Smoked Salmon
- 1 large salmon fillet
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon ground pepper
- 4 limes
- With needle nose pliers, pull any bones out of the filets.
- slice the filet into 4 equal portions.
- place the portions skin side down in a glass baking dish.
- mix the brown sugar, salt, and pepper in a bowl to create your curing mixture.
- cover all of the exposed flesh of the fillets with the curing mixture.
- place plastic wrap directly over the fillets then place another layer of plastic wrap over the baking dish.
- Place in refrigerator for 12 - 36 hours and allow the salmon to cure.
- after curing, take the salmon portions out and rinse them well in cool water.
- pat the portions dry and place them on a rack in a cool place for 2 hours (not refrigerator) - they will begin to form a shiny exterior.
- after the 2 hours to finish the cure, juice the limes into a bowl with the zest of one lime.
- Add more pepper if you like.
- brush the portions with the lime mixture.
- From here you can either cold smoke your salmon - you will have to research how this will best work for you given your smoker - OR you can do the following:.
- Crank your smoker to 275F and let it reach temperature.
- Change the temperature to 150F and add your apple or alder chips.
- let everything smoke for 2 hours at 150F and shut the heat off.
- IT can sit a bit longer without heat if there is still smoke going.
- You can ziplock your salmon and use within a few days, or you can use a food sealer and freeze some for later.
- It should keep up to a year.
salmon fillet, brown sugar, kosher salt, ground pepper, limes
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/smoked-salmon-522721 (may not work)