Salmon, Kippered Smoked

Ingredients

Jeff’s Dry Brine

• 1 lb canning salt
• 1/2 lb brown sugar

saltpeter or cure (optional by weight of salmon)

• 1 tbsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp crushed bay leaf
• 1 tbsp allspice
• 1 tbsp clove
• 1 tbsp mace
• maple syrup (optional)

Directions

1. Rinse salmon fillets and coat them in the dry brine. I first trim off the thin edges of the salmon to get more uniform thickness (trimmings are good pan seared with a light sprinkling of CS Spicy Chicken Rub as a chef’s snack) and coat with the dry brine.
2. Wrap in plastic wrap, put in a sheet pan and weigh down. Refrigerate for 3-12 hours.
3. Rinse and scrub lightly to get rid of all traces of salt. Dry with paper towels and set on smoker racks to let air circulate. Dry with a fan on them (Never in the sun) or outside in a breeze until a pellicle is formed. This can take up to 6 hours or more or less, but it is THE most important step to smoking fish. When you touch the fish, your fingers remain dry and the fish is shiny. I brush with maple syrup about halfway thru the drying time.
4. You can also form the pellicle in the fridge… Let the salmon dry for several hours then added maple syrup glaze and leave in the fridge to dry and set the glaze. You can leave this overnight.
5. Pull the salmon out in the morning and put in smoker with a chunk of pecan, hickory, alder or whatever you like at about 150 degrees F.

Start checking for doneness about 5 hours later.

1. This is GOOD stuff. Had a serving for lunch and the rest off to the fridge. I plan on vacuum packaging individual servings and freezing. These are great mixed with cream cheese or mixed in with scrambled eggs; just defrost in the fridge and they are ready to go.