Thread: Salmon filet

Been reading this forum and looking at the pictures and I must sayI I Want some fish but unfortunately options are few in north west Alabama so was thinking I'd do a whole salmon filet on my side box smoker. Never done fish on my smoker so was looking for advice. Don't want it to fall apart so should it go on foil or maybe a baking sheet? Also hard to marinate a piece this big so suggestions on seasoning and baste. Will probably be using hickory since my wood options are limited unless I drive for an hour

two words...cedar plank.

Hickory is strong for fish. I would suggest a "fruit" wood (apple, cherry, orange). You don't want to smoke it for very long because it will dry out and taste extremely smoky. Fish take the smoke much more quickly than red meats.

Drive to the WallyWorld in Haleyville and pickup some Apple wood chips/chunks.

Cut that fillet into 3-4 pieces for brining

I prefer to use fine mesh racks or cooling racks for smoking as they let the smoke contact both sides of the fillets

Brine the fish overnight
(Brine: 1qt water, 1/2C sugar, 1/2C salt, heat water to better dissolve sugar/salt, let cool)
Rinse and pat dry, then let sit overnight again in the fridge to form a good pellicle
Preheat smoker to 175° and get the wood smoldering nicely, a nice thin blue smoke
Smoke fish for 3 hours or until a 160° IT

Originally Posted by ChileRelleno

Drive to the WallyWorld in Haleyville and pickup some Apple wood chips/chunks.

Cut that fillet into 3-4 pieces for brining

I prefer to use fine mesh racks or cooling racks for smoking as they let the smoke contact both sides of the fillets

Brine the fish overnight
(Brine: 1qt water, 1/2C sugar, 1/2C salt, heat water to better dissolve sugar/salt, let cool)
Rinse and pat dry, then let sit overnight again in the fridge to form a good pellicle
Preheat smoker to 175° and get the wood smoldering nicely, a nice thin blue smoke
Smoke fish for 3 hours or until a 160° IT

That pellicle is key to it turning out good.

Thanks for the help guys. Turned out good for my first try but was a little on the salty side. don't know if I brined it to long or my eyes weren't sharp enough with the measuring cup. Should be able to adjust it next time. All in all a successful and fun time. Did a mango pineapple chutney to go with it and grilled some blade steak street tacos with various fixings. didn't think about doing any pictures til we got through eating so will try to remember next time.

that's sounds like a great meal!