Smoked salmon perhaps is the best and more flavorful way you can cook salmon. It typically includes a fillet which is then hot or cold smoked into a smoker. The best smoked salmon recipes come at a price and for this reason, it is considered as a delicacy. Many people confuse salmon lox, which usually eaten on bagels, to be the same as smoked salmon, but they are actually different products. However, sometimes, this terminology for salmon is alternately used. We will keep our focus on the latter in this discussion.

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Benefits of making smoked salmon in an electric smoker:

Smoked salmon is not just a very delicious item for your taste buds, but it also has a number of other advantages, especially to your health. The following are some key advantages that you must know about the smoked salmon cooked in an electric smoker:

Smoked salmon in an electric smoker has many nutritional advantages. Salmon provides a good source of Vitamin B, Vitamin D, selenium, magnesium and above all proteins.
Smoked salmon is also known to have docosahexaenoic acid in very large quantity along with omega 3 fatty acids and eicosapentaenoic acid which all are good for health. The omega 3 fatty acids facilitate brain function in protecting you from depression and dementia etc.
The smoked salmon provides humans with all the essential minerals and iron as well. The minerals enable your blood cells to supply the needed oxygen to your tissues.

It is our moral duty to inform you about its potential risks as well. As smoked salmon is known to be very high in sodium, so excessive consumption is not desirable. The cold smoked recipes are good and should be moderately cooked. It is because the cold smoked salmon is not good enough approach to killing bacteria in salmon. So double check your cook time.

Electric smokers to make smoked salmon at home:

The below are the top 3 out of many electric smokers that you can trust for hot smoked salmon and as well as the cold smoke salmon recipes:

Masterbuilt 30 inch top controller electric smoker – This one has a spacious internal capacity of 730 s. inches. It is a high tech system that comes with the monitoring of time, temperature, internal light, meat temperature and the RF remote control. The 4 chrome-coated racks inside the unit make it a perfect option for smoked salmon.
Char-Broil digital electric smoker – Char-Broil smoker is good for the wild smoked salmon recipes, especially with the inclusion of the double-wall insulated construction from the inside which does not let the flavor to leak outside. This is further endorsed by the stainless steel, large size locking latch that provides the much needed smoke-tight seal. The food thermometer is removable which you would regularly require to check the cooking status of your salmon.
Smokehouse little chief front load smoker – Its aluminum construction makes it a perfect candidate for having smoked salmon outside the house or somewhere in the wilderness. This is a spacious unit which does not require any assembly. On top of that, you get this package with the bag of wood chips of hickory flavor, weighing 1.75 pounds. The quick Alaskan smoked salmon is best cooked using this electric smoker.

The best smoked salmon recipes:

Love eating smoked salmons? Here are some of the best-smoked salmon recipes you should try:

Alton Brown smoked salmon recipe

Ingredients:

Kosher salt – 1 cup
Sugar – ½ cup
Dark brown sugar – ½ cup
Black peppercorns – 1 Tbsp., crushed
Piece of Salmon – 2 large sizes, pin bones removed

Steps to prepare:

Take a small bowl and mix brown sugar, salt, and
Take aluminum foil and spread it a little more than the size of the fillets. Top it up with an equally big size plastic wrap.
1/3^rd of the prepared rub should be sprinkled over the flesh of the salmon. Now turn over to the second side of the fillet and then flesh down over the first side.
The remaining rub should then be used for covering the top piece of the skin.
Fold the plastic wrap for covering the close edges of the aluminum foil and roll it tightly around the fillets.
Place the wrapped fillets over a plank and top it up with another plank.
Refrigerate it for 12 hours to let it marinade.
After 12 hours, just flip the fillets and refrigerate for another 12 hours.
Rinse the fillet with cold water after unwrapping it.
Pat dry the fillets using paper towels.
Keep the fillets at room temperature for 1 to 3 hours, depending upon the level of humidity. (You may use a fan for speeding up the drying process).
Preheat the smoker and keep grilling until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees F. at its thickest side. Place on cooling rack, typically a wire rack is best for this so the juices drip down. You can use those juices to baste the fish if wanting more liquid.
Your recipe is ready, which is the best-smoked salmon appetizer that you could ever have. You may also refrigerate it for 3 days of safe storage after tightly wrapping it.

