Hot-Smoked Whole Side of Salmon
By Andrea GearyPublished on March 29, 2021
Time
1½ hours, plus 8 hours curing and drying
Yield
Serves 16
Ingredients
Before You Begin
We used Diamond Crystal kosher salt here. If using Morton kosher salt, which is denser, use only 6 tablespoons. We developed this recipe with farmed salmon. If you would like to use wild fish, we recommend king salmon; cook it to 120 degrees. The recipe can be halved, using a 2-pound center-cut fillet and half as much sugar and salt in the cure; the cooking time will be roughly the same as with a full side of salmon. We offer a wide time range for drying the salmon; choose what works best for your schedule. We prefer hickory chips for our salmon, but any kind of hardwood chips will work. Try the salmon on its own, in our Hot-Smoked Salmon Kedgeree, flaked over a salad, mixed into a quiche filling, or stirred into just-set scrambled eggs.
Instructions
- Combine ½ cup sugar and ½ cup kosher salt in small bowl. Remove thin tail end from 1 side of salmon and reserve for another use. Remove pin bones and trim belly fat. Place salmon on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Spread sugar mixture evenly over surface of flesh, pressing gently to adhere. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 4 hours.
- Rinse salmon under cold water and return to rack. Pat dry with paper towels. Refrigerate, uncovered, until surface of fillet is tacky and matte, 4 to 20 hours.
- Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap 1-1½ cups wood chips (1 cup if using charcoal; 1½ cups if using gas) in 8 by 4½-inch foil packet. (Make sure chips do not poke holes in sides or bottom of packet. If using gas, make sure there are no more than 2 layers of foil on bottom of packet.) Cut 3 evenly spaced 2-inch slits in top of packet.
- FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent halfway. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). Place 6 unlit briquettes on 1 side of grill. When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour into steeply banked pile over unlit briquettes. Place wood chip packet on coals with slits facing up. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Remove cooking grate and place wood chip packet directly on primary burner. Set grate in place; turn primary burner to high (leave other burners off); cover; and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, 15 to 25 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium. (Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature between 275 and 300 degrees.)
- Clean and oil cooking grate. Fold large piece of heavy-duty foil into 18 by 6-inch rectangle. Spray lightly with vegetable oil spray. Place foil rectangle on cooler side of grill (on gas grill arrange foil parallel to primary burner, spaced 8 to 10 inches from heat source) and place salmon on foil. Cover grill (positioning lid vent over salmon if using charcoal) and cook until center of thickest part of fillet registers 125 degrees and is still translucent when cut into with paring knife, 50 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes.
- Using foil as sling, transfer salmon to platter. Carefully slide foil out from beneath salmon. Serve. (Salmon can be cut into pieces, cooled completely, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 2 months.)
Time
1½ hours, plus 8 hours curing and dryingYield
Serves 16Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
We love the sweet, salty flavor and silky yet firm texture of hot-smoked salmon, but we’re not as fond of its price: about $40 per pound. Making our own—a full side—cut the price by about three-quarters. We started by blanketing our salmon with a mixture of sugar and salt, which not only seasoned the fish but also drew out some moisture and firmed up the texture. After 4 hours, we rinsed off the cure and let the salmon dry in the refrigerator until a tacky film formed on the surface. We placed the side of salmon on a foil sling for maneuverability and cooked it over indirect heat with plenty of hardwood smoke until it was fully cooked yet moist and succulent, ready to be eaten right away as an entrée, flaked over a salad, or folded into a buttery kedgeree. Cut into portions and wrapped tightly, this salmon freezes well.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
We used Diamond Crystal kosher salt here. If using Morton kosher salt, which is denser, use only 6 tablespoons. We developed this recipe with farmed salmon. If you would like to use wild fish, we recommend king salmon; cook it to 120 degrees. The recipe can be halved, using a 2-pound center-cut fillet and half as much sugar and salt in the cure; the cooking time will be roughly the same as with a full side of salmon. We offer a wide time range for drying the salmon; choose what works best for your schedule. We prefer hickory chips for our salmon, but any kind of hardwood chips will work. Try the salmon on its own, in our Hot-Smoked Salmon Kedgeree, flaked over a salad, mixed into a quiche filling, or stirred into just-set scrambled eggs.
Instructions
- Combine ½ cup sugar and ½ cup kosher salt in small bowl. Remove thin tail end from 1 side of salmon and reserve for another use. Remove pin bones and trim belly fat. Place salmon on wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet. Spread sugar mixture evenly over surface of flesh, pressing gently to adhere. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 4 hours.
- Rinse salmon under cold water and return to rack. Pat dry with paper towels. Refrigerate, uncovered, until surface of fillet is tacky and matte, 4 to 20 hours.
- Using large piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil, wrap 1-1½ cups wood chips (1 cup if using charcoal; 1½ cups if using gas) in 8 by 4½-inch foil packet. (Make sure chips do not poke holes in sides or bottom of packet. If using gas, make sure there are no more than 2 layers of foil on bottom of packet.) Cut 3 evenly spaced 2-inch slits in top of packet.
- FOR A CHARCOAL GRILL: Open bottom vent halfway. Light large chimney starter half filled with charcoal briquettes (3 quarts). Place 6 unlit briquettes on 1 side of grill. When top coals are partially covered with ash, pour into steeply banked pile over unlit briquettes. Place wood chip packet on coals with slits facing up. Set cooking grate in place, cover, and open lid vent halfway. Heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, about 5 minutes.FOR A GAS GRILL: Remove cooking grate and place wood chip packet directly on primary burner. Set grate in place; turn primary burner to high (leave other burners off); cover; and heat grill until hot and wood chips are smoking, 15 to 25 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium. (Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature between 275 and 300 degrees.)
- Clean and oil cooking grate. Fold large piece of heavy-duty foil into 18 by 6-inch rectangle. Spray lightly with vegetable oil spray. Place foil rectangle on cooler side of grill (on gas grill arrange foil parallel to primary burner, spaced 8 to 10 inches from heat source) and place salmon on foil. Cover grill (positioning lid vent over salmon if using charcoal) and cook until center of thickest part of fillet registers 125 degrees and is still translucent when cut into with paring knife, 50 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes.
- Using foil as sling, transfer salmon to platter. Carefully slide foil out from beneath salmon. Serve. (Salmon can be cut into pieces, cooled completely, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, and frozen for up to 2 months.)
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