remove the salmon and let it rest for 10 minutes before glazing it and serving. If you prefer to eat this cold, cool it to room temperature, which takes about an hour, wrap it and store it in the refrigerator until cold before serving.
Notes
At this point I consider myself a pro cooking this smoked salmon, so I have to advise you not to rush the fish from the brine rinse onto the smoker. The surface is still wet at that point, and wet salmon beads smoke off the top like water off a raincoat. I rest the rinsed fillet on a wire rack for 2 hours, until the surface goes from wet to tacky to dry against the back of my finger, and only then does the salmon hit the grates. The 2 hours are not optional and they are not a place to save time.
Probe the thickest part, not the clock: I push the probe into the thickest part of the back, never the thinner tail half, and pull at 140°F internal. Two hours is the average and not the rule. A thicker king fillet takes longer; a coho can finish 15 to 20 minutes early.
Watch for albumin, the white stuff: A little white protein bleeding up through the surface is normal. When I see a lot of it pushing through the top, my heat is too high and the salmon is already past where I want it. I drop the smoker 25°F and probe more often.
Brine length is a hard ceiling: I treat 12 hours as the floor and 24 hours as the absolute ceiling. Past 24 hours, the salmon goes from nicely seasoned to salty in a way no rinse and no glaze can fix. I set a phone timer.
Save the trim: I treat the belly fat and tail end like gold. I vacuum-seal and freeze the trim, then pull it out the next week for a hot-pan sear with salt and pepper.
Bake option: You can make this in the oven if your oven can cook at low temperatures at 150° Fahrenheit. In addition, you will not get any smoke flavor that only the smoker can provide.
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.
Nutrition
Calories: 469kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 51gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.003gCholesterol: 140mgSodium: 4966mgPotassium: 1293mgFiber: 0.02gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 104IUCalcium: 59mgIron: 2mg