Shakespeare
03-03-2008, 09:28 AM
It was a very nice early March day in central NC, so I decided to smoke some salmon for dinner.
Because of the investment in time and effort it's much better to smoke a quantity of meat vs. small portions. Here I picked up a couple of nice Atlantic fillets, 4 1/2 lbs. to be exact. I chose this variety because it had not been previously frozen. If in season some wild sockeye or king salmon would have been my choice. It's helpful, but not absolutely necessary to pull the pin bones out of the fillet. My fillets had most of the pin bones removed prior to purchase. To see how to remove the pin bones see;
http://www.salmonuniversity.com/ol_htfs_pinbones1.html
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee78/CSO_Shakespeare/NBSmoker/Salmon/DSC00733.jpg
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There are many things you can do to salmon fillets prior to smoking. You can brine or use a dry rub. Some folks like to glaze the fish. Today, I decided to keep it simple. I just used an olive oil rub with a generous amount of Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee78/CSO_Shakespeare/NBSmoker/Salmon/DSC00734.jpg
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My target temperature in the smoker is between 225 - 250 degrees. Note the handy little trick of embedding a temperature probe through a potato to monitor the temperature close to the grate. Because the smoker has a hot side and a cool side, I rotate the fish somewhere around mid-cook, 125 degrees internal temperature. I'm shooting for the meat temperature to be done somewhere between 150 - 155 degrees.
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee78/CSO_Shakespeare/NBSmoker/Salmon/DSC00735.jpg
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Two hours later, our job is done here
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee78/CSO_Shakespeare/NBSmoker/Salmon/DSC00738.jpg
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Plated with some Basmati rice and steamed asparagus it's chow time. A nice Italian Pinot Grigio to wash it all down.
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee78/CSO_Shakespeare/NBSmoker/Salmon/DSC00740.jpg
Because of the investment in time and effort it's much better to smoke a quantity of meat vs. small portions. Here I picked up a couple of nice Atlantic fillets, 4 1/2 lbs. to be exact. I chose this variety because it had not been previously frozen. If in season some wild sockeye or king salmon would have been my choice. It's helpful, but not absolutely necessary to pull the pin bones out of the fillet. My fillets had most of the pin bones removed prior to purchase. To see how to remove the pin bones see;
http://www.salmonuniversity.com/ol_htfs_pinbones1.html
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee78/CSO_Shakespeare/NBSmoker/Salmon/DSC00733.jpg
_________________________________________________
There are many things you can do to salmon fillets prior to smoking. You can brine or use a dry rub. Some folks like to glaze the fish. Today, I decided to keep it simple. I just used an olive oil rub with a generous amount of Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee78/CSO_Shakespeare/NBSmoker/Salmon/DSC00734.jpg
_________________________________________________
My target temperature in the smoker is between 225 - 250 degrees. Note the handy little trick of embedding a temperature probe through a potato to monitor the temperature close to the grate. Because the smoker has a hot side and a cool side, I rotate the fish somewhere around mid-cook, 125 degrees internal temperature. I'm shooting for the meat temperature to be done somewhere between 150 - 155 degrees.
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee78/CSO_Shakespeare/NBSmoker/Salmon/DSC00735.jpg
_________________________________________________
Two hours later, our job is done here
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee78/CSO_Shakespeare/NBSmoker/Salmon/DSC00738.jpg
_________________________________________________
Plated with some Basmati rice and steamed asparagus it's chow time. A nice Italian Pinot Grigio to wash it all down.
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee78/CSO_Shakespeare/NBSmoker/Salmon/DSC00740.jpg