Feesh asked for the Salmon brine recipe. I am happy to share on the forum. I would like some feedback on how you like it. By the way, we started out with the "Little Chef" smoker which only has an electric heater coil with no adjustments. It would not get real hot so we smoked for 6 to 8 hours at 140 degrees.


Joe's brine recipe for Smoked Salmon

3 cups brown sugar
1 cup plain salt(non-iodized)
1 cup apple juice
1 cup soy sauce
3 cups water
1 tsp cayenne pepper

mix well and refrigerate

Use 1 1/2 cups of brine to 1 full gallon ziplock bag of fish.
Squeeze out as much air as possible to insure even coating.
Brine fish in fridge for 4 hours.
Pat dry and place on racks and dry for 8 hours.
A glaze will form over fish (pellicle)
Smoke at 140 degrees for 6 to 8 hours.


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We would smoke 2 or 3 25lb. Salmon and after smoking we would seal 1 to 3 pieces in our vacuum sealer and freeze. We would pack 2 40 qt. coolers as full as possible, fill in gaps with newspaper and duct tape cooler and check it as luggage. When we got back to the east coast, it was a solid frozen as when we packed it.