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Sub 200F Salmon Smoke

SWMBO absolutely LOVES hot smoked salmon, but I've never done it for her as I could never be assured of keeping that low of a temp and keep it consistent.  So, on my sixth or so time using the LBGE, why not smoke some salmon for her? Costco had steelhead at a decent enough price and her birthday is this week, so here's what I did with my 2.5 lb side of fish:

Wet Brine (made the night before) and let fish brine for 20 hours in fridge

  • 1 gal water (cool)
  • 1 ½ cups brown sugar
  • 1 ½ cups kosher salt


Cleaned out ash, built charcoal up to maximize air flow - big pieces first, teepee style on the bottom, fill in from there.
Full firebox of RO, apple wood chips and 5 or so apple wood chunks.
BGE firestarter square in the dead center, covered with some bigger lump pieces and one apple wood chunk.
Left dome open and bottom vent wide open until I was sure the lump was going, wood chunk was going as well.

Placesetter - legs up, then the grid.  Closed the dome, and slide the daisy wheel over, but left them 100% open.

Watched the dome temp gauge like a school kid watches the clock for the last bell.



When I got to 150F dome temp, I closed the bottom vent to 'credit card' sized gap, and the DW mostly closed.  Now I let it sit there until I got that beloved whispy blue smoke.





On with the fish!  Quick dome open, slide the parchment on, close. I might've taken 3 seconds... put the thicker part towards the known hot spot.



Continued to monitor the dome temp like a hawk.  Egg stayed stabilized for the first hour in and around 165-170F.  

After mowing the yard, and the completion of the second hour dome temp was up to 185F, I checked for internal temp and it was at 144F - perfect!  BUT, SWMBO tends to like a drier, more done smoked salmon.  So, I let her make the call, and she wanted another 30-60 mins.  



Now, by this time we had 'excited' the coal bed and we were nearing 200F for the last 30-45min before I pulled it off.  SWMBO is very pleased with her first, home smoked salmon!



Now, to cool for a bit and enjoy in her favorite manner - a Wheat Thin cracker, schmear of cream cheese, chunk of hot smoked salmon, wee little piece of dill and of lemon, and a single caper berry.   MMMMmmmmmMMMMMmmmm!
Kansas City: Too Much City for One State - Missouri side
2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...

Comments

  • Wolfpack
    Wolfpack Posts: 3,551
    We do this a lot too- family loves it. We have been doing the naked wiz recipe lately- here is a pic from the archives. My wife prefers drier as well-

    Greensboro, NC
  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,458
    Looks great. That's how I like mine - dry. I usually smoke around 185-200 for at least six hours!  Last time I went five hours only because the wild Pacific salmon (as opposed to farm raised Atlantic) had much lower fat contents.
    canuckland
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,174
    I always air-dry (using a fan) a few hours to form the pellicle to enhance the adherence of the smoke.   FWIW- 
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • Theophan
    Theophan Posts: 2,654
    Looks amazing.  I don't think I've ever smoked anything at that low a temperature.  How was the flavor?  Was it very smoky?  It looks gorgeous!
  • onedbguru
    onedbguru Posts: 1,647
    Hmmm... I might just have to try that as it looks really good.  Smoking process is the same as I use for smoking pork belly to make bacon. 180-195 tops. Now to find some alder wood for salmon.
  • vb4677
    vb4677 Posts: 686
    Theophan said:
    Looks amazing.  I don't think I've ever smoked anything at that low a temperature.  How was the flavor?  Was it very smoky?  It looks gorgeous!
    Just the right amount of smoke! I forgot that SWMBO schmears the cream cheese on a dessert plate, shreds the salmon on top along with the dill, capers and lemon, and then we dip the Wheat Thins.  Still yummy.  But I did catch her taking a few decent sized chunks of the meat and popping it into her mouth.  And we've got more to eat tomorrow!

    The apple wood was just right for our tastes.  After I let her look at and feel the fish at the end of the second hour, the LBGE started puffing out more smoke.  I looked at it after I snuffed out the fire, and you could hardly tell that there was in there!

