Traeger Smoked Salmon

The best Traeger smoked salmon! Easy pellet grill smoked salmon with Pit Boss or Traeger, wet brine and dry brine salmon recipes included!

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If you want to learn how to smoke salmon at home with your Traeger pellet grill, you are in the right place!

In fact, you can use this recipe to make Traeger smoked salmon or you can use any smoker you have such as Pit Boss, Masterbuilt, Big Green Egg, Camp Chef, Z Grills, Weber, Bradley or Horizon.

The key to perfect Traeger smoked salmon is a great wet or dry brine and cooking to the perfect internal temperature with the right amount of smoke.

When it comes to smoking salmon, with so many different Traeger smoked salmon recipes it can become overwhelming!

From cold smoked, to hot smoked, to brown sugar smoked salmon, to lox, to over baked salmon to grilled, what option do you choose?

Given that I’m fairly certain I was a bear in my last life and have tried so many salmon recipes, I would argue that this Traeger smoked salmon is one of my absolute favorites!

This smoked salmon recipe will give you options for a wet brine/cure, as well as a traditional dry cure. If you don’t have a Traeger pellet grill, check out my electric smoker salmon.

And if you cannot get enough salmon in your life, be sure to check out this Salmon Sashimi, Spicy Salmon Bowl, grilled Sockeye Salmon recipe and Pistachio Crusted Salmon.

Why this recipe works

• This is easily one of the best smoked salmon recipes you can make! The sweetness of the honey and the fattiness of the salmon with the smoke flavor simply cannot be beat!
• Traeger moked salmon on the pellet grill makes smoking for a beginner super easy. This Traeger salmon recipe works on a Traeger grill as well as any other pellet grills.
• If you don’t have a pellet grill, you can use any smoker (charcoal, electric, etc.) and simply watch your smoked salmon temperature for the perfect cook.

Ingredients

Smoked Salmon

• Salmon: Farm raised or wild caught salmon filets. I recommend skin on. You can buy as a whole filet or smaller pre-portioned filets depending on your preference.
• Wood Pellets: Any flavor wood pellets such as alder, hickory, apple, cherry or mesquite.

Smoked Salmon Brine and Basting Mixture

• Honey: Honey or maple syrup.
• Sugar: White or brown sugar.
• Kosher Salt: Must use kosher salt. Cannot use table salt.
• Water

How to smoke salmon

Smoked Salmon Brine and Basting Mixture

1. Combine honey, sugar (or brown sugar), salt and water. Mix until thoroughly combined. Tip: Shaking everything vigorously in a jar works well.
2. Prepare your honey (or brown sugar)/water mixture (3:1 ratio) and set aside in small bowl. This will be used to baste your salmon mix-way through the smoking process.
3. In a gallon size food safe bag, place salmon filets and pour brine over the top. Note: You can also place the salmon and brine in a bowl or dish but the salmon must be fully submerged (cover with plastic wrap).
4. Allow salmon to brine for 4-8 hours.
5. Remove salmon from brine and dry with paper towels.
6. Place salmon on wire rack over baking sheet and place in refrigerator. Allow salmon to dry for approximately 2-4 hours. This will allow the salmon to form a pellicle (thick dry skin) which allows the smoke flavor to better permeate the salmon.

Traeger Smoked Salmon Smoker/Pellet Grill Instructions

1. Preheat smoker to 180°F.
2. Turn on Traeger super smoke mode, if available on your smoker model.
3. Place salmon on smoker/pellet grill and smoke for 1.5-2 hours (time will vary, see notes) until the internal temperature reaches 145°F. Use meat thermometer to measure.
4. Every 30 minutes, baste with salmon basting mixture.

Smoked Salmon Dry Brine/Dry Cure: ½ cup kosher salt, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup white sugar, weigh down and cure 4-6 hours. Rinse thoroughly and allow to dry and form pellicle (4-6 hours or overnight).

Smoked Salmon Wet Brine (Optional Additions and Substitutions): Maple syrup instead of honey. Can also add lemon or orange zest and minced garlic.

Candied Smoked Salmon: Generally candied smoked salmon will be smoked for a longer time period and basted with honey or brown sugar more frequently for the candied exterior.

Storage: Store tightly wrapped in the refrigerator. Should be eaten within 5-7 days after making.

Freezing: Wrap tightly or vacuum seal (preferable) prior to freezing. Frozen salmon should be slowly defrosted overnight in the refrigerator prior to eating.

