Newbie Salmon....best ever.

[dmcneil]

I am new to these forums and brand new to smoking so please appropriately filter my comments. I have grilled salmon on my Weber Genesis for years with very good results. The kids and wife have loved my cooks.

I recently receive my Mak 1 Star and this was my third cook....first was chicken, second was pork butt and now salmon.

I honestly winged it. I read all the posts about salmon in these forums and on the internet. Wet brine, dry brine, hot smoke, cold smoke.....my brain was exploding until I just went back to my roots. Here is what I did with a new smoking twist:

- Salt and peppered salmon steaks at room temp for one hour.
- Put salmon on Mak 1 Star for 60 minutes at 170 using Lumberjack 100% Cherry. At 60 minutes the internal temp was 110.
- Chef of the house prepared a Sweet Chili Thai Glaze (if you want the recipe let me know...I will have to bribe the Chef).
- Increased the grill temp to 350 and brushed the salmon with the glaze for about 25 minutes. I think I applied the glaze a few times.
- Increased the temp to 459 for about 10 minutes and internal temp of 135 and pulled it.

We think this was the best salmon I have ever prepared. Remember I am a brand new smoker so some of you may be rolling your eyes at my approach but all I can say is "we loved it."

I am loving the fact that smoking and cooking is so individual. Experimenting and trying new ideas. Learning and passing on the lessons learned.

Thanks everyone.

Dave

[RonB]

Congrats on wingin' it - successfully.

[Spinaker]

Wow! Great color. Sounds like that MAK killed it.

[dmcneil]

The Mak really made it easy. Once I set the temp it didn't waver more than +- 5 Degrees the whole cook. That is the same as when I did a 9 hour pork butt.

[Spinaker]

Amazing. Great cook! dmcneil

[Mr. Bones]

Beautiful Job, Neighbor!
That is Fabulous Lookin Food, be sure to tell Mama I said so!!!

[MBMorgan]

Nicely done!

[JGo37]

I've turned over my smoking of precious 'sockeye' salmon to caveman kitchen in Seattle. If you check the link, and navigate to 'custom smoking', you can call them up and get help. Ain't nobody better - it's what they do. (notice the motto - we'll smoke anything except chicken, pork and beef).

It looks great!

http://www.cavemankitchen.com/

[LA Pork Butt]

Welcome to fun in the Pit!

[Troutman]

First of all don’t ever apologize for something you and your family really enjoyed!! Second that salmon and your techniques look spot on. I do a similar treatment but use a charcoal grill, I believe you get much better flavor. But again yours looks marvelous, I’d eat that any day !!

Once again welcome to the Pit !!

[dmcneil]

Thanks for the encouragement.

[Skip]

Welcome to The Pit and that Salmon looks wonderful!! P.S. I would love to have your Glaze Recipe.

[dmcneil]

Skip here is the recipe from the Chef of the house:

1/4 cup sweet chili sauce
1.5 tablespoons orange marmalade
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons green onion (optional)
1 minced garlic clove
Salt and pepper

No heating just stir and use. Like I said above...I brushed on the salmon when I increased the grill temp. I think i did that a couple times. Enjoy.

[Skip]

Thank you for the recipe! I can't wait to try it.

[Elton's BBQ]

Thanks for the recipe @dmcniel

[lostclusters]

Did I read that right? You left the salmon out of the refrigerator for an hour? If so, what was that for?

[dmcneil]

Over the years I have grown to like the taste of seasoning the salmon after removing it from the refrigerator and then letting it sit at room temperature. Many recipes say let it sit for 15 minutes. Food safety guidance says 2 hours is the max at room temp so I am safe.Thanks for asking the question. Next time I may shorten the time and see if there is any noticeable difference. Habits die hard.

[FishTalesNC]

Looks great, and that glaze sounds awesome! 👍🏻

[scottranda]

We here at the Pit don’t ever say you did it wrong when you obviously turned out a killer cook! Way to go! Keep experimenting! We learn too! Glad you enjoyed it so much! We just wish we had a taste!

[Elton's BBQ]

That salmon looks perfect dmcneil

If i can inspire you some more..

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxF1oaF-E3MCSW5lXhDouJJTKkpyK_RZK

Cheers

[smokenoob]

Wing It Salmon! Looks great!
just think if pigs could fly.......

[jfmorris]

Great looking cook!

I personally season and let my fish/steak/whatever sit in the fridge with the seasoning or salt, and take it straight to the grill or smoker from the fridge. They say smoke "sticks" to cold surfaces better, and the more I've been on AmazingRibs.com, the less I will do things like let meat sit out to get to room temp, or "rest" after cooking (aside from faux cambro of a brisket). If my fish or shrimp or other seafood is sitting out waiting to hit the grill, I usually have it laying on a bed of ice in a big bowl, as seafood tends to spoil quickly. Cooking to 135F is not enough to kill any bacteria either.