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warm smoked salmon ©️ Nel Brouwer-van den Bergh

Warm smoked salmon

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Prep Time 1 day
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 1 day 4 hours
Course Appetizer
Cuisine North European
Servings 15

Equipment

  • smoker
  • smoking 'capsule'
  • curing container (plastic, stainless steel, glass)
  • refrigerator large enough for a tray of fish

Ingredients
  

preparing the fish

  • 2.2 lbs (1 kg) salmon fillet
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • zest of one lemon
  • bunch of dille
  • 1.1 quart (1 L) water

smoking the fish

  • 40 g maple syrup or honey
  • hickory and/or apple wood pellets/dust

keeping the fish

  • vacuum bags or plastic wrap

Instructions
 

Curing the salmon

  • Prepare the zest from the lemon using a grater; wash the dille
  • Dissolve the sugar and salt in the water and add the lemon zest and dille
  • Cut the fillets in 200-250 g pieces and weigh the total
  • Immerse the salmon pieces in the curing mixture, cover with a lid or wrap and place at the least 14 h in the fridge. Make sure they are fully submersed.
  • After this time rinse the salmon pieces under water, dry them with kitchen paper and the let them dry (no wrap or cover) on a tray low in the fridge for at the least 4 h. A shiny layer (pinnacle) will form on the fish. We measured a weight reduction of 15%. This is mostly due to water extraction from the fish by the brine via the principles of osmotic pressure regulation.

Smoking and storing the salmon

  • Prepare the smoker for smoking. Bring the fish into the smoker, place one temperature probe in the middle piece of salmon and let the temperature very gradually increase, by adjusting the amount of air and/or by adding some apple or hickory wood coals low in the smoker.
  • Bast the fish in the last 3 hours each hour with honey or maple syrup.
  • Ensure the end temperature of between 55-60 C is not exceeded and maintained for at least 40 min to ensure the fish pieces are cooked in the right manner.
  • After 3.5 to 4 h take out the fish pieces from the smoker and let them cool down, away from insects
  • Then place in the fridge to further dry and cool for 4 h.
  • Then vacuum seal or wrap it and store in the fridge or freezer. Vacuum sealing will make the storage time longer, due to the exclusion of oxygen.

Notes

Method: warm smoking
Food allergy & intolerance information: none
Keyword cured, salmon, warm smoked