Grilled & Smoked Sockeye Salmon

I had to go to Seattle on business last week so I decided to overnight a salmon back to Atlanta for a couple of weekend cooks.
Once cleaned I ended up with two filets that weighed just under 2lbs each.

I decided to cook the first filet indirect at 350/375* for about 12 minutes. I cut it into 3 inch wide servings, hit it with a little olive oil and cracked pepper.....then placed it skin side down over a drip pan. After 8 minutes I basted it with a pineapple, ginger teriyaki glaze and shut the Egg down completely for the last four minutes to help caramelize the glaze. We served it over grilled potatoes, onions and peppers with steamed broccoli. It turned out perfect. By the way, Mrs. PASmoke is always responsible for presentation. I just drop cooked food on the counter and she does her magic! 





Then I decided to smoke the other filet which was a first for me. After some research on curing I rinsed and dried the filet.....then I mixed brown sugar, salt and pepper in a small bowl (about 30% BS - 60% Salt - 10% Pepper) and coated the salmon with the mixture on both sides. I placed the filet in a 2 gallon zip lock, pushed all of the air out and sealed it overnight. The next morning it was swimming in the liquid the mixture had pulled out of the fish. I rinsed and dried it again and placed it back in the fridge for about two hours to further dry. It was now very dry and the original soft, flexible salmon had totally changed into a tacky, stiff protein. I started the Egg - added a bit of peach wood - and tried to keep it in the 200* range.....although it did get as high as 225* toward the end. The total cook took just over an hour and it turned out pretty good.

Lessons Learned: 1) Take more "before" pictures now that I am part of this community. 2) King Salmon is better suited for smoked salmon than Sockeye because of its higher fat content and ability to maintain moisture. 

Cured and Ready:



On the Smoke:


Paired with a Domaine Serene, Oregon Pinot Noir....Perfect!