Smoked Salmon Bites

Imagine the best smoked salmon you've ever had.......

......Now imagine smoked salmon that's even better, more succulent, and really easy to make......

......Now follow this recipe and your dreams will become a reality!


 The ingredient list is simple:

• Salmon - about 3lbs
• Dry Rub

 The Dry Rub or in this case, cure has two primary ingredients - Sugar and Salt - along with a few other spices to add a little depth to the flavor profile.  The quantities here were enough for about 4 lbs of fish and it's easy to scale up if you get a larger piece or more fish.  I wouldn't scale it down because you'll be really upset if you make less than 3lbs.

• Brown Sugar - 4 cups
• Kosher Sea Salt - 1.5 cups
• Garlic Powder - 4 tblspn
• Onion Powder - 2 tblspn
• Cayenne Powder - 2 tblspn

I wish I had some fresh caught salmon from the Pacific North West but I had to get what they had available at Costco.

Cut the salmon into bite size pieces - about 1.5" Cubes.

Coat the pieces thoroughly in the salt and sugar cure and let them sit for 6-8 hours. 

After 6 - 8 hours in the cure, your salmon bites will be swimming in a pool of sugar and salt sludge.  The cure has sucked much of the water out of the fish.

This step is REALLY important - wash all the cure off the fish.  You want to thoroughly rinse the cure off or the salmon will be way to salty to eat. 
















This step is optional but I wanted to add another layer of flavor.  After the bites were completely rinsed of the cure, I soaked the bites in Yoshido Teriyaki sauce for about 15 minutes.

 Lay the bites out on a cookie sheet or a wire rack so they are not touching and air dry so a pellicle - hard coating - will form on the fish.  This will help trap the remaining moisture in the bites during the  smoking process.







While the bites were air drying, I got my A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker loaded and lit.  This thing is amazing and it is a must have tool for all BBQ'rs!  Here's a link to their site:

http://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=AMNTS

 I loaded up the tube with Apple Pellets and lit it up per the instructions.  I have the 18" Model and is supposed to last up to 9 hours for cold smoking.  I ran it for 6 hours and it heated up my Traeger 075 to about 120F at the grate and put out an amazing amount of cold smoke.

 I used a Frog Mat and evenly spaced the bites so the smoke could swirl all around.



Just for fun I added a block of Dill Havarti just for fun.  I vacuum sealed the cheese after it was smoked and left it in the fridge for a few weeks so the smoke flavor would soak in.  Yes - it was amazing!

Check out the amount of smoke coming out of the stack on the Traeger - and the Traeger is NOT on - all of this smoke is from the A-MAZE-N Tube Smoker.  This thing really pumps out a ton of smoke.

I cold smoked the salmon bites for 4 hours and the grate temp was a constant 120F - perfect for cold smoking.

If you don't have the A-MAZE-N Tube, you can still smoke these on any indirect heat source - just try and keep the temp as low as possible for as long as possible.






After the 4 hours I turned the Traeger smoker on and set the temp for Smoke.  On this pit Smoke setting is about 165F.  I continued to smoke the salmon bites until they hit the USDA recommended internal temp of 145F.

These salmon bites came out absolutely amazing.  You can serve these as an appetizer or add them to pasta.  Anyway you serve them, make sure you have plenty on hand because they are going to fly off the plate!

I was inspired to do this recipe from another blogger and member of the Smoking Meats Forum - thanks Steve Cylka!

Salmon on the Smoker!

Salmon on the smoker!

This is not "smoked salmon". Smoked salmon is technically a piece of salmon that is brined and then cold smoked (under 95F). At the end of the process the salmon is cured. After it is cured it is ready to eat. You are more familiar with smoked salmon as lox or in the gold foil pack that you can get in the Seattle airport or as a holiday gift. This recipe is for smoking salmon - in other words - cooking salmon on a smoker!

There are plenty of ways to prepare salmon - specifically brining the fish. E-mail me and I'll get you some killer brining recipes for salmon but in this case, I didn't have the extra 4 - 5 hours to brine it properly so I used a really great dry rub to get some killer flavor on that fish....

