Cold Smoking Salmon on an Offset Smoker

Smoked Tasmanian Salmon

Welcome to the BBQ Spit Rotisseries blog. Today we are going to cover how to effectively cold smoke a fish for around 15-24 hours.

Follow these easy steps for great results

We want to start things off by curing the fish with salt and brown sugar, which means to cover it with an even quantity of brown sugar and sea salt mixture. This is done to effectively draw out the moisture in the fish, and to kill any bacteria that may cause any spoilage. Make sure to do both sides, to remove as much moisture as possible, and keep the fish nice and dry.

Once both sides are covered, put the fish into a sealed container then refrigerate 12 hours. This will allow the brine to really go to work drawing out moisture.
After 12 hours, remove the fish from the brine and rinse under fresh water. After all the brine is removed, we are going to place paper towel on both sides of the fish, to once again draw out any moisture that was retained during the wash down. This will help the fish maintain that great smokey flavour we are preparing it for.
Once dry, use a basting brush and start lightly coating the fish on both sides with maple syrup. This will stop the curing process.
Let’s now start prepping the fuel and the smoker. Fill up your smoking basket with pellets by evenly spreading them; here we went with some apple flavoured pellets to smoke the fish, but cherry or another sweet blend will work just as well. Using the gas torch provided with the smoker, ignite the corner of the basket to start the smoking process. Place the now smoking basket with your pellets into the offset section of the smoker.
Now it’s time for the fish to be smoked, place your fish into the smoker, and let this sit for around 15-20 hours to really let that smoke take hold. It is imperative that you keep the temperature under 20° C to avoid any bacteria growth.
Following the 15-20 hour smoking session, remove the fish from the smoker, and refrigerate for about 6 hours.
Then, all that’s left is to remove from the fridge, thinly slice, and enjoy your beautifully smoked fish!