How to Smoke Salmon in a Water Smoker
- 1). Pat the whole fish or filets dry on all sides with paper towels.
- 2). Prepare a seasoning rub in the mixing bowl using spices to suit your taste. A combination of lemon pepper and crushed dill weed combined with brown sugar makes a savory seasoning rub. The proportions are up to you.
- 3). Rub the seasoning mix onto all sides of the salmon, place the fish in a baking dish and refrigerate it for two hours.
- 4). Remove the salmon from the refrigerator and place the fish on a wire rack to air dry at room temperature for two hours.
- 5). Set up your water smoker, adding wood chips to the firebox and filling the reservoir pan with water. Plug in the appliance and adjust the temperature control to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 6). Remove the fish from the refrigerator and place the piece or whole salmon into the smoker's cooking tray when the wood chips begin to smoke.
- 7). Smoke the salmon for 30 minutes per pound of fish, checking once an hour to add more wood chips to the smoker box and water to the reservoir, if necessary.
- 8). Pierce the salmon at its thickest point with a meat thermometer. The smoked fish is ready to come out when the thermometer registers an internal temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit. Don't over-smoke the meat, as this will dry out your fish.
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