Mikey’s Smoked Salmon
This is a “cooked” smoked salmon vs a “cold smoked” salmon that you would typically find in your local mega mart. This means that the heat is used to kill any bacteria, not a curing agent. The smoke will not kill the bacteria, so you have to cook the fish until it is just opaque like any other fish (it is just cooked at a lower temperature for a longer time).
Fish Cure:
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2 cups brown sugar
1 cup coarse sea salt (1/2 cup regular salt)
2 tbs fresh cracked black pepper
2 tbs dried dill
1 tbs mustard powder
Mix the cure together by hand. Completely cover the salmon with the fish cure both top and bottom. You should not be able to see fish flesh. Let stand in the refrigerator for 3 1/2 hours. Let stand at room temperature for 1/ hour. Gently rinse the fish cure off, but leave a little of the seasoning attached to the fish. Smoke at 220f for around 1 1/2 hours or until done to your liking.
Notes: :
You can leave the fish in the fridge for the full 4 hours. I like to bring it to room temperature so it cooks more evenly.
If you don’t have a smoker thermometer guess.