Late Mother’s Day Salmon

[Jed.cook]

Kids were sick last weekend, so Grandma & Grandpa postponed their visit for a week. My mom's favorite is smoked salmon, which is fine with me since it ties with smoked cheese as the easiest thing for me to make.

I like trying different seasonings every time I make it, but my search may just be over. This was a combo of Greek and Creole seasonings, then obviously some lemon slices. Best yet!

Sorry I forgot to snag any pics while it was on the grill (basically just indirect for about 45 min. with a couple alder chunks), but here's the finished product...




-Jed

[addicted-to-smoke]

You had my attention at "Greek and Creole" seasonings. More info please?

So are you tellin' me there's some kinda Tzatziki sauce that works here??

I do salmon both "dry" (just seasonings) and "wet" (maple syrup et al) and don't know which I like better.

[Jed.cook]

You had my attention at "Greek and Creole" seasonings. More info please?

So are you tellin' me there's some kinda Tzatziki sauce that works here??

I do salmon both "dry" (just seasonings) and "wet" (maple syrup et al) and don't know which I like better.

Nice! Yeah, I've got two main "go to" smoked salmon recipes as well. This one is the "dinner entrée" version which is much quicker & easier. Just season & throw on the grill, as far away from about 1/2 a chimney of hot coals as possible for about 45 minutes, all vents wide open. I do the HUGE salmon filets from Costco or Sam's Club on my 26er, so if you use a smaller cut and/or a 22.5" kettle, you might need to cut down the time a bit. (It's very forgiving though; damn near impossible to over/under cook.)

My other version is an hor d'oeuvre (please don't kick my ass for looking up that spelling) served with crackers & a lemon dill cream cheese. Far more time consuming & complicated, but you'll blow your friends away with this one.

Cure for at least two hours with a mixture kosher salt, brown sugar, & a little cayenne pepper. Rinse off, pat dry, and set out in a cool breeze for a couple more hours to form a pellicle. Smoke with alder, apple, or some other mild wood at about as low a temperature as you can (shoot for 120 deg.) for the first hour. After that, slowly bring the temp up to no more than about 200 deg. (I usually do a 1x1 snake for the first 3-4 briquettes, then transition it to a 1x2 for 4-5 more briquettes, and then to a 2x2 for 4-5 more.) After the first hour, baste with a little maple syrup, brushing away any albumin that might have formed on top. You might get a little; you just don't want a ton of it. Your goal should be a final, internal temperature of about 130° to 140° after about 4-6 hours. Don't get impatient & heat it up too quickly; you'll get a ton of white albumin bleeding out, and the fish will come out dry.

Serve with crackers and a cheese spread made from a block of cream cheese, 2 teaspoons fresh chopped dill, 2 teaspoons Kosher salt, juice from about ¼ of a small lemon, & fresh ground black pepper to taste.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Here're the two seasonings I combined tonight. Cavender's Greek Seasoning has been my go-to for as long as I can remember. It was my dad's favorite & I grew up on it. I use in on all types of meat, vegetables, even just on some noodles with a little butter & parmesan. (Use it the way you might use seasoned salt.)

This creole is new to me, but I'm starting to use it quite a bit now as well. It's great on vortex chicken!




-Jed

[mhiszem]

Looks like it turned out grate


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