Anyone have any experience smoking salmon on a big green egg or other ceramic cooker? Been searching around and there are so many different brines and methods. Anyone here have a favorite?

Brine it

Dry it

Smoke it

Hard to screw up.

I guess my biggest questions would be what brine recipes have to guys done that you like?

What temp to cook at and when to pull it.

Brine it with brown sugar and water. 24 hr. Pat dry. Allow the pellicle to form (IMPORTANT). Smoke coldish 200-225 until it's done but not dry like jerky. This will depend on how big the fish is and what temp you settled at. Use any good bbq rub you like.

It's not hard. You just need to figure out how you like it. Lots of recipes out there sound nasty to me. Keep it simple.

Thanks for the input!

1:1 sugar to salt probably?

I never brine. Salt and pepper, the cooked for 2 to 3 hours at 220 to 230. Perfect each time.

I brine for a couple hours with brown sugar and salt water. Then smoke at 225 for maybe 1-1.5 hours. No rub, just sprinkle brown sugar all over the top when I stick it on the smoker.

I also put skin side down on a piece of paper grocery sack, and that allows the skin to pull off easily after smoking (if you aren't going to crisp up and eat the skin).

Alton Brown has an outstanding recipe. 24 hour dry brine. Rinse and dry with fans. Smoke very low. So good.

Note: the following is what I do to smoke fish to preserve them for the year by smoking them. The meat, when done, is tasty. I like it in salmon dips, salads, and as a replacement for tuna. It isn't necessary to do all the brining and drying if you're just wanting to eat salmon with a smoky flavor for dinner.

I use the following to smoke 50-75 lbs of kings, reds, and/or silvers each summer. Ratios of spices change, but the salt and sugar ratio should stay the same. Add flavors you like, don't smoke too hot or too long and you'll be fine.

Dry- 50/50 salt/brown sugar , but add in some garlic powder, pepper, crushed red pepper, and some magic. Before you apply the rub, make cuts in the meat like a checkerboard (but not through the skin) to make more available surface area for the rub to contact. Set it in the fridge for 12 hours minimum (more can be done if desired). After you pull it out, wash the spices off and pat dry, set on rack (or hang) to dry. Smoke low and slow (not TX brisket low...lower, like ~150) for 8-12 hours until done. Check on it regularly to avoid drying it out like jerky, unless you are making dog treats

Wet- big tub with cool water, salt, brown sugar, other spices, soy sauce, and teriyaki (all to taste). Let soak for 12 hours minimum, and then follow same steps as above.

You can cold smoke as well, but that requires a different setup at a much lower temperature. Hanging the fish in a well seasoned smoker for a while might impart some flavor.

Smoke times and temps will vary depending on your location and smoker. The goal is to have a warm enough fire to produce lots of smoke without a ton of heat. Don't use pecan, mesquite, or hickory to smoke salmon! I've tried it, and while those woods work well for BBQ, not so much a good idea on fish. Alder and cherry are my preferred woods, but other fruit woods work as well. The flavors aren't as harsh and overpowering

Arctic Ag said:

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Note: the following is what I do to smoke fish to preserve them for the year by smoking them. The meat, when done, is tasty. I like it in salmon dips, salads, and as a replacement for tuna. It isn't necessary to do all the brining and drying if you're just wanting to eat salmon with a smoky flavor for dinner.

I use the following to smoke 50-75 lbs of kings, reds, and/or silvers each summer. Ratios of spices change, but the salt and sugar ratio should stay the same. Add flavors you like, don't smoke too hot or too long and you'll be fine.

Dry- 50/50 salt/brown sugar , but add in some garlic powder, pepper, crushed red pepper, and some magic. Before you apply the rub, make cuts in the meat like a checkerboard (but not through the skin) to make more available surface area for the rub to contact. Set it in the fridge for 12 hours minimum (more can be done if desired). After you pull it out, wash the spices off and pat dry, set on rack (or hang) to dry. Smoke low and slow (not TX brisket low...lower, like ~150) for 8-12 hours until done. Check on it regularly to avoid drying it out like jerky, unless you are making dog treats

Wet- big tub with cool water, salt, brown sugar, other spices, soy sauce, and teriyaki (all to taste). Let soak for 12 hours minimum, and then follow same steps as above.

You can cold smoke as well, but that requires a different setup at a much lower temperature. Hanging the fish in a well seasoned smoker for a while might impart some flavor.

Smoke times and temps will vary depending on your location and smoker. The goal is to have a warm enough fire to produce lots of smoke without a ton of heat. Don't use pecan, mesquite, or hickory to smoke salmon! I've tried it, and while those woods work well for BBQ, not so much a good idea on fish. Alder and cherry are my preferred woods, but other fruit woods work as well. The flavors aren't as harsh and overpowering

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Thank you for the input!

I have the fillet in the fridge in a dry brine if 50% kosher salt 25% sugar 25% brown sugar. I used Alton Browns recipe for that.

Bought some apple wood today. Will smoke tomorrow. Hopefully I get some good smoke flavor. I've been pretty disappointed with the amount of smoke flavor I've gotten on my BGE up to this point TBH

This is what I ended up doing and it came out really good. Finally got a good amount of smoke flavor on the egg!!

Brine:
50% salt
25% sugar
25% brown sugar

Wrap in plastic then aluminum foil

Fridge: 12 hours, flip, 12 more hours

Take out. Rinse good. Pat dry. Rinse good again. Pat dry.

Crack pepper on top

Put in office with fan on low. 3-4 hours. Developed a nice pellicle.

Apple wood mixed in with lump charcoal in egg. B&B oak lump. Had really nice big pieces.

Took temp up to 400 by lighting 3 spots of starter block.

Shut Pin wheel almost all the way shut and bottom vent almost all the way shut

Temp settled at about 150.

Had my igrill probe in the salmon. Used two perforated pans that you use on the grill for like mixed veggies. Turned them upside down and stacked them and then put salmon on top of that in order to get the salmon up higher in the dome where the smoke is.

Smoked for almost 6 hours until the internal temp was 145.

Came out really good.

Some of the thinner parts were too salty though. Might not apply the brine as liberally on the thinner edges next time.