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Sub 200F Salmon Smoke
vb4677
Posts: 686
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:
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.
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!
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...
2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...
Comments
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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 -
Looks really good!
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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
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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... -
@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... -
@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... -
@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... -
Here's what I'm a-talkin' 'bout!
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... -
^^^^ 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.
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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 -
vb4677 said:Just the right amount of smoke! ... The apple wood was just right for our tastes....
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@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... -
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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 -
@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... -
At what IT do you pull the fish? I did a search and came up with *165 IT?
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r8rs4lf said:At what IT do you pull the fish? I did a search and came up with *165 IT?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... -
Did you air dry the fillet after brining at all, and if so how long?
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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... -
Nice post!
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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” -
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
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