Smoked Salmon Cooking Temperature: FDA recommendation for cooking salmon is an internal temperature of 145° F (63° C) ideally measuring the temperature with a food thermometer. The fish should be cooked until opaque (milky white) and flakes with a fork.

How long to smoke salmon?

The length of time to smoke salmon depends on a number of different factors including smoking temperature, wet vs. dry cure/brine, size and thickness of the salmon filet, skin-on vs. skin-off, amount of fat in the filet (wild vs. farmed salmon).

The temperature of the salmon at start (ie: room temperature vs. refrigerated) and the type and brand of smoker (charcoal, electric, pellet, etc.) will also effect times.

For most smoked salmon recipes, because of the variability of smoking salmon to an exact time, it is better to cook to the ideal temperature.

The rule of thumb overall on how long to cook salmon is the make sure that your internal salmon temperature reaches 145°F (for a minimum of 30 minutes).

Ideally, I recommend using a thermometer that measures the internal temperature of the fish as well as the internal temperature of the smoker.

That will allow you to more closely monitor those variables. So, if you smoker is getting hot too quickly, you can throttle the temperature down to allow a long enough cook time to allow the smoke to fully permeate.

Best salmon for smoking

The best salmon to purchase for smoked salmon recipes is fresh, skin-on salmon. I find that skin-on allows for more stability when curing and smoking.

I typically recommend buying a whole filet to smoke. You can cook the salmon filet whole or portion into smaller filets prior to smoking (this is a little bit quicker and you can get heavy smoke flavor on all sides of the filet).

As far as wild caught vs. farmed salmon, I find that to be personal preference.

If you prefer a fattier, milder flavored salmon, then farmed Atlantic salmon is a good choice.

However, wild-caught sockeye salmon or Alaskan king salmon, have a more bold salmon flavor and less fat (which also means less albumin). Faroe salmon or coho/silver salmon are also great options.

Best wood to smoke salmon

When making Traeger smoked salmon, you will be selecting from different flavored wood pellets.

Alderwood pellets are a nice choice for Traeger smoked salmon as it provides a mellow and not overwhelming smoke flavor.

You can also consider apple, cherry, maple, pecan or hickory if you prefer a stronger smoke flavor in your smoked salmon recipes.

You can also use wood chips to smoke salmon, however, depending on your smoker wood pellets do tend to last longer and smoke more evenly.

Tips for the perfect smoked salmon

Brine in plastic bag or glass container (metal bowl can alter flavor).

When dry brine/cure, be sure to thoroughly rinse of salt/sugar mixture and pat dry or salmon will be too salty.

Allow enough time for salmon to properly dry and form a pellicle. This allows the smoke to properly adhere and permeate the fish while also locking in moisture.

For smoked salmon recipes, this step cannot be rushed and is critical to maintaining moisture on pellet grill.

Watch the temperature of your smoker and don’t allow it to get too hot. The key to amazing Traeger smoked salmon is low and slow. If the temperature gets too high, the salmon can overcook and become dry.

It will also ooze albumin (that white film you sometimes see when cooking salmon). This will cause you to lose moisture in your salmon and it’s not very visually appealing.

Smoking salmon with skin-on is preferable. This allows for more stability of the salmon during the curing and smoking process.

Use kosher salt for any dry or wet brine/cure. Regular table salt contains iodide which alters the flavor.

Additionally, it will be too salt as the size of granules improperly alters the brine/cure ratio.

Smoked salmon Pit Boss

Smoked salmon on a pellet grill is one of the best preparation methods and allows for more control over the temperature and a slow even smoke with lots of smoky flavor.

Pit Boss smoked salmon is a great option! Pit Boss is one of the most popular pellet grills and is right up there with Traeger pellet grills in terms of quality.

You can cook smoked salmon on the Pit Boss using this same recipe. The important part is to cook your salmon to internal temperature.

What to eat with smoked salmon?

Super delicious and pair perfectly with so many dishes, from breakfast to charcuterie boards, the sky is the limit!

Some of my favorites include the traditional bagel with cream cheese, serve on top of a crostini, serve over pasta or over a bed of green salad.

How long does smoked salmon last?

In my house. Not long. Just kidding of course! Hot smoked salmon will last one to two weeks in the refrigerator and up to two month in the freezer (best to slower defrost overnight prior to eating).

If you are ever unsure on storage times, refer to the FDA refrigerator and freezer storage chart to be on the safe side.

Always be sure to store your Traeger smoked salmon in an airtight container and wrap tightly to avoid air exposure.

FAQ and expert tips

Other easy salmon recipes

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