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How to smoke
salmon - the basic steps
There are countless recipes and ways to smoke salmon, but the most common
methods all include a few basic steps. Read the steps below and then go ahead
and try one of the recipes listed at the bottom.
This first step is
primarily the process of salting the fish to remove moisture, firm the flesh,
and impart a salty flavor to the fish... but the brine may also include
additional flavors and colorings. Brines can either be liquid or dry, and all
of them include salt in some form... in some recipes this is granular salt, in
other recipes it might be soy sauce or something similar. Brine recipes may
also include sugar in some form... white sugar, brown sugar, honey, fruit
juice, etc. Still other recipes call for addtional flavorings, like garlic,
pepper, rosemary, dill, etc.
After the fish comes out of the
brine, it must be air-dried. This removes
even more moisture from the fish, and this is the step in which the "pellicle"
forms on the surface of the fish. The pellicle is the slightly tacky glaze that
forms on the surface of the flesh. It absorbs some of the smoke and it is where
a lot of the flavor comes from. Air-drying is done at a relatively low
temperature room temperature, or outdoor temperature, depending upon where
you're doing the drying.
This next step
involves the smoldering of wood to create smoke, and the imparting of the
smokey flavor into the fish. The smoking is done in a smoker or a larger
smokehouse. Many smaller commercial-made smokers are available, they range from
small electric-powered all-in-one units to bigger charcoal and wood-fired units
with separate fireboxes.
In this last step, even more
moisture is removed from the fish, and this is the step in which you make sure
you get the fish up to at least 145°F, to kill off any bacterias and other
critters in the fish. The heat-drying process is normally done in the smoker,
but some people smoke their fish in a smoker to get the smokey flavor, then
move the fish to an oven to do the heat-drying.
So now that you know the basics, try it
yourself using one of the recipes below!
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