5 TO 6 Pounds Fresh Wild Sockeye Salmon (3 Whole Fillets) Skin on.
Wild Salmon is typically darker red and farmed is lighter pink.
The following Marinade/Brine Mixture is enough for up to 8 Pounds Wild Salmon.
100 Ounces bottle Spring Water
1 Cup high pulp orange juice (not from concentrate)
1-½ Cup dark brown sugar
½ Cup coarse Kosher salt, non iodized
½ Cup honey
½ Cup molassis
½ Cup Kikkoman soy sauce
½ Cup Lea & Perrins Worchestershire sauce
½ Cup Olive Oil
¼ Cup Rum
¼ Cup Dry Sherry
Zest of 2 Lemoms
Juice of 2 Lemons
1 Cup fresh dill weed, minced
1 Large bulb garlic, minced
2 Tablespoon fresh ginger root, minced
1 Tablespoon dried Tarragon, crushed
1-½ Tablespoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Mix above ingredients together (except salmon) in a large plastic container to make marinade/brine mixture.
Cool marinade/brine mixture in refrigerator for one to two hours before adding salmon fillets.
Rinse fresh salmon fillets under cold water.
Cut each salmon fillet crosswise to form 4 to 6 inch long slabs that will fit comfortably in marinade/brine mixture.
Add salmon fillets (skin side down) to marinade/brine mixture.
Skin side down is required because salmon becomes soft after overnight marinade and skin side down aids in lifting salmon fillets out of marinade/brine mixture (fillets will not fall apart if they are skin side down.)Marinade salmon fillets overnight in the refrigerator.
Arrange cooling racks on cupboard with drip trays underneath.
Gently remove salmon fillets from marinade and place on cooling racks skin side down.
Reserve marinade/brine mixture for smoker water pan.
Air dry salmon fillets on cooling racks for 2 to 4 hours (a low speed fan blowing on fillets helps air drying process>)
Remove grates from smoker and clean grates.
Spray grates with vegetable spray (PAM), or rub grates with cooking oil.
Place salmon on smoker grates, skin side down.
Soak 2 to 4 pounds of Alder Wood Chips in water for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Additional soaking hours may leach out the flavor of the wood.
Fire up the smoker with small amounts of Kingsford Charcoal (3 pounds or so.)
When charcoal is ready, add a couple of handfuls of water soaked
and drained Alder Wood Chips on top of hot bed of charcoal.
Note: Additional Alder Wood Chips added to the hot charcoal bed are to be water soaked and drained.
Additional charcoal to be added is dry and straight out of the bag.
Place salmon filled smoker grates into smoker and smoke salmon skin side down at 150°F to 200°F for 3 to 5 hours, depending on fillet thickness.
You can smoke longer if dryer smoked salmon is desired. It is best to do first hour or two of smoking at lower temperature (150°F to 180°F) to further dry the salmon before it starts cooking.
Do not have Alder Chips smoking constantly throughout smoking process as the salmon may get a bit too smokey of a flavor. Add a couple handfuls of Alder Chips at start, let chips burn off and allow 5 to 10 minutes or so after each burnoff of Alder Chips before addition of new Alder Chips.
You will also need to keep adding a few charcoal briquettes
throughout the smoking process to maintain 150°F to 200°F in the smoker. Remember, the charcoal is the main source of heat,
the Alder Wood is for flabor and not the primary source of heat.
Remove salmon when done
(internal temperature of salmon should reach 130°F to 145°F when tested with instant type meat thermometer.)
It is ok to let salmon cool in refrigerator for a day or two.
My personal opinion is that the salmon tastes better after resting a day or two in the refrigerator.
Salmon can be kept ok in the refrigerator for at least 4 to 5 days. Enjoy.
PDF Roettger Smoked Salmon w/Pictures [Coming soon]
Bill Roettger,
Clive, Iowa