Here is a recipe compiled from several I have seen.

It is quite a project, but if you have a lot of salmon, or maybe some that is not quite as fresh as it could be, this is the way to make it taste great, and last longer.

If you have a good salmon recipe, please give it to us and we will post here on this web-site!  Enter it here.

This picture is of raw salmon ready to smoke.

What you need:

	Salmon - this recipe makes enough brine for 2 whole average sized fish
	Soaking Brine - see below
	Soaking containers such as large Tupperware containers (no metal can be used)
	Drying racks - like a cookie rack, - anything that allows air to circulate
	Smoker - not your uncle Joe who likes Marlboros
	Hickory or Alder chips soaked in water for at least 2 hours - overnight is better
	Finishing glaze - see below

Preparation

	Make up soaking brine:  mix together 3-4 quarts of water with 3/4 cup of pickling salt (do not use iodized salt!) and then add 1/2 lb brown sugar, 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce, 1/4 cup black pepper, and whatever else you might think would be good.  I've added maple syrup, herbs and spices, etc.  One thing you can't do is taste it - it tastes like brine!
	Cut up salmon into pieces like shown in the picture and put them in the brine to soak overnight.
	When done soaking, rinse under lots of cool water and pat dry with paper towels.
	Make up finishing glaze:  Mix together enough brown sugar and water to make a syrup that will be enough to brush over all of the pieces. You can stop there, or jazz it up to your taste.  I've mixed in hot sauce, barbecue sauce, pepper, etc.  Don't get carried away though!
	Use a basting brush to paint the glaze over the fish - don't paint the skin.
	Arrange salmon on drying racks and dry until a "pellicle" or film forms.  2 hours, or 1 hour with a fan.

Smoke chip foil "loads" great idea from Rich in Boston!

	Build a medium sized charcoal fire in your smoker and wait for coals to turn gray
	Add wood chips to fire.  To make the chips last longer, you can encase them in foil with holes punched in the foil.  Add chips periodically throughout the smoking process.
	I use the water smoking technique, which utilizes a suspended pan of water over the coals which adds humidity and keeps the salmon more moist.  The finished product has a shorter shelf life this way though.
	Length of time smoking depends on amount of fish, heat of fire, and outside weather.  Just check periodically and taste for doneness.

Enjoy! Check out my custom electric smoker - click here