Vital Stats:

Initial prep time: 30 minutes:
Cook time: 30 minutes
Total recipe time: 25 hours

Reference: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/smoked-salmon-recipe-1938429

The cold smoked salmon gravlax

Ingredients:

Salmon filet – 2 pounds, sushi grade with skin on (atlantic salmon and sockeye are great choices)
Sugar – 1 cup
Kosher salt – 1 cup
Freshly grounded black pepper – 1 Tbsp.
Dill – 2 bunches

Steps to prepare:

Take a bowl and thoroughly mix together, grounded black pepper, salt, and
With the skin side up of the salmon fillet over the work surface, sprinkle half of the salt mixture and rub it all over the fillet.
Arrange 1 bunch of the dill on the bottom of the dish which is spacious enough to accommodate the salmon fillet for smoking.
Set the salmon fillet over the dill with their skin facing down.
The remaining salt mixture should then rubbed all over the sides and top of the salmon fillets. Once done, then top it up with the other bunch of dill.
Cover it with a plastic bag and refrigerate it for a couple of days with some weight kept on the top put over a baking dish.
Rinse it under cold water and pat dry using paper towels.
Let it remain at room temperature for an hour or so.
Start the electric smoker with its lid open until you see that the fire is fully established.
Preheat the electric smoker for 5 minutes with its lid closed.
Place salmon inside the smoker and then place ice in a baking pan under the salmon.
Smoke it for 30 minutes.
Thin slice salmon after removing it from the smoker.
You may serve it with cream cheese, red onion, capers, lemon and some more dill.

Vital Stats:

Initial preparation time: 30 minutes:
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Total recipe time: 25 hours

Tips, tricks, and precautions for smoked salmon recipes:

Your utensils and other equipment in the kitchen should be properly washed with bleach and water.
You must dry wash and dry your hands before and after handling raw salmon, as it may contain bacteria.
Salmon in brine should be kept for 8 hours to overnight.
The fresh and vacuum packaged salmon is capable to be stored for 6 months without any issue.
If you are looking to thaw the salmon in the fridge then make sure to pierce the packaging. This helps in fighting the Clostridium Botulinum bacteria.
In case of cold smoked salmon, to ensure that you consume the salmon leftovers well within 3 to 4 days, once they are thawed. Negligence could be harmful as bacteria has a strong chance to develop after 4 days.

The best-smoked salmon brine:

Pour in 1 gallon of water into a bucket. Stir in 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup kosher salt, lemon pepper (to taste), 1 cup white sugar, parsley (to taste) and 3 ounces seasoning mix. Add and mix 4 lemons (sliced and crushed), lime (sliced and crushed), 1 yellow onion (sliced), 2 oranges (sliced and crush), garlic and hot pepper sauce (to taste). Submerge salmon in this mixture and refrigerate for 12 – 36 hours.
A very basic and useful recipe for smoked salmon brine requires 1 gallon of water and 1 ½ cup of kosher salt and the same quantity of brown sugar for 4 pounds of fish. In order to enhance taste, you may also add wine, olive oil, soy sauce, chopped onion, fresh garlic, hot peppers, fresh herbs and spices into it, as per your taste. You will be pleasantly surprised how brining locks in tons of flavor.

The best smoked salmon rubs:

For a simple bbq smoke flavor salmon rub, you need to add and mix salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, dill, and Once they are thoroughly mixed then pat/ rub it over the top of salmon. Then place it in the refrigerator for an hour, before smoking it.
There is also an option of sweet smoked salmon rub. The ingredients you require to mix are 1 Tbsp. garlic (granulated), 1 Tbsp. onion (granulated), 1 Tsp. savory (dried) and 1 Tsp. tarragon (dried). Pat this prepared dry rub over the salmon and refrigerate it for 1 hour, before smoking it.

Smoked salmon recipes are quite popular among seafood lovers, first for their exquisite taste and then for their health benefits as well, when consumed in limited quantity. You can spruce up the taste of the smoked salmon with the selection of your preferred brine ingredients or rub. Further, the selection of the right electric smoker also plays a pivotal role in completing the cooking of the smoked salmon in the most desirable manner, whether it be hot smoking, cold smoking or on the grill, you have many different ways to explore with flavors. Just be sure you check that your smoked fish is cooked to the proper temperature.