Help needed: Anyone up for helping me smoke salmo

I'm not lookin' for fancy. I have never done this and I want to. I have a nice, store-bought salmon filet in the freezer and nothing to do tonight. Someone give me the lowdown on process.

BTW, I do not have a plank. I was hoping to get away with not having to use a plank.

I have only hickory, kingsford, my seasonings, and a brinkmann pitmaster smoker.

What kind of mess can I make?

A tasty one!

Are you wanting to smoke it, or Q it?
Salmon, especially a filet, takes no time at all, to BBQ.
The meat responds really well to the smoke though.
If you really want to smoke/cure it, it's done as a cold smoking process out here in the NW. Keep it pretty far from the heat source. Somewhere just above room temp, for 6-24 hours.
If I had a salmon filet, I'd be putting Garlic, butter, a green pepper or 2, some ground black pepper,throw in some tomatoes and seasond salt and pan fry that baby!...or grill it! Either way, I'm a garlic twice guy! once inserted! once on top! yummm!
We get whole salmon in Oregon for $.99 a lb. It's fun to do all kinds of things to these puppies; Whole, baked in foil on the grill-that's standard-almost perfect!
How can you go wrong with Salmon?
Bill

I wanna smoke it.

I know a way to smoke mackrel, but I guess you can use it for salmon as well. in a round charcoal grill, put some charcoal to the side of the grill. light it and let it burn down to a lower temp. than youd use for grilling. not really any need to spice the fish, but you could use lavendel, sage or some other hardy herb. lay the filet with the skin side down as far away as you can from the embers. sprinkle some of what you want to smoke it with and put a lid on. its done when then fishmeat is loose in the fibers. its not coldsmoked as described earlier, but it can be hard to coldsmoke something without the right equipment. let me know what you think Christopher

Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and get you a cedar shingle or two. (make sure it isn't treated wood), soak it in water a few hours, rub the fish w/ some olive oil and herbs, and smoke it skin side down in your smoker until done.

From the virtual weber bullet. This is actually really easy, and always wins rave reviews from my guests. Even though it is hot-smoked, you give the salmon a light cure for a couple of hours.


Cure The Fillet

Here's the recipe for the brown sugar rub used to cure the salmon.

Dry Rub
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1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup non-iodized table salt
3 tablespoons granulated garlic powder
3 tablespoons granulated onion
1 tablespoon dried dill weed
1 tablespoon dried savory
2 teaspoons dried tarragon
Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Place the salmon skin-side down on a non-reactive platter or in a glass baking dish. Pour all of the rub over the flesh-side of the salmon and spread it evenly over the surface, about 1/4" thick.

Move the salmon into the refrigerator and let it cure for 2-3 hours.

After curing, rinse the fillet thoroughly under cold running water to remove all the salt and sugar. Pat all surfaces dry with paper towels. You'll notice that the fillet now has a more intense color.

Place the fillet skin-side down on a clean platter or sheet pan and let it dry until tacky, about 30 minutes. This tackiness is known as "pellicle". It is the result of water-soluble proteins drawn to the surface of the fish by the rub that dry to create a sticky layer. This layer prevents moisture loss and attracts and holds smoke particles during cooking.

You can dry the fish in the refrigerator, or on the kitchen counter in front of an electric fan.

Here's the recipe for the rub that's applied to the salmon just before cooking.

Finishing Rub
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1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon granulated garlic powder
1 tablespoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon dried savory
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

Fold a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil in half to make a sling slightly larger than the salmon fillet. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray and place the salmon skin-side down on the foil.

Sprinkle the finishing rub on all surfaces except the skin side. This rub is sweet, so adjust the amount used according to your taste. The Cardogs suggest applying twice the amount you would if you were applying heavy salt and pepper to meat.

Choose a mild smoke wood like alder or other fruit wood. I used seven small- to medium-sized pieces of dry alder wood, as shown here.

Light one heaping Weber chimney starter full of Kingsford charcoal briquettes. When the coals are hot, spread them evenly in the charcoal chamber.

Assemble the cooker. Place the water pan in the cooker and fill with cool tap water. Close the top and bottom vents, allowing the cooker to come down to about 325*F before proceeding--perhaps 10 minutes.

When the cooker drops to 325*F, open the top vent fully and leave it that way throughout the entire cooking session. Put the salmon sling on the top cooking grate. Add the smoke wood to the hot coals.

Leave the bottom vents closed until the cooker comes down to about 225*F, then adjust a single bottom vent to maintain 225-250*F.

Cook the fillet at 225-250*F to a final internal temperature of 140-155*F. Use a Polder probe thermometer or other instant-read thermometer to monitor the internal temperature in the thickest part of the fillet.

There is no need to turn or baste the salmon during cooking.

Remove the fillet from the cooker when it is about 5*F below your desired final internal temperature. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 5-10 minutes to allow the residual heat to finish cooking the salmon.