Sea Ranger
Active Member
My dad showed me this recipe 35 years ago.... Still the best!!!
This recipe is for 20 to 30 lbs of salmon and using 4 lbs of salt and 4 lbs of sugar
Fillet into approx. 3 inch wide pieces
Rinse pieces in cold water
Mix approx 1 lb of coarse salt with 1 lb of demerara brown sugar ( you will end up having to mix up about 3 to 4 batches of salt and sugar)
Mix till evenly blended
In a med. size cooler(large enough to hold your salmon pieces) sprinkle a small layer of your salt and sugar brine onto the bottom of the cooler
Place one layer of salmon pieces into cooler
Add approx 1/2 inch layer of your brine mixture over top of Salmon pieces and repeat till cooler is full
Top off with 1 inch of brine mixture and let sit for Approx 3 and 1/2 hours.
After 3 and 1/2 hours remove each piece of salmon, DO NOT RINSE.
Repack salmon and used mixture back into cooler one layer at a time, however this time you will now have a wet slushy brine.
Do your best to evenly cover each piece of salmon with the mixture
Let sit for another 3 and 1/2 hours.
Remove salmon from brine and rinse each piece in cold water
Lay out each piece of salmon to air dry over night (do not let salmon pieces touch each other) A small fan may be used to speed dry surface of fish if needed.
Cold smoke on very low to no heat for approx 5 hours ( I used Maple for 4 hours of smoke and Cherry for the last hour of smoke)
After 5 hours raise heat to approx 150 degrees, Check fish closely to be sure not to over cook.
Smoke for another 1/2 to 45 minutes
Remove from smoker and let cool before packaging
Do not over cook or fish will dry out
Do not over heat or fish will dry out
Total brine time approx. 7 hours
Total smoke time approx. 5 to 6 hours
And remember....Keep your tip up!!!
This recipe is for 20 to 30 lbs of salmon and using 4 lbs of salt and 4 lbs of sugar
Fillet into approx. 3 inch wide pieces
Rinse pieces in cold water
Mix approx 1 lb of coarse salt with 1 lb of demerara brown sugar ( you will end up having to mix up about 3 to 4 batches of salt and sugar)
Mix till evenly blended
In a med. size cooler(large enough to hold your salmon pieces) sprinkle a small layer of your salt and sugar brine onto the bottom of the cooler
Place one layer of salmon pieces into cooler
Add approx 1/2 inch layer of your brine mixture over top of Salmon pieces and repeat till cooler is full
Top off with 1 inch of brine mixture and let sit for Approx 3 and 1/2 hours.
After 3 and 1/2 hours remove each piece of salmon, DO NOT RINSE.
Repack salmon and used mixture back into cooler one layer at a time, however this time you will now have a wet slushy brine.
Do your best to evenly cover each piece of salmon with the mixture
Let sit for another 3 and 1/2 hours.
Remove salmon from brine and rinse each piece in cold water
Lay out each piece of salmon to air dry over night (do not let salmon pieces touch each other) A small fan may be used to speed dry surface of fish if needed.
Cold smoke on very low to no heat for approx 5 hours ( I used Maple for 4 hours of smoke and Cherry for the last hour of smoke)
After 5 hours raise heat to approx 150 degrees, Check fish closely to be sure not to over cook.
Smoke for another 1/2 to 45 minutes
Remove from smoker and let cool before packaging
Do not over cook or fish will dry out
Do not over heat or fish will dry out
Total brine time approx. 7 hours
Total smoke time approx. 5 to 6 hours
