Smoked Salmon with Maple Glaze

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Place the salmon in a large plastic or glass container (a 9x13 baking dish works well), skin-side facing up.
2. Make the brine. Combine the water, salt, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour over the salmon. Keep the skin-side facing up so most of the salmon is coated in the brine. Double the brine recipe to completely coat the salmon, if needed.
3. ***The brining process removes moisture from the fish and infuses it with salt to preserve it.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least for hours or up to overnight.
5. Once brined, remove the salmon, rinse with cold water and pat dry. Place skin-side down on a cooling rack that is sitting on a baking sheet. Place in the fridge for at least 2 hours but up to 4 hours to dry out. You can let the salmon sit overnight if needed.
6. ***The surface of the salmon will develop a shiny layer called pellicle. Pellicle seals the fish and offers a surface for the smokey flavor to attach to while smoking. The salt preserves the fish and will prevent it from spoiling during this process.
7. Preheat your smoker to 140 degrees F with Cherry flavor woodchips (or any flavor you prefer but cherry complements seafood nicely). Make sure the drip pan is full of water to help keep moisture in the smoker, so the salmon doesn’t dry out. Remove any extra racks from the smoker for easier access to the salmon as you will be basting every 30-60 minutes.
8. Oil the skin-side of the salmon on put directly on the smoker rack (skin-side down). Insert a thermometer to track the temperature as it smokes. Smoke at 140 degrees F (or as close to 140 as you can keep your smoker) for one hour. Baste the salmon with maple syrup at 30 min and again at 60 min. Add additional woodchips as needed.
9. After one hour, increase the temperature to 175 degrees F. Continue to baste with maple syrup every 30-60 minutes until the internal temperature of the salmon reaches 140-145 degrees F. This process should take 2-3 hours total (including the 1st hour at 140 degrees F). Add additional woodchips as needed.
10. ***If you notice a small amount of a creamy, white substance, that’s OK. It’s called albumin and a small amount is normal. You can scrape it off while basting.
11. When done, remove the salmon to a baking sheet (easy to transport inside) and baste with maple syrup one last time. Make sure to use a CLEAN brush or spoon if you are not using a baster to prevent cross contamination. Let slowly cool on the counter for about an hour.
12. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge. The smoked salmon will last for about 10 days in the fridge. Enjoy!