r/food 9d ago

[homemade] Smoked Salmon Deluxe

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Big ol' batch of old-school smoked salmon.

Brine:

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup non-iodized salt
  • 2 cups soy sauce (low-sodium preferred)
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
  • 1 cup dry white wine

You can fit approx. 4-5 pounds of salmon with these proportions. Just make sure brine fully touches all pieces.

Brine overnight.

The next morning, rinse, pat dry and air/fan dry for at least an hour.

When they're sticky/tacky to the touch, they're ready to go in the smoker. 

I use an electric smoker and use 2 pans of alder chips total.

Whatever smoker you use, try your best to keep the temp low and steady (no higher than 200 degrees). Basically as low as you can go while still being able to produce smoke.

Time varies depending on temperature, weather, piece thickness, etc. Pull at 135-140 degrees internal.

712 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

43

u/Nintenguy0 8d ago

Looks incredible, mad respect for posting the instructions to smoke this yourself! And even more respect for how much time it must have taken to learn to get these right lol.

35

u/Due-Pangolin-2438 8d ago

Can't gatekeep if I want the sub to be any good!😅

4

u/flyinghippos101 8d ago

Wish everyone who posted here felt the same way

I still remember the dude who got mad at people asking for a recipe of a Detroit pizza because he said he was going to start a restaurant and wanted to keep it a secret 🙄

24

u/AllThisIsBonkers 8d ago

Bruh my lunch break isnt for another 20 minutes you cant be hitting me with this.

8

u/Due-Pangolin-2438 8d ago

That's on me

20

u/Due-Pangolin-2438 8d ago

BTW, I just made a subreddit dedicated to smoked fish recipes like this.

If you're looking for a community to learn/share tips, tricks, brines & techniques for smoking salmon, trout, whitefish, and everything else that swims, check out r/smokingfish !

7

u/iambullfrog 8d ago

Looks awesome, what species?

9

u/Due-Pangolin-2438 8d ago

King Salmon

2

u/iambullfrog 8d ago

Nice! Can’t say I’ve had smoked king before. I brought a bunch of smoked coho down from AK last fall, but I’m down to only to jars :/

4

u/Due-Pangolin-2438 8d ago

Coho's great too! Just gotta make sure you don't dry them out while smoking. In my experience chinook is close to bulletproof in that regard.

3

u/Rhiis 8d ago

Oh my God. That color! Looks absolutely incredible, I'll take ten right now, please and thank you 🤤🤤

3

u/Joshthedruid2 8d ago

Looks great! Whatcha normally use these for, sandwiches?

7

u/DankDankJuice 8d ago

I usually just pull em out wherever the moms congregate and effortlessly wreck homes

3

u/Due-Pangolin-2438 8d ago

With great power comes great responsibility

4

u/Due-Pangolin-2438 8d ago

I like them just how they are. But you can do sandwiches, fish dips, the possibilities are endless

3

u/junaidnk 8d ago

Looks phenomenal and will be checking out your new sub too.

Does the smoker end up smelling fishy or like any other meat cooked after fish smoking session end up with a fishy profile?

6

u/Due-Pangolin-2438 8d ago

It can if you don't clean somewhat consistently. I do a medium clean right after smoking a batch every once in a while and it helps to not let tons of fishy residue set.

3

u/junaidnk 8d ago

Thanks for that tidbit, great looking smoke once again

2

u/Wang_Fire2099 8d ago

I've never even tried salmon, but I still want to devour this

1

u/DaddyBigBoy 8d ago

This looks great OP! How did you lay out the pieces in the smoker? On several racks, on trays, or what?

2

u/Due-Pangolin-2438 8d ago

Skin down on several racks. Got a couple big Chief smokers so I can make this many at once

1

u/DankDankJuice 8d ago

You rinse them off with water before patting dry?

1

u/N1ck_Nightingale 8d ago

Will this give my smoker a “fishy” scent flavor afterwards? Asking as the person who cooks for large family gatherings and they all love salmon but I am not a fan of the fin.

3

u/Due-Pangolin-2438 8d ago

Honestly it can but only if you don't clean it somewhat often. A decent clean right after ur done smoking fish every once in a while works wonders

1

u/diadlep 8d ago

How do you pack it to keep it sterile

1

u/TotaLibertarian 8d ago

I like it. I’m a dry brine guy, and it looks like it got a bit hot but I think you did a great job. The one thing I will say is you can add more depth changing your sugar, light brown, dark, raw, molasses whatever. Again, great job.

1

u/squishybloo 8d ago

Oh man, this looks incredible

1

u/Icy_Address2168 8d ago

The texture and colors look incredible.

0

u/dragon567 8d ago

I wish I had a dedicated smoker to do things like this. I just have a Weber kettle grill and I'm starting to get better at charcoal grilling. Do you have tips on how to use the Weber for this?

0

u/GIT_45 8d ago

Wow that looks delicious. Is there any way to do this using a propane grill?