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1 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Salt
4 cups Apple Cider (or juice)
2 Cinnamon Sticks
1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds
1 teaspoon whole Allspice
1 teaspoon Black Peppercorns
2 Bay Leaves
1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
6 Sprigs Thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
1 large Salmon Fillet, skin and small pin bones removed (about 1 pound each)
1 Bunch Wood Chips (soaked)
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To make brine:- In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar, salt and apple cider; bring to a boil. Add remaining brine ingredients, remove from the heat and cool. The brine can be made 2 to 3 days in advance and kept in the refrigerator. Place the salmon fillets in the liquid brine for at least 6 hours up to overnight(making sure it's submerged), refrigerated. Remove the salmon from the brine and place uncovered, on a wire rack set in a shallow baking pan(or a cookie sheet). Refrigerate the fillets for at least 6 hours, or overnight, to dry them out. (A dry fillet will take on smoke quicker than a moist fillet). To smoke salmon:- In an outdoor grill, make a small fire using mesquite charcoal or briquettes. When the fire has burned down to a hot bed of coals, after about 1 hour, place the soaked wood on the coals. Position the grate 8 inch to 12 inch above the smoking wood and place the salmon fillets on the grate. Cover the grill and shut any open-air vents. After 5 minutes, check the heat of the grill; large fillets will be cooked and smoked through in about 30 minutes if the heat is low, about 300* to 350*F., while a hotter fire will cook the fillets in 15 to 20 minutes. Serve the salmon hot off the grill
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