Peppered Smoked Salmon

Bruce has experimented with making smoked salmon on his Traeger barbecue a couple of times and now we think he has found a keeper. We served this recipe for a family barbecue last week when my sister and her husband were visiting from Colorado and it was devoured instantly. Bruce made it the day before and when it was finished, we did a taste test and then couldn't stop eating it! It's a recipe from Sunset magazine, July 1992, that Bruce got from one of his golf buddies who testified that it was the best recipe. The recipe says that it was inspired from a pastrami recipe that is cooked slowly in a covered barbecue using whole peppercorns resulting in an even more flavorful smoked salmon. And we agreed. We doubled the recipe because we had salmon in the freezer to use up but it can easily be frozen and saved for another party. (Which we're doing for Father's Day tomorrow) We had 16 people here for our family barbecue last week and everyone chipped in to make it a wonderful potluck. 

We barbecued Cornish game hens 

and I made a pot of baked beans in the crockpot and everyone else brought side dishes and salads. 

 

Bruce made his Mai Tai recipe that a lot of people were in the mood for on this beautiful day. 

The weather was perfect here in Seattle for everyone to enjoy the view. 

I always love it when the weather cooperates in Seattle when we have visitors. We even got in a trip down to the Public Market which my sister wanted to do. I never hesitate to be a chaperone to the Market because it's my all time favorite place. 

 

We stopped in for a coffee at Ghost Alley Expresso that is just up from the gum wall. 

 

Being silly. 

We couldn't leave the Market without a bouquet of flowers. The flowers are amazing at the Market. They looked perfect in our dinning room, ready for our family barbecue. 

 

We had multiple cocktail hours during their stay of our favorite gin and tonics using the gin we got during Lynn's visit from Copperworks Distilling.

 

And, of course, no guest's trip is complete without a visit down to Alki beach. 

It was a very fun five days having them here with lots of time to do favorite things, to see all the people they wanted to see and we even had time to relax. And lots of good food, as always. 

Peppered Smoked Salmon

Serves 14-16 people for an appetizer

1 cup firmly packed  brown sugar

6 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

2-3 dried bay leaves

1 tsp. allspice

1  salmon fillet with skin, 3 to 3-1/2 pounds and 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick 

1/2 cup whole peppercorns (we used black but for a milder flavor, you can use pink and green or use a mixture of black, pink, green, and white.) 

1 Tbsp. honey

In a traditional briquette barbecue, use about 1/2 cup apple or hickory wood chips.

In a Traeger, use alder-flavored wood pellets. 

1.  In a 1 to 1-1/2 quart pan, add 1-1/2 cup water, sugar, salt, ginger, bay leaves and allspice to boiling over high heat; stir until sugar disolves completely.  Let cool slightly.

2.  Rinse salmon fillet, pat dry and lay flat with skin side down in rimmed pan about 12 - 15 inches.  

3.  Pour sugar-salt mixture over salmon.

4. Cover pan tightly and chill fish for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Occasionally, spoon brine over the fish.

For a briquette barbecue: 

1. Mound 15 charcoal briquettes on the firegrate of a barbecue with a lid. Ignite briquettes.

2. Meanwhile, pour enough hot water over peppercorns to float them; soak at least 15 minutes.

3. Pour enough warm water over wood chips to make them float; let soak at least 15 minutes.

4. Pour brine off fish, rinse fish with cool water and pat dry.

5. Set fish skin side down on a large sheet of foil; cut foil along outline of fish.

6. Rub honey over top of fish; drain peppercorns and scatter evenly over fish patting to set them lightly in place.

7. When coals are dotted with gray ash 25-30 minutes, push heat to each side of firegrate. Drain wood chips and scatter 2 Tbsp. on each mound of coals. Set grill 4-6 inches above the firegrate; lightly oil the grill.

8. Place salmon in center of grill (no coals should be beneath fish.) Set an oven thermometer on the center of the fish. Put lid on barbecue and close vents to make 1/4-inch openings. After 30 minutes, add 3 briquettes to each mound of coals; repeat every 30 minutes of cooking.

9. Check oven thermometer on fish often to be sure temperature stays about 160 degrees. If temperature drops, open vents slightly; if temperature goes up, close 1 or 2 of the vents.

10. Add wood chips as needed to produce a faint, steady stream of smoke. Moisture that accumulates on fish will evaporate.

11. Cook salmon until it is 140 degrees in center of thickest part, about 1-1/2 hours.



For Traeger barbecue:


1. Preheat Traeger in "smoke" setting for 5 minutes. 

2. Meanwhile, pour enough hot water over peppercorns to float them; soak at least 15 minutes.

3. Pour brine off fish, rinse fish with cool water and pat dry.

4. Rub honey over top of fish; drain peppercorns and scatter evenly over fish patting to set them lightly in place.

5. Lightly oil the barbecue grill. Place salmon directly on grill in the center of the grill. Set temperature to 160 degrees and cook salmon until internal temperature reaches 140 degrees in center of thickest part of salmon, about 1-1/2 hours.

After salmon has reached internal temperature of 140 degrees, slide fillets onto a baking sheet without sides using wide spatulas. Transfer fish from sheet to a platter. 

Serve salmon warm, cool, or chilled. If making ahead, cover airtight and chill up to 3 days.