Taking advantage of this nice spring weather I decided to fire up the smoker again this weekend. Friday on my way home from work I picked up a nice big 4 lb filet of salmon from Quality Seafood in Austin. When I smoke fish I use a single-burner hot plate with a cast iron skillet full of wood chips in the smoker so I can keep the heat between 150 & 160F. It's so much easier than trying to keep a fire going that low and infinitely cheaper than buying a dedicated electric smoker.
Saturday night I whipped up a simple salt & sugar cure and rubbed the fish down top and bottom then wrapped it in foil. Depending on the size of the fillet it takes between 12-24 hrs to cure properly. Since the salt pulls out a bunch of moisture I always make sure to set it on a pan before putting it in the fridge to catch the inevitable leak.
Cure:
½ cup kosher salt
¼ cup sugar
¼ dark brown sugar
1 TBSP coarse ground black pepper
After 18 hrs the meat had turned a nice dark pink color & a lot of liquid had been pulled out.
Next step is to wash off the excess salt & sugar under cold water then pat the fish dry with paper towels. After that I stick the fish in front of a fan to finish drying. This takes between 1-3 hours depending on the humidity. This step is very important. When you let the surface of the meat dry out after curing, all the protein that was pulled to the surface forms a pellicle which keeps the meat moist while smoking.
Fully dry & ready for the smoker
After about 4 hrs @ 150F over apple & cherry wood chips the fish reaches 150F internally and it's time to pull it. It's a damned shame you can't smell things through a screen because this smells amazing.
Just falling apart & incredibly moist. Couldn't have come out any better.
Wild rice, asparagus & brussel sprouts with cheese sauce. When you smoke a salmon you can't half ass it.
Saturday night I whipped up a simple salt & sugar cure and rubbed the fish down top and bottom then wrapped it in foil. Depending on the size of the fillet it takes between 12-24 hrs to cure properly. Since the salt pulls out a bunch of moisture I always make sure to set it on a pan before putting it in the fridge to catch the inevitable leak.
Cure:
½ cup kosher salt
¼ cup sugar
¼ dark brown sugar
1 TBSP coarse ground black pepper
After 18 hrs the meat had turned a nice dark pink color & a lot of liquid had been pulled out.
Next step is to wash off the excess salt & sugar under cold water then pat the fish dry with paper towels. After that I stick the fish in front of a fan to finish drying. This takes between 1-3 hours depending on the humidity. This step is very important. When you let the surface of the meat dry out after curing, all the protein that was pulled to the surface forms a pellicle which keeps the meat moist while smoking.
Fully dry & ready for the smoker
After about 4 hrs @ 150F over apple & cherry wood chips the fish reaches 150F internally and it's time to pull it. It's a damned shame you can't smell things through a screen because this smells amazing.
Just falling apart & incredibly moist. Couldn't have come out any better.
Wild rice, asparagus & brussel sprouts with cheese sauce. When you smoke a salmon you can't half ass it.
