Don's Smoked Salmon

Total Time: 18 hrs Preparation Time: 9 hrs Cook Time: 9 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 16
• 5 lbs fresh sockeye salmon fillets
• 5 tablespoons garlic salt
• 2 cups rock salt (aprox)
• 2 cups demerara sugar (or brown sugar twin)

Recipe

• 1 catch, clean and filet salmon (river or supermarket).
• 2 leave skin on one side of filets.
• 3 wash filets in cold water and lay out on a large plastic tray (no metal), red side up!
• 4 ensure tray is at least as deep as salmon filets.
• 5 sprinkle garlic salt evenly over all filets.
• 6 generously coat meat side of each filet with rock salt.
• 7 layer sugar evenly over rock salt.
• 8 leave stand covered in refrigerator overnight (at least 8 hours).
• 9 check every 2 or 3 hours and drain excess liquid.
• 10 (the liquid magically appears as the rock salt draws the liquid out, and sucks the sugar into the meat).
• 11 remove filets from tray, rinse under cold water and place evenly on smoking racks, skin side down.
• 12 allow 20 minutes to dry.
• 13 use electric"cold smoker" (little chief), with apple and hickory wood chips.
• 14 place racks in smoker and close.
• 15 i have an old blanket that is wrapped around smoker if it is too cold outside (less than 50 degrees farenheit).
• 16 remove ashes and add new wood chips about every 2 hours.
• 17 smoke for 6 to 9 hours, depending on the thickness of filets.
• 18 salmon should be a lovely dark orange color and will be flaky when you poke and twist with a fork.