Want to learn an easy honey smoked salmon recipe? Read on and don’t miss out on this easy recipe!
Honey smoked salmon recipes can be made in a variety of ways, but recipes often require simple preparations for maximum effect.
What to look out for when buying salmon?
Wild-caught: Wild-caught salmon is only available 3 to 4 months of the year, so we strive to find the freshest wild salmon when it is in season. We prefer wild salmon to farm raised salmon because farm raised salmon can be injected with pigment and who knows what else.
High-quality fresh fish: Salmon should not smell excessively fishy or foul. The meat should be firm and plump, without wrinkles.
Fillet skin: It’s best if the salmon fillet has the skin still intact, as it helps hold the meat together as the fillets are cured, cured, and smoked. Look for salmon with shiny, moist skin.
What type of wood is used to smoke salmon?
Please choose a lighter smoked wood such as oak, apple or peach. Or try pecans or cherries.
How to Make Honey Smoked Salmon
The 3 most important steps to smoked salmon: curing, drying and temperature.
Step 1 Prepare the Brine Salmon
Step 2 Salted Salmon
Curing salmon in a brine solution preserves it and helps remove some of the moisture from the fillets. Salting the fish helps the salmon last longer after being smoked.
Our brine solution is very simple and consists of water, kosher salt and brown sugar. The salt helps absorb some of the moisture and flavor the fish, while the brown sugar imparts a little sweetness to it to help round out the flavor. We like to use this easy solution because it doesn’t mask the fish and allows the salmon flavor to come through.
Mix all brine ingredients with a whisk until salt and sugar are completely dissolved in a small bowl. Transfer the cleaned salmon fillets to a 2-gallon plastic bag, then pour in the brine solution, squeezing out as much air as possible. Place the bag on a skillet or casserole dish. Place the fillets in the bag so that they are completely submerged in the brine solution. Put it in the refrigerator to cure.
If there is not enough brine to submerge the entire fillet, you can double the brine mixture and make another batch.
Step 3 Air Dried Salmon – Forms Film
The next step is completely effortless, but one of the most important steps in smoking good quality salmon. Salmon needs to form a scale. This slightly sticky layer has a thin, dry sheen, like the meat is painted. This layer gives the smoke something to hold onto.
Step 4 Light the grill, but watch the temperature!
Step 5 Smoked Honey Smoked Salmon
Place the grill on the grill – preheat the grill to the ideal temperature of about 170 degrees. If needed, add more charcoal to make the fire hotter.
Grease the hot grate with paper towels, then place the marinated and dried salmon fillets skin-side down on the cool side of the grate.
Cover and smoke the salmon. Keep the temperature low and slow.