    Kansas City: Too Much City for One State - Missouri side
    2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
    Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...
  • vb4677
    vb4677 Posts: 686
    @lousubcap
    Yeah... I forget to type up that step... doh!

    But I put it on a rack, and had the fan hit it while in a dark, cool basement room away from the cats...  Pellicle formed nicely.

    Kansas City: Too Much City for One State - Missouri side
    2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
    Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...
  • vb4677
    vb4677 Posts: 686
    @Canugghead
    I am very pleased with the 3 hour cook - can't imagine another 3 !!?!?!!!  But yeah, I'd heard something about farm fish and fat and science and blah blah blah.... As long as SWMBO is happy, then it was a good cook in my book!

    Kansas City: Too Much City for One State - Missouri side
    2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
    Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...
  • vb4677
    vb4677 Posts: 686
    @Wolfpack
    Nice!
    Kansas City: Too Much City for One State - Missouri side
    2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
    Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...
  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,174
    ^^^^ Home-run right there.  Great cook and presentation.  Congrats.
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,458
    Looks heavenly!  My apology if I conveyed the wrong message earlier ... Not a fish snob here, I use farm raised salmon with high fat contents 99% of the time; was just trying to say last time I smoked for five hours only because it wasn't farm raised.
    canuckland
  • Theophan
    Theophan Posts: 2,654
    vb4677 said:
    Just the right amount of smoke! ... The apple wood was just right for our tastes....
    Sounds, and looks WONDERFUL!!!
  • vb4677
    vb4677 Posts: 686
    @Canugghead
    No worries!  I had skimmed a long, boring article on the pros/cons of high fat salmon and had just remembered that...  As for the longer smoke - it's all personal taste, right?  The tail end of mine was just at that point of being too leathery for me...  That's all I was getting at.
    Kansas City: Too Much City for One State - Missouri side
    2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
    Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...
  • Looks awesome!
    XL BGE  - Virginia
  • 4Runner
    4Runner Posts: 2,948
    edited September 2016
    I'm going to do this again.  I did it last year with salmon we caught in Alaska and found 185 was the lowest I could consistently hold with my Stoker. Amazed that you were holding this manually.  Very nice! 
    Joe - I'm a reformed gasser-holic aka 4Runner Columbia, SC Wonderful BGE Resource Site: http://www.nakedwhiz.com/ceramicfaq.htm and http://www.nibblemethis.com/  and http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2006/02/recipes.html
    What am I drinking now?   Woodford....neat
  • vb4677
    vb4677 Posts: 686
    @4Runner
    Yeah, start the fire, watch it hard, and gently slide in to that low number...
    Kansas City: Too Much City for One State - Missouri side
    2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
    Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...
  • r8rs4lf
    r8rs4lf Posts: 317
    At what IT do you pull the fish? I did a search and came up with *165 IT?
  • vb4677
    vb4677 Posts: 686
    r8rs4lf said:
    At what IT do you pull the fish? I did a search and came up with *165 IT?
    North of 144F...  I was pleased at that IT, but SWMBO wanted it a tad drier/smoked but not to the jerky stage, so I just let it run a bit longer and never checked IT again...  When it comes to this fish, I always let her pick the end point. 
    Kansas City: Too Much City for One State - Missouri side
    2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
    Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...
  • poster
    poster Posts: 1,167
    Did you air dry the fillet after brining at all, and if so how long?
  • vb4677
    vb4677 Posts: 686
    I did - in a cool room in the basement with a fan on it for about 2 hours...
    Kansas City: Too Much City for One State - Missouri side
    2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
    Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...
  • NDG
    NDG Posts: 2,431
    Yum.  Gotta try this low smoked salmon asap.
    Columbus, OH

    “There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as if everything is” 
  • LetsEat
    LetsEat Posts: 456
    I love smoked salmon but I’ve never attempted to Egg. You’ve inspired me to try it this week. Off to the market to locate a salmon filet!
    IL