Brine:

In a bowl with water, blend/dissolve pickling salt, brown sugar, garlic, onion, and lemon. Then pour into a large ziplock freezer bag. Add Salmon portions in each bag, allowing space. Refrigerate and allow to brine overnight.

SMOKING:

Remove salmon portions from the brine and (important) rinse in cold water.

Otherwise, your smoked fish will taste very salty!

Place filets on racks. Season liberally with “Spicy Pepper Medley”, or your favorite spice.

Place brined and seasoned salmon filets into a Bradley Smoker at the pre-warmed temperature of 150ºF (65.6°C) to smoke for 10-12 hours.

Use 6-8 alder wood pucks at the start of smoking.

Options:

Maple syrup basting after 4 hrs of smoking.

Add a small amount of rum to maple syrup baste.

Candied Smoked Salmon – Cut salmon into 1” width pieces, brine as above, smoke as above for ~6 hrs then baste several times near the end of cooking with the following glaze. 

Candy Glaze:

6 oz rum, 4 oz red wine, 2 cups brown sugar, 1 cup maple syrup. Use low heat to dissolve sugars and thicken for ~ 1 hr.