Home Hot Smoked Salmon

Hot smoking fish sounds intimidating but it’s something anyone can do. I have used my Big Green Egg to smoke mine but all you need is a kettle barbecue or a stove top smoker. The process takes a few hours but the only tricky part is the ability to control the heat if you’re using a kettle barbecue.  Cooking time will vary according to the weight and thickness the fish fillet.

I have accompanied my salmon with fresh asparagus (just at the end of the season) and a Swedish potato salad. I also love serving it with a lightly pickled fennel and cucumber salad with fresh grated horseradish. All you need to do is slice a fennel bulb as finely as you possibly can, if you have a mandolin even better.  Peel half a cucumber and de-seed, also slice finely.  Place in a bowl with 50ml white wine vinegar, 25ml water, 15g caster sugar and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix well and leave for 30 minutes. Add finely chopped dill. The acidity in the salad counters the richness of the salmon perfectly.

Print Recipe

Home Hot Smoked Salmon

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

brining6 hours hrs

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 500 g Fresh salmon fillet
• 50 g course sea salt
• 500 ml tepid water
• A handful of applewood smoking chips soaked in water for 30 minutes before cooking the salmon.
• oil for greasing.

Instructions

• Mix the water with the salt in a bowl then drop the salmon in. Cover & place in the fridge for 8 hours. Remove from the brine, rinse briefly and wipe dry with kitchen paper. Place on a wire rack on a tray & pop back into the fridge for 2-3 hours to form a pellicle, this is the tacky surface of the fish that is created by the proteins in the meat. This captures the smoke. Put a little oil on the skin of the salmon to stop it sticking to the grill.
• My Egg is set to 130C. Sprinkle the applewood chips on the coals. Shut the lid for a minute or two. Now open and place the fish fillet on the griddle and shut the lid. Check the salmon after 25-30 minutes, cooking times will vary according to the thickens of the fish fillet. If you have a meat thermometer insert it into the thickest part of the fish. It should reach 70C. Continue to cook until it's done. Remove and serve warm or cold

Tips:

• Try hot smoking mackerel, it’s delicious with the fennel and cucumber salad.
• Try adding different aromatics to the brine such as garlic, peppercorns or horseradish.