How to Smoke Salmon

Smoked Salmon is my #1 favorite food to smoke. Buttery, succulent and full of flavor, I'll show you how to make hot-smoked salmon right at home!

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 15

Pellicle and Brining 1

Total Time 1 1 45

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword dairy free, gluten free, low carb

Method Smoker

Servings

Calories 137kcal

Combine the ingredients in a large glass measuring cup or bowl then stir until the salt and sugar have dissolved. Place inside the fridge or freezer to chill completely.

Trim the thin white strip (belly) off the fillet if present then remove any pin bones with tweezers. Place the salmon skin-side up inside a baking dish with high sides that’s not much bigger than the fillet.
Pour the chilled brine over the salmon until it’s completely submerged then cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour per pound — I generally brine for 4-8 hours for a smaller fillet, and up to 12 hours for a thicker fillet.

Place 2 cooling racks atop a half sheet pan, or 1 cooling rack atop a quarter sheet pan if the fillet is on the shorter side. Rinse the brine off the salmon under cold water then place it flesh side up on top of the cooling racks. Refrigerate uncovered for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours, or until the surface is tacky. Note: the longer the salmon sits uncovered in the fridge to develop what’s called a pellicle, or a thin, sticky layer of protein on the outside of the fish, the more smoke flavor it will take on in the smoker. Additionally, the pellicle will seal in moisture and help prevent albumin (a harmless yet unsightly white protein) from forming on the outside of the fish.
Season the salmon fillet with Lemon Pepper Seasoning. The brine will impart saltiness to the salmon, so don’t go overboard with Lemon Pepper Seasoning if the blend you use contains salt. Sometimes I use only coarsely ground pepper and dried lemon peel if my salmon fillet is on the thin side. Refrigerate the seasoned salmon while you prepare your smoker.

Prepare your smoker to smoke at 180 degrees, as ready by a digital thermometer, over indirect heat. If desired, add a piece of wood or a handful of wood chips if using a charcoal smoker, or pellets if using an electric smoker. We use a hunk of cherry wood in our Green Egg. Avoid using mesquite wood chips which can overpower the flavor of the salmon.
Place the seasoned salmon fillet onto the smoker then insert an internal temperature probe into the thickest part of the fillet. Smoke the salmon until the internal temperature reaches your desired level of doneness (see notes), keeping the internal temperature of the smoker between 180 and 200 degrees. Depending on the size of your salmon fillet, this could take anywhere from 45 minutes to 3 hours. The 1.75lb salmon fillet (after trimming) in these photos took 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach an internal temperature of 130 degrees.
Transfer the smoked salmon fillet to a platter then cover it loosely with foil and let rest for at least 20 minutes. We prefer smoked salmon served warm or near room temperature, vs hot. Cut into smaller fillets then serve with plenty of fresh lemon wedges.

I recommend selecting either Atlantic or King/Chinook salmon which are thick, meaty, and high in fat for smoking. Wild caught Sockeye and Coho are popular salmon varieties, though they are smaller and easy to overcook and dry out in the smoker.
Table salt is a lot “saltier” then kosher salt. Use half the amount of table salt compared to kosher salt in the wet brine if that’s all you have on hand.
Notes about doneness: we prefer our smoked salmon to be tender and silky so I pull it off the smoker when the internal temperature of the salmon reaches 130 — 135 degrees. The temperature will continue to rise slightly after removing it from the smoker due to carryover cooking. If you prefer a more firm smoked salmon, pull the fillet when it reaches 135-140 degrees. I personally don’t recommend going any higher than 140 degrees otherwise the salmon can be dry and chalky. If you determine that the salmon is undercooked, place it back onto the smoker and continue smoking OR place the fillet onto a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until your desired level of doneness is reached. You can always smoke/cook the salmon more but it's not possible to fix overcooked salmon.
Please read this post in its entirety for all of my tips!