Directions: |
Directions:Put it all in a big bowl, and mix it all together. Now it's time to brine the fish. Cover the fillets liberally with the dry brine mixture. Once the fillets are coated, stack them in the bottom of a non-metallic pan. You can cover the bottom of the pot with brine, but it really doesn't matter... once the brine starts to work and some of the water from the fish is extracted, the whole thing turns into a gooey mess. I usually place the first fillets in the pot skin side down, and then alternate them as I continue... so all the fish lays flesh to flesh and skin to skin.
Once all my fish is in the brine, cover the container and put it in the fridge for about six hours. The amount of time you keep the fish in the brine and the amount of salt you use in your brine mixture will determine how firm the flesh of the fish becomes, and how salty the taste of the end product will be.
After the fish has sat in the brine in the fridge for six hours, take the pieces out one by one and rinse them gently in cold water. You don't want to scrub them or disturb the flesh, you just want to get the heavy deposits of brine off.
Once the fish is rinsed off, drain it the best you can and set it out on a rack(from the smoker) to dry at room temperature.
Let the fish dry at least a couple of hours. I usually dry them for four to six hours, depending upon the thickness of the fillets. You don't want the room temperature to be too hot or too cold, what you're trying to do here is dry the fish out and form the pellicle on the surface of the flesh. Good airflow around the fish is helpful, you can even use a small fan to help the process if you'd like. Set it up so the thicker fillets are on the lower smoker shelves, and the thinner fillets are on the upper shelves... this will even out how they dry once they're in the smoker.
Check on the appearance of the fish after about one and half hours, and make a judgment from there.
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This recipe for Smoked Salmon (sugar/garlic brine) is from