For the second year in a row, I was asked to cook smoked salmon for a friend's family Christmas dinner.

Last year was the first time I had done smoked salmon. I started with a test run which turned out too salty. I adjusted the recipe, and it turned out great.

Since I did not write down the recipe, I had to start over. I began with two small pieces of filet. I used a Traeger recipe that turned out too salty.

For a second test I cut the salt in the dry brine mixture in half and reduced the amount of brine mix applied to the salmon. This did the trick.

The second test also included a two-factor experiment where we ran herbs and no herbs in the dry brine mixture, and herbs and no herbs on the salmon during smoking.

Of the four combinations, the best was herbs in the dry brine and herbs on the salmon during smoking.

The final batch to be delivered was two fillets totaling just about six pounds. We did one filet per day since that's what we could fit in our refrigerator for drying and on the smoker.

The dry brine was a 4 to 1 mixture of dark brown sugar and kosher salt with some ground pepper. Herbs were ground basil, granulated garlic, and onion flakes ground with a mortar and pestle.

The dry brine was added to the salmon with each piece wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. Brining time was four hours. Brining was set to finish around 10:00 to 10:30 at night so that the salmon could dry overnight.

After brining, the fish was washed thoroughly to remove all salt and left uncovered in the refrigerator overnight to dry and to create the pellicle.

After adding herbs, the salmon was smoked for about 2 1/2 hours at around 180 degrees until an internal temperature between about 138 and 140 was reached.

The salmon was frozen in vacuum seal bags. The overall process took five days.

I would call the final product more of a dinner smoked salmon rather than a cracker smoked salmon. It was moist and meaty. This is what I was looking for.

The pictures below capture some of the process steps.

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They look great should i send you my mailing address so you can keep in practice through out the year 

Nice job!

Have not done it that way.
I have just put some course grind salt on it and in to the smoker.
My preference is to eat is cold.  For some reason, I don't care for it warm.

Being an old salmon smoker who lived and fished for 40+ years in the Seattle area, I found that thickness of filet and time brining were just as or more important than salt-to sugar and water ratio. I started smoking in a Little Chief upright chip smoker and used their brine recipe which included 1/3 jar of Jonny's seafood seasoning. If I remember right, it used 1/2 cup non deionized salt and 1/2 cup sugar to one quart of water. I experimented with different recipes, that included garlic, onion, etc., but none were better.

Being an old salmon smoker who lived and fished for 40+ years in the Seattle area, I found that thickness of filet and time brining were just as or more important than salt-to sugar and water ratio. I started smoking in a Little Chief upright chip smoker and used their brine recipe which included 1/3 jar of Jonny's seafood seasoning. If I remember right, it used 1/2 cup non deionized salt and 1/2 cup sugar to one quart of water. I experimented with different recipes, that included garlic, onion, etc., but none were better.

I'm really at risk of hijacking here for two reasons.   1) Yes the PNW has smoked salmon nailed, and it's often done on an electric smoker.  2) Attempting to duplicate via pellets has been a bit of a journey, but with 40 degree and wet weather, I can get even my Gator down to consistent 140 degrees.  I'd prefer 120's like my leaky Traeger I got rid of.   

Factors we have quality of fish, thickness (I hadn't considered that) salt (I've been guilty of too much) length and temp of smoke.   For me, I don't like it warm either, a day in the fridge and some cream cheese, that's it. 

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Don't believe I've ever tried it with cream cheese.  I too like it better cold , but it's usually with cheddar and a cold beer (or 2).

A great thing about this forum is that I am able to document how I do things for future use. The need came up for some smoked salmon. I reviewed what I wrote here and some paperwork we had and was able to put together a batch without a trial run for the first time. The key is a 4/1 mix of brown sugar to kosher salt, four hours of dry brine, and overnight to dry. We add some spices to the brine and to the salmon before smoking. I smoke at the 150-degree setting on my GMG which gives me about 180 at the grill. That is as low as I can go. I was taking the internal temperature up to the high 130's before because my wife does not like "under cooked" food. After pulling the first batch in the high 130's we decided to pull all the others so that are at peak moistness: maybe around 130. The first two pictures show how much liquid came out of the salmon from the dry brine. The last two pictures are before and after smoking.

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I am not a salmon eater, but am told I grill it well.  I always pull at 130° if wet brined and it usually ends up at 137° and nice and flaky.  125° if it has not ben brined!

I am not a salmon eater, but am told I grill it well.  I always pull at 130° if wet brined and it usually ends up at 137° and nice and flaky.  125° if it has not ben brined!

I am looking at pulling more like 130 like you do. This salmon was wild Sockeye. The fish is fairly small compared to some salmon. The fish that started this post was actually Steelhead Trout, which I did not realize until I started to prepare it.

It still tasted like salmon. It was in the same refrigerator case as the salmon at Cosco. Costo has farm grown Atlantic salmon but it is very pale. It is quite large, however, if you want thicker pieces.

I seem to recall that I posted before about smoking a whole salmon. That is much different than making "smoked salmon", even though both are smoked. Smoked salmon has become a proper noun used to describe the semi dry smoked salmon that you eat cold on crackers.

Salmon is foul stuff in my opinion, but the rest of the family likes it. One of the reasons I settled on the Mak 2 star was for the cold smoking, but really have to do it at the right time of year or put in a tray of ice. I brined for a few days and cold smoked salmon a while ago, but really don't like cooking fish on the smoker because of the oil. Family loves salmon on the blackstone though so normally do it there.

Ahh, a Kindred Sprit!

Salmon is foul stuff in my opinion, but the rest of the family likes it.

Ahh, a Kindred Sprit!

Salmon is foul stuff in my opinion, but the rest of the family likes it.

By the way, I am not a fan either. I cook the smoked salmon for my wife and her friends.

The only time I eat salmon is when it is served at an event. It seems fine but I much prefer trout when it comes to fish.

I don't like salmon hot, but like it cold.