Hot Smoking of Salmon in the Kettle Grill

When you have a kettle grill, which is "a really good friend in the outdoor kitchen," why not also use it for smoking, for example, herring, salmon, trout, and many other things - yes, of course.

Here, a salmon of 4-5 kg is used, cleaned of scales, entrails, fins, and head removed, and cut into two fillets. The salmon sides are placed in a brine for 10 hours and then air-dried for at least 5 hours. The measurements are 1½ liters of brine per kg of fish and with 100 grams of salt and 3 tablespoons of sugar per liter of water.

In addition to the kettle grill, an electric Brakon grill starter, some pieces of dry split alder wood, 3-5 cm in thickness, beech and juniper shavings, and a meat thermometer are required. To dampen the flames, a spray bottle with water is used.

You can advantageously use a foil tray, place the wood pieces and subsequently the beech and juniper shavings on top of the grill starter to avoid the burning materials from falling into the grill. Place the salmon sides on the grill grate, put the lid on the grill, and mount the meat thermometer in the vent.

Now increase the temperature to 70-75⁰ and dampen the flames by adding smoke shavings. Moisten with the spray bottle until the temperature drops to 50-60⁰.

The smoking continues for another 1-2 hours until the salmon sides are golden brown, and you start to see the white openings in the fish as you can see in the picture.

Ensure continuously that there is strong smoke development in the grill, continuously filling up with beech and juniper shavings, and use the spray bottle diligently so that you continuously adhere to the recommended temperatures. If the temperature gets too high, turn off the grill starter.