Your Smoker Grill and Fresh Salmon; What a Great Combination

Salmon season is about to kick off right here in northern California and hopefully, it is going to be a bountiful season. Salmon are an excellent preventing fish so, whether or not you’re fishing the rivers or within the ocean, salmon are a variety of enjoyable to catch. Oh, and by the way in which, they actually style nice, and they’re actually good for you. My Dad took me salmon fishing once I was 9 or 10 and I’ve appeared ahead to this time of yr ever since. Whether or not you smoke it or grill it, there’s nothing higher than recent caught salmon.

However now that you simply’ve caught it, what do you do with it? I like to chop a couple of one inch steaks and fillet the remainder for smoking. Salmon is such a flavorful fish; I don’t like to make use of an excessive amount of seasoning. I select to maintain it easy; I don’t need to drown out the flavour of the fish. So, once I grill salmon steaks, I brush olive oil on each side, add salt and pepper, (typically lemon pepper), and dill. That’s it; the steaks are prepared for the grill.

You should utilize a fuel grill or a charcoal grill, however both manner it is advisable to pre warmth your grill to medium warmth. Personally, I’m an previous charcoal die exhausting, so I pre warmth my smoker grill to 325 levels and it’s time to start out grilling salmon steaks. However, bear in mind, salmon cooks shortly, a one inch steak at 325 levels ought to solely take about 4 minutes a aspect. So, watch out and don’t overcook it. When grilled correctly, your salmon shall be moist and flaky. Once you pull it off the grill, serve it up. It’s finest when served scorching.

As for smoking salmon at house, it’s actually not that tough. It’s a variety of enjoyable and the completed product is nice. When you have a smoker grill and have by no means smoked salmon earlier than, you actually ought to give it a attempt. It’s quite a bit simpler than you would possibly suppose.

The very first thing it is advisable to do is make up your brine. Probably the most fundamental of brines incorporates water, salt, and sugar. Don’t use desk salt. Use kosher salt, or, higher but, canning salt. Combine 2 cups canning or kosher salt, and a couple of cups brown sugar in 1 gallon of water. There’s numerous different elements you could add, however I like the flavour of the salmon so I am going simple on the seasonings. Subsequent, place your fish in a plastic or glass container, add your brine so the fish is totally submerged, and place within the fridge for not less than 8 hours. You may go longer than 8 hours, however don’t overdo it. The longer the salmon is within the brine, the saltier it is going to be. I often let it go for 10 to 12 hours.

The following step is to air dry your cured salmon in a cool place. It is a important step within the smoking course of. As your fish dry’s, you’ll discover {that a} skinny, sticky, lacquer like substance kinds on the fish. This substance known as a pellicle, and this drying course of ought to take about 2 hours.

With that executed, you’re able to smoke your salmon. So, fireplace up your smoker grill and pre warmth to about 150 levels. That is decrease than regular smoking temperatures for many meats. However, that is salmon, and also you don’t need to smoke salmon at greater temperatures. It should cook dinner too quick. Subsequent, it is advisable to add your smoke, however, you don’t need to overdo it. So, I wrap a few handfuls of wooden chips in aluminum foil, poke holes within the foil, and place it on high of the coals. Now, place the salmon on the grill, pores and skin aspect down and depart it alone.

Relying on the thickness of your fillets, the smoking course of will take anyplace from about 1 hour, as much as 4 hours for thick slabs. When you’ve executed this a couple of occasions, you’ll get a really feel for when it’s executed. For now, use a thermometer and search for an inside temperature of 140 levels. Or, you’ll be able to verify it with a fork, when it begins getting flaky, it’s about executed. And when it’s executed, pull it off the grill, let it sit for 20 minutes or so, after which dig in.

So the subsequent time you get some salmon, fireplace up your smoker grill. Your loved ones and buddies will love the steaks and I promise you, they’ll love the smoked salmon as effectively. Give it a attempt, you gained’t be sorry.