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This Kippered (Smoked) Salmon Recipe Will Set Your Tastebuds Aflame

  

Bev’s Kippered Salmon for a Big Chief Smoker

Ingredients:

  • 4 to 5 red or silver filets about ½ to ¾ in. thick
  • ½ cup of rock salt
  • ¾ cup of dark brown sugar
  • Cap full or two of liquid smoke (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Cut the bellies wide off the filet and smoke them also. Done sooner and so yummy.
  2. For the brine, dissolve the rock salt, dark brown sugar, and liquid smoke (optional) in a container (I use the square plastic dish pan filled half way with cold water).
  3. Brine the filets and bellies overnight, around 8 hours.  
  4. I place my container in a cooler with ice or ice packs.
  5. Next morning, take the filets out of the brine and pat dry with paper towels.
  6. Spray racks with PAM or wipe with oil.
  7. Put fish on racks, cover with a bug net, and air dry for 8 hours. I also like to put a fan on mine. If it’s rainy, do it on a airy porch with a fan.
  8. Put in smoker, thick pieces on bottom. Use three to four pans of wood chips through the process of 8 to 12 hours of smoking. 

TIP: I brine all night starting around 9 or 10 p.m.  The next morning, start air drying around 7 a.m. Air dry til around 3 p.m; smoke from 3 p.m. until done. I check the pieces, pull the ones that are done, and continue the smoking process until all the pieces are done. If some don’t feel quite done, I put them aside for salmon chowder or finish them in the oven. 

*This is a 2-part conversation. Tune in next week to see how Bev uses her kippered salmon for chowder.