Well I finally did my 1st hot smoked salmon (I do cold smoke lox normally) and it came it really well. I didn't fuss or muss and this is about as simple of a smoke as you can get and it proves you don't have to do anything more than season and smoke the Salmon for a hot salmon dish :) . Here is the QView and then the writeup :)
So fresh farm raised Atlantic Salmon was on sale for $5.99/lb for a whole fillet so I bought a nice thick one. My intentions were to do hot smoked salmon.... I had been so busy that it sat wrapped in the fridge for like 4 days so I KNEW I had to make it happen quickly as fresh fish doesnt stay fresh too long hahaha.
I had done a little research and most people marinate in soy sauce and do some other things I would really like to do but I had no time for any of that as this stuff had to be cooked fast, it was already smellin a little fisshy.
So it went down like this on the day of smoking:
In all I'm pretty happy with the smoke. Had I smoked the fish the same day or next day from buying it I wouldn't have taken it to 161F but cooking it that hard did not ruin it and I think it may have averted any unwanted extra fishyness that wasnt there when it was fresher lol.
Smoke flavor was great and texture was flakey but more dry than I want, I think around 145-150F may be the magic temp number range.
SO Lessons to take away form this smoking adventure are:
I'm about to make bout to make lunch with some of it now. Gonna shred some cabbage, add some noodles, add some sharp cheddar, some mayo, a touch of BBQ sauce, and mix the smoked salmon in for a kinda BBQ Smoked Salmon Cabbage Salad :)
I hope this info is helpful as I found very little on quick simple hot smoked salmon approaches on the site :)
So fresh farm raised Atlantic Salmon was on sale for $5.99/lb for a whole fillet so I bought a nice thick one. My intentions were to do hot smoked salmon.... I had been so busy that it sat wrapped in the fridge for like 4 days so I KNEW I had to make it happen quickly as fresh fish doesnt stay fresh too long hahaha.
I had done a little research and most people marinate in soy sauce and do some other things I would really like to do but I had no time for any of that as this stuff had to be cooked fast, it was already smellin a little fisshy.
So it went down like this on the day of smoking:
- Skinned it (was going to leave skin on but once it was smelling a little fishy i figured skin better come off
- Cut thinner belly away from thicker part of fish
- Cut all of it into chunks
- Seasoned both sides with Salt, Pepper, garlic, and Onion (no marinade at all)
- Put on veggie/fish mat, put on my trusty basket and put on smoker rack
- Set smoker to 210F so hot part of smoker turned out to be 212F, cold part was 190F, and 210F in the middle
- Loaded the AMNPS with a little bit of left over pellets from last smoke and then some 85% Alder and 15% Mesquite from a blend bag i bought years ago that I'm trying to use up (yes a little Mesquite works well on fish lol)
- It probably smoked and cooked for about 3-3.5 hours
- I wanted to cook the salmon a little bit harder in hopes of killing any extra fishy taste, I think it worked out fine
- I let it hit 161F in the thickest fish piece
In all I'm pretty happy with the smoke. Had I smoked the fish the same day or next day from buying it I wouldn't have taken it to 161F but cooking it that hard did not ruin it and I think it may have averted any unwanted extra fishyness that wasnt there when it was fresher lol.
Smoke flavor was great and texture was flakey but more dry than I want, I think around 145-150F may be the magic temp number range.
SO Lessons to take away form this smoking adventure are:
- You can Hot smoke salmon with minimal prep
- You don't need to form a pelicle, marinade, or fuss with it much at all, just season and toss in the smoker
- You know a little Mesquite doesn't hurt the fish at all
- You can cook a little harder to 161F if you want to protect against some unwanted extra fishyness (the not good kind), but a lower internal temp (IT) is more desirable
- Smoker temp works just fine in range of 190-212F
- This much Salmon (about 2.5-3lbs before cooking) will take about 3-3.5 hrs at 190-212F smoker temp ... for planning purposes :)
I'm about to make bout to make lunch with some of it now. Gonna shred some cabbage, add some noodles, add some sharp cheddar, some mayo, a touch of BBQ sauce, and mix the smoked salmon in for a kinda BBQ Smoked Salmon Cabbage Salad :)
I hope this info is helpful as I found very little on quick simple hot smoked salmon approaches on the site :)
