Hey everyone... all this fish talk has me motivated. I'm about smoke salmon for the first time. My Dad goes to Alaska fishing once a year and brings home a whole mess of it. I have a big fillet in freezer just begging to be smoked.
My question is… is when Dad takes a fillet out of the freezer this is how he thaws it out.
On a cookie sheet, he puts down a pretty thick layer of brown sugar. About a quarter inch I think… then puts the frozen fillet meat side down on the brown sugar, covers with plastic wrap and allows to thaw completely. During the thaw, the fish basically absorbs 100% of the brown sugar. Then he just bakes in the oven for about 20 minutes.
I, of course, want to smoke mine. But… Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m curious, is this thaw process like a brine? Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m thinking of doing this AND making the glaze that Dutch posted. Maybe I should choose one or the other? What do you guys think?