Schmancy Smoked Salmon
 No fish is more receptive to smoke than salmon. This recipe creates an elegant, delicate, moist piece of meat with a hint sweet and a hint of garlic. This recipe is "hot smoked" at about 225F. If you can get your smoker lower, fine, just adapt the time allotted.
Recipe
Yield. Makes four entree servings of 1/2 pound each. It can be used as an appetizer. I love it on boiled potato slices with sour cream and minced onion, on bagel chips with cream cheese, on toast points with minced hard boiled egg, or just serve it on a platter so people can help themselves to flake on crackers, apple slices, cheese slices. Another wonderful use is to mix it in with scrambled eggs, omelets, or in risotto.
Preparation time. It takes about 20 minutes to make the brine, and then brining takes 4-6 hours. Preparing the fish for the smoker takes about 15 minutes.
Cooking time. 60-90 minutes
Drinks. Crisp, high acid, dry white wine is the classic. French Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc based wines such as Chablis or white Burgundies (Chardonnay); or White Bordeaux or Pouilly Fume (both Sauvignon Blanc) are classics. Champagne is also a winner.
Ingredients
2 pounds of fresh salmon fillets of similar thickness, scaled but skin on, cut into strips about 3" wide
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon of garlic powder or 1 1/2 tablespoons of garlic salt
1 quart of hot water
1 clean brown paper bag cut into strips about the same size as the fish strips.
4 ounces of alder, apple, peach, or other fruitwood chips or pellets. Avoid hickory or mesquite; they are too strong. Skip the chunks because the burn too slowly and this recipe cooks fairly quickly.
Beware. It is crucial that if you don't use kosher salt that you adjust the quantity of salt. Follow this link for the ratio. Do not leave the fish in brine longer than 6 hours. If the filets are thin, brine for less time. And do not overcook.
 Do this
1) Run your fingers over the flesh of the fish and make sure all the pin bones are gone. If not, drape the fish over the edge of a bowl so they stick out, and yank them with tweezers or needlenose pliers. Don't worry if there are a few scales left on the skin.
2) In a large stainless, ceramic, or glass pot, make a brine by mixing the salt, garlic powder, and 1/2 cup of brown sugar in 1 cup of the water. Stir over medium heat until the salt and sugar are thoroughly dissolved. The garlic will not completely dissolve. Don't worry about it. Add the rest of the water and cool the mixture for about 30 minutes in the fridge before adding the fish. You can make this brine days in advance if you wish.
3) Place the fish skin side up in the brine and refrigerate. Make sure the meat is thoroughly submerged. If you need to, hold them under with a plate with a weight on top. If necessary add a bit of water, but if you add more than two cups, be sure to add more salt, sugar, and garlic. Gently stir the pot occasionally to make sure all parts of the fish come into contact with the brine.
4) After 4-6 hours max, discard the brine. Do not leave in the brine more than 8 hours or the fish will be too salty. Then rinse the fish, and pat dry with paper towels. Place each piece of fish skin side down on the brown paper and then place them on a rack from your smoker so they are not touching each other.
5) Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of brown sugar on top of the fillets. Insert a temperature probe into the thickest part of the thickest fillet.
6) Put them into a preheated smoker at about 225F and place the fillet with the probe in the coolest part of the smoker. Add the fruit wood.
7) Remove the meat when it is at 130-135F internal. No more than 150F. Total cooking time will be about 60-90 minutes, depending on the actual temperature of your smoker and the thickness of the meat.
8) Remove the fillets and let them cool for about 15 minutes, until you can handle them. Then peel off the brown paper. The skin should come right off with the paper. Serve warm as an entree or as an appetizer at room temp, flaked, on cold rye toast. If it is tightly packaged in plastic wrap, you can refrigerate for up to a week. Freezing also works, although it does dry the fish out a bit.
This page was revised 7/31/2008
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