Dark rum-soaked, then brown sugar and salt-cured, this smoked salmon is smokey-sweet goodness and fast to prepare.
We eat salmon in a variety of ways, but by far, this is our family favorite salmon recipe. It is also one of the fast smoking recipes at 4 hrs start-of-prep to dinner table.
Fresh salmon is always preferred. While you can use the skin-on fillets, I prefer the skinless. It may not be the cheapest, but there's no wasted weight and a slight convenience benefit. Also, the curing and smoke work their magic on both sides!
I often use the weekly grocery sales as inspiration on what to cook on an upcoming week. Fresh salmon on sale is a treat, but I'll usually grill or broil it (be sure to check out my Potato-crusted Broiled Salmon recipe) because those have skin. This recipe works great for those, but I typically rely on Costco's skinless salmon.
Note: If you use salmon with skin, either be sure to smoke skin-side down, or skin the fillets before soaking in rum.
Ingredients
2-3 lbs. fresh whole boneless salmon fillet
Approx. 1 1/2 to 2 cups dark rum (e.g. Bacardi or Cruzan work well)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt
2 Tbsp ground black pepper
Directions
Cut the salmon fillet(s) into manageable portions (I usually cut a whole fillet in half), then skin them if desired
Put in a glass or non-reactive dish and cover with dark rum (no need to measure the rum; you just need to cover the fish so it coated all over). Cover and refrigerate for 50 minutes, flipping the portions halfway through (so both sides are well marinated).
While waiting, make the rub by mixing the brown sugar, kosher salt, and black pepper.
Drain the rum and pat dry the fish and the container. Spread a third of the rub on the bottom of the container, then lay the 1st layer of salmon on top. Spread another third of rub on top of salmon, then lay last layer of salmon followed by last of rub. (If you only have one layer of salmon then split the rub into halves vs thirds). Cover and refrigerate 2 hours, 20 minutes.
With enough time prior to finishing the rum-soak, soak your wood chips (I recommend apple and/or pecan) and get your smoker started to bring it up to 275-300F. Rinse salmon in cold water to wash off most of the rub (the cured salmon is the prize, not the layer of rub) and pat dry. Put in smoker, add wood chips and smoke for 30 minutes.
Remove the salmon from the smoker and let it rest under a tinfoil tent for 5 min and dig in.
A Note on Timing
Though the short time will impart tons of flavor, you are free to experiment. Perhaps you'd like longer in the rum, perhaps the cure, or even both. However, there isn't a benefit to a long "low and slow" smoke because fillets are fairly thin and are plenty tender to begin with. What I like about the timing I listed above is the 4 hrs total time without sacrificing the result in the slightest. Be warned...this is likely the best salmon you'll ever taste, too!