I used Simply Marvelous Apple Rub. It has the perfect balance of sweet and spicy with a hint of apple wood that makes this fish sing. Do yourself a favor - visit this site and purchase a sample pack. You will NOT be disappointed! You can use your favorite dry rub but make sure that it doesn't have too much salt or heat. You want a little sweetness to pull this flavorful fish through.

Sprinkle on a heavy layer of the rub on both sides. Don't be shy with this rub.

Let this rub sit on the fish for 30 or so minutes to let it melt into the fish and let that flavor penetrate a bit.

While you're waiting for the dry rub to melt into the fish, get the sides ready A perfect side for this dish is some bacon wrapped asparagus. It takes about 60 minutes on medium or 275 F grate temp to finish up the bacon. You can't rush bacon!

I used Grill Grates to cook this fish on. Fish can get tender and fall apart during cooking. I realize that on a smoker you usually don't have to flip the meat cooking but I wanted to get some grill marks on the fish - it came out perfect.

I smoked the fish and bacon wrapped asparagus using a blend of apple and oak pellets at a grate temp of 250F. You could also cook these in the oven at the same temp but watch out for the bacon drippings in the oven. On a gas grill you should cook on indirect heat and use the Grill Grates. The fat drippings from the bacon could easily start a flare up fire.

On a side note - get these Grill Grates if you have a propane or charcoal grill and can't cook using indirect heat. They will improve your cooking technique and make you look like a pro!
Here's a shot of the fish after they've been flipped. Looking great!

Let's plate this chow up - salmon on the smoker, bacon wrapped asparagus and some steamed rice.

Here's a shot of the salmon cracked open with a fork. Super moist and really full of flavor. The dry rub and fish oil on the plate mixed with the rice added to the side.

Let's eat!

BBQ Tools - Cedar Planks

BBQ Tools - Cedar Planks



Cedar wood grilling planks have been around for a while and most of you have seen them before - but do you know how easy they are to use and how well they work?!?

The purpose of the Cedar Planks is to provide an indirect cooking area for more delicate foods while adding some flavors. These planks can be used in any smoker, charcoal grill or gas grill but take the following precautions - on any cooker, make sure the grate temp does NOT exceed 300F:

Smoker - no real precautions - you're already cooking indirect so just soak the planks.

Charcoal Grill - try and move the coals to one side of the kettle and place the planks on the opposite side. Keep a spray bottle of water handy just in case the plank catches on fire.

Gas Grill - ONLY use on the indirect side - turn the burner on one side only and use the planks on the other side. Make sure the flame does NOT touch the planks. Keep a spray bottle of water handy just in case the plank catches on fire. You may also want to place a sheet pan between the burner and the planks to ensure no flames touch the planks.

Prep the planks - soak the planks in a container that covers at least half of the plank - remember - they float! Soak the planks for at least 1/2 hour and up to 3 hours. You can add salt, balsamic vinegar, apple cider, or whatever you can think of that will add flavor to the food as it evaporates during the cook.

The first time you use the planks, you will have to cure them - soak them and then cook them on the grate for 2 minutes per side and flip at least 2 times so each side gets "heat treated" twice. This will reduce warpage in the future.



Soak the planks for 1/2 hour to 3 hours. I used a bucket with some apple cider, sea salt, and season salt. I soaked them for 3 hours, flipping them over every 1/2 hour to ensure the entire plank was soaked.



The first time you use the planks you have to "heat treat" them. Place them on the grate after you soak them - make sure you flip them every 2 minutes and make sure each side gets the treatment at least twice. This will ensure the planks don't warp.



Cooking on the planks - these planks are great to cook fish, shell fish, vegetables, or any other delicate food item that will fall through the cooking grate or tends to fall apart. I cooked some salmon here.



You can see the salmon cooking - the planks slowly loose their moisture and the cider and seasoning that I soaked the planks in slowly steamed out of the planks and into the food. This is a great way to infuse some additional flavors. I don't recommend cooking anything on the planks that takes longer than 30 minutes because the planks will completely dry out and then you have a fire hazard. Watch the pit / cooker the entire time these planks are on the fire!

This is an inexpensive way to add another dimension - and some fun - to your cook. What a great way to experiment AND cook some foods that are typically tough to cook on the grate!