Saturday, July 27, 2019

Not BBQ, but not bad!

So today my Mrs decided she wanted to try smoking some salmon filets.  She got the last bargain filets at the store and picked up some chicken to fill up the second rack.  We poked around online and found this recipe for the smoked salmon.   https://honest-food.net/how-to-smoke-salmon-recipe/

The filets were brined overnight and the chicken went into my wife's secret marinade.  Before smoking, the fish was dried and sat on a wire rack for an hour with a small fan blowing on them to form the pellicle.  The chicks went on the bottom rack of our small bullet smoker with the marinade still on them.
The fish went on top with a couple of wrapped potatoes.
Then onto the fire with charcoal mixed with pecan and oak wood from our yard.
Everything stayed in the smoker, undisturbed for the first hour.
After one hour, we basted the fish with a light coating of honey, then back over the fire for another hour.  Here's the fish after the 2 hour smoke.  Checked with a meat thermometer they were just right.
The chicks were just right, too, but we slathered on some BBQ sauce and smoked them another 20 minutes to caramelize the sauce.  I've always said my Mrs's chicken is not pretty enough for competition BBQ, but we're not out to impress judges, just eat good!!
We did eat good!  The salmon had great smoke flavor and was still very moist.  Ditto the chicken.  Not really BBQ, but other smoked meats and fish make a great meal, too.  Our entire cooking process was guarded well by our faithful dog and he was well paid with some smoked salmon skin.
Next up, smoked salmon chowder, but not on this blog.