Smoked Salmon

The other day I was shopping at our favorite grocery store in B'ham--The Bellingham Grocery Outlet (BGO). I know the Grocery Outlet is not the classiest place to shop for groceries and it isn't here in B'ham either. But Bellinghamsters of all stripes shop at our BGO and the folks that work there are so friendly and helpful. No, they don't always have what you are looking for, but that is why we shop there first. What we can't find on our shopping list we get at Fred Meyer across town. The other day I was wandering the aisles and came across the end display with the leftovers from a backyard display that had been much larger at the beginning of the summer, garden hoses, tools, cheap yard art, lawn awnings, all sorts of stuff.

Tucked under the only shelf on this end display was what looked like a black mini-fridge. A small, hand written sign said, $69.99. Always looking for a bargain, I gave it a second glance and noticed the door had a thermometer mounted on it. Then I realized this was a smoker. I opened it and found that it seemed to have all of the parts needed to put it together. Still not convinced that this was a real deal, I wrote down the maker's name and the model numer, then headed home with the idea of checking it out on line. Amazingly, this particular model and the company itself had received rave reviews from the 20 plus reviewers. I checked several sites to see how much this model should cost. The cheapest price I found was $150 on-line. So I drove back to the BGO and bought one of the two they had left. $70!!! The device went together very easily. The hardest part was getting it from the garage to our back deck where I had decided I would park it next to my BBQ. It's a heavy bear but the two BBQing devices look good next to each other.

My buddy Rick, who has taught me all of what little I know regarding salmon fishing, boating and anything else having to do with the northwest outdoors, gave me about a beautiful filet of marbled King salmon to test out the new smoker. I had found a recipe on-line at a smoked meat forum site. The guy's recipe sounded great and looked great from his photos. So I decided to give it a try.

I made up the dry rub (recipe follows) in a 12 quart plastic tub with a lid that seals well. I prepped the salmon filet by cutting it into rectangular chunks of 2 or 3 inches by 5-6 inches. Then, according to this recipe, I carefully removed the skin from each piece. Normally I leave the skin on. It's less trouble for one thing. I placed the salmon pieces into the tub with the rub and snapped on the lid. Carefully turning the tub upside down a couple of times, I had the salmon pretty well covered with the rub. Into the fridge it went overnight, about 10-12 hours. Opening the tub about halfway through this process, I could see a lot of liquid had developed, I suppose due to the salt drawing it out of the salmon. I flipped the tub over a couple of times to mix it up a bit and then back into the fridge. The next day I removed the tub from the fridge, opened it up and began rinsing the rub off each salmon chunk, patting them dry and then placing them onto the smoker racks.

The salmon covered racks were left out to air dry for about 10 hours. when the air drying process was about done, I began prepping the smoker. I lined the bottom of the smoker with foil and poked a hole in the foil above the grease drain hole so it can drain into the grease trap under the smoker. I lined the water and wood chip trays with foil and filled them with water and wood chips. I use Alder chips found in most any sporting goods store unless you have a friend who can supply fresh stuff from the woods. These containers were placed on the rack in the smoker. I pre-heated the smoker to 150 degrees, slid in the racks of salmon and sealed the door. Every couple of hours I checked the salmon and spritzed it with a spray bottle filled with apple juice. This gives the finished salmon its glossy finished look.

At about 8 hours I start carefully looking at the salmon to see if it is finished. You want to check it with a knife to see if it looks right. Choose a piece of salmon as your test piece. Use the tip of the knife to pull it apart and look for a nice flaky interior. When finished after 8-10 hours pull the salmon racks out and let it cool on the counter. Remove the salmon carefully with a metal pancake turner and place individual pieces in seal-a-meal pouches. Freeze it if your aren't going to use it right away.





Dry Rub Recipe

2 cups brown sugar
2 cups course salt
1/8 cup black pepper
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder

Blend together. Coat each piece of salmon with the rub and refrigerate over night, turning the pieces at least once during the process. Rinse the rub from the salmon pieces and pat them dry. Smoke them until you have achieved the desired level of doneness.