Smoked Salmon Recipe
We’ve been tinkering with this brine and smoking process for a few years now and this mixture of ingredients produces consistently excellent smoked salmon that appeals to nearly everyone’s tastebuds!
Small Stream Outfitters Smoked Salmon
3-5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup of Worcestershire sauce
1 ¼ cup brown sugar
2 tbls chopped fresh herbs, thyme, sage, rosemary
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup course kosher salt
2 cups warm water
10-15 pounds ½”-1.5” thick salmon filets
Mix water and salt in large mixing bowl and stir until dissolved, add remaining ingredients and fish. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours but up to overnight.
Remove filets from brine and rinse well in cold water. Pat filets dry with cloth kitchen towels. Place on smoking racks and elevate so that air can circulate. Top with course ground pepper and a few red pepper flakes if you like a spicy smoked salmon. I like to air cure the filets for a couple hours to remove any excess moisture and to let the sugars set up a bit. Once they are firm and tacky to the touch, place in smoker.
Smoke 6 to 12 hours. Time will vary due to thickness of filets, humidity and air temperature. Allow lots of extra time if it’s below 55 degrees outside. I like about 2 pans of smoked alder chips added in the beginning and middle of the smoking process, but you can use a little less or a little more depending on your taste.
Let us know how this recipe worked for you! Post a comment on this story.
A batch of Jack Coho filets air cure before heading to the smoker.