Barbecued Hot-Smoked Salmon on a Gas Grill
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
2½ hours, plus 3 hours brining and 30 minutes soaking
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
If you’re using a gas grill, leaving one burner on and turning off other(s) off mimics the indirect heat method on a charcoal grill. Use wood chips instead of wood chunks and a disposable aluminum pan to hold them. Keep a close eye on the grill thermometer to make sure that the temperature remains around 275 degrees. Locating and removing the pin bones from salmon can be tricky. Running your fingers along the flesh is one way to locate them, but we like to drape the salmon over an inverted mixing bowl. The curvature of the bowl forces the pin bones to stick up and out, so they are easier to spot, grasp with needle-nose pliers or tweezers, and remove, (see related quick tip for illustration). Hot-smoked salmon can be served warm off the grill as well as chilled. As an hors d'oeuvre, it is delicious as is or accompanied by Melba toast (or an other flat bread or cracker), finely chopped white onion, capers, and lemon wedges. To serve the salmon as an entrée, just add lemon wedges or one of the related recipes.
Instructions
- Dissolve salt and sugar in 2 cups of hot water in gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag. Add 5 cups cold water and salmon, seal bag, and refrigerate until fish is fully brined, about 3 hours.
- Meanwhile, cover two cups wood chips with water in medium bowl; soak for 30 minutes, then drain. Place soaked wood chips in small disposable aluminum pan (or make a tray for wood chips as illustrated below).
- Remove salmon from brine and blot dry completely with paper towels. Place fillet, skin-side down, on 30-inch sheet of heavy-duty foil. Rub both sides of fillet, especially skin side, with oil. Dust flesh side of fillet with paprika and pepper.
- Set pan on burner that will remain on. Turn all burners to high, close lid, and heat grill until chips smoke heavily, about 20 minutes. (If chips ignite, extinguish flames with water from squirt bottle.) Scrape grill grate clean with wire brush; turn off burner(s) without wood chips.
- Slide salmon off foil and onto grill rack opposite turned-on burner, so that long side of fillet is perpendicular to grill rods. Cover, positioning lid so that vents are opposite wood chips to draw smoke through grill. Barbecue until cooked through and heavily flavored with smoke, 1 1/2 hours. (Temperature should remain around 275 degrees.)
- Use two spatulas to remove salmon from grill. Serve either hot or at room temperature, cutting through flesh but not skin to divide salmon into individual portions and sliding spatula between flesh and skin to remove individual pieces, leaving skin behind. Serve as is or with one of the related sauces.
Time
2½ hours, plus 3 hours brining and 30 minutes soakingYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For a salmon recipe with moist, nicely crusted fish with a hint of smoked flavor, in just two hours, we turned to the grill. Instead of using the traditional cold-smoking technique, which keeps the salmon moist but does not enhance flavor, we developed a "hot-smoked" method, keeping the salmon moist by brining.
Before You Begin
If you’re using a gas grill, leaving one burner on and turning off other(s) off mimics the indirect heat method on a charcoal grill. Use wood chips instead of wood chunks and a disposable aluminum pan to hold them. Keep a close eye on the grill thermometer to make sure that the temperature remains around 275 degrees. Locating and removing the pin bones from salmon can be tricky. Running your fingers along the flesh is one way to locate them, but we like to drape the salmon over an inverted mixing bowl. The curvature of the bowl forces the pin bones to stick up and out, so they are easier to spot, grasp with needle-nose pliers or tweezers, and remove, (see related quick tip for illustration). Hot-smoked salmon can be served warm off the grill as well as chilled. As an hors d'oeuvre, it is delicious as is or accompanied by Melba toast (or an other flat bread or cracker), finely chopped white onion, capers, and lemon wedges. To serve the salmon as an entrée, just add lemon wedges or one of the related recipes.
Instructions
- Dissolve salt and sugar in 2 cups of hot water in gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag. Add 5 cups cold water and salmon, seal bag, and refrigerate until fish is fully brined, about 3 hours.
- Meanwhile, cover two cups wood chips with water in medium bowl; soak for 30 minutes, then drain. Place soaked wood chips in small disposable aluminum pan (or make a tray for wood chips as illustrated below).
- Remove salmon from brine and blot dry completely with paper towels. Place fillet, skin-side down, on 30-inch sheet of heavy-duty foil. Rub both sides of fillet, especially skin side, with oil. Dust flesh side of fillet with paprika and pepper.
- Set pan on burner that will remain on. Turn all burners to high, close lid, and heat grill until chips smoke heavily, about 20 minutes. (If chips ignite, extinguish flames with water from squirt bottle.) Scrape grill grate clean with wire brush; turn off burner(s) without wood chips.
- Slide salmon off foil and onto grill rack opposite turned-on burner, so that long side of fillet is perpendicular to grill rods. Cover, positioning lid so that vents are opposite wood chips to draw smoke through grill. Barbecue until cooked through and heavily flavored with smoke, 1 1/2 hours. (Temperature should remain around 275 degrees.)
- Use two spatulas to remove salmon from grill. Serve either hot or at room temperature, cutting through flesh but not skin to divide salmon into individual portions and sliding spatula between flesh and skin to remove individual pieces, leaving skin behind. Serve as is or with one of the related sauces.
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