Burgers

DIRECTIONS

Salmon is high in beneficial oils, low in saturated fat and cholesterol – and easy to prepare in so many ways.  This recipe results in a moist fish that is delicious served as an appetizer or side courses at a party. (The filet pictured is about 12" long.) For this preparation you should be ready to vary the Ingredients based upon the size of the fillet you have...to ensure it's neither too salty, sweet or spicy! Your cook time will vary depending upon heat of smoker and size/thickness of salmon (a good internal temp of 135-140F degrees is what you are shooting for!)

Preparation
Have fish monger remove pin bones from salmon
Trim the thin parts of the filet – the last 3” of the tail and the belly area if you wish – use them in soup or scramble with eggs for breakfast!
Rinse the salmon filet under cold running water and pat dry with paper towel
Combine brown sugar, pickling salt and about 80% of the contents of crab boil bag into bowl – dry mix together.
Add enough water to these dry ingredients to make into semi-dry wet slurry - just beyond the texture of wet paste.
Place salmon filet in large 2” deep dish or largest size sealable plastic food bag and coat the flesh with the slurry.
Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap or seal the bag and place in the refrigerator overnight (8+ hours)
2 hours before you are ready to smoke the fish, remove from refrigerator
Scrape off the slurry mixture and place into wire sieve to drain – the desired outcome to save all of the little pieces of crab boil
Place salmon filet flesh side up on baking sheet and pat dry. (Do not rinse)
Spread the remaining bits and pieces of crab boil on the fish flesh
With great restraint carefully criss-cross a very thin line of black strap molasses on the salmon flesh  – over the top of the crab boil pieces
At this point you have two choices:
A. Allow the toppings on the fish to dry naturally until “tacky” to the touch – takes quite a while and not recommended
B. Use a hair dryer or a fan on low setting to speed up the drying process until the toppings on the fish are “tacky” to the touch. 

Method
Prepare your smoker to a temperature of approximately 250F degrees. For this dish I recommend alder, cherry, apple or other soft woods – or a combination.  Prepare and use in your smoker per instructions of the manufacturer
Make certain the grill grates are clean of all debris from previous cooking.
If you use a “wet” smoker – this dish is perfect for this type of device.  If you use a “dry” smoker consider maintaining a bowl of water in the smoker to help preserve the moist texture of the fish.
Use your hands placed in support under the fish filet to lift and place flesh-side down on the grates so the grates cross the fish side-ways (not length-wise.)
Close smoker and maintain even temperature and smoke for between 1 – 2 hours depending upon the heat of your smoke, the number of filets you are smoking and the thickness of the fish - a good target for the internal temperature of the fish is 130 - 140 F degrees, this will ensure the meat is cooked and produce a soft (not gravlox!) yet firm texture. One friend calls it "creamy" and it's perfect for the fork or to place in whole pieces on bread.
Remove grate from smoker (use gloves to protect from heat!) with fish still on it and place an 18” baking pan on the top of the fish – then “flip’ the fish and grate so the baking sheet is on the bottom
Remove the grates from fish – the grates will have heated and ‘split’ the fish (see photo) giving an appearance of having scored the flesh with a knife.
Place in refrigerator to hold until ready to serve with dark breads, sliced red onions, cream cheese, lemon wedges, capers, etc.