Smoked Salmon

IMG_20130902_142619_391If you have been lucky enough to have someone bring you some smoked salmon during the holidays, you know how good it is. The price tag is what keeps me from buying it more often so I decided to smoke some myself on the Traeger. A big fillet of salmon from Costco is inexpensive and always tasty so I bought one over the weekend. Let me tell you, this turned out great! Served it with some cream cheese and gluten free crackers and it was a hit.IMG_20130901_174425_201First, slice the fillet into equal size pieces. Now you will need to cure it for at least 8 hours or over night. The cure consists of 2 cups brown sugar, 1/2 cup kosher salt and about 1 tablespoon of fresh ground pepper.IMG_20130901_174801_951Get a glass baking dish and spread some of the cure on the bottom. Top with the salmon and then cover with more of the mixture. Place the remaining 2 fillets on top and cover with the rest of the cure. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and put in the fridge.IMG_20130902_102457_132After curing overnight, pull the salmon out of the fridge. You can see how the moisture was drawn out of the fillets. Rinse with cold water and place on a greased rack. Now you need to let the fillets sit out at room temp for 2 hours before smoking.

I smoked these on the Traeger for 2 hours at a temp between 150 and 170 degrees. I let them cool and put them in the fridge to chill before serving. I like my smoked salmon cold but you can also eat it right away. It will keep for about 7 days but I can let you know it did not last that long in our household. Enjoy!!

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