Recipes

Smoked Salmon with Peppercorn Crust

Ingredients

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

6 tbs salt

1 tbs minced fresh ginger

3 bay leaves

1 tsp crushed allspice

3-4 lbs salmon fillet with skin

½ cup mixed color whole peppercorns

1 tsp honey

3 thin red onion spices

fresh dill sprigs

Suggest wood chips:

2 cups apple or hickory chips

Directions

In a 1.5-quart pan bring 1 ½ cups water, sugar, salt, ginger, bay leaves, and allspice to boil over high heat. Stir until sugar dissolves completely. Let cool.  Rinse salmon fillets and pat dry. Place fillets in a rimmed pan (12x15). Pour brine over salmon, cover pan tightly and chill for 24 hours. Occasionally spoon brine over fish.  Pour hot water over peppercorns to float them for about 15 minutes.  Soak wood chips for at least 30 min.  Preheat smoker to 190-200 degrees.  Pour brine off of fish, rinse fish with cold water, and pat dry. Set fillets with skin side down on a sheet of aluminum foil and trim foil to make an outline of the fillet.  Run honey over the tops of the fillets. Drain the peppercorns and scatter evenly over fish, lightly patting to set them in place.   Lightly oil the rack, and smoke for 1- 1-½ hours. Internal temperature should be 125 degrees in the thickest part or the fillet should flake.