Sockeye Salmon Candy

 

      

      I tried this several years ago at Merinos Seafood Market in Westport, WA and loved it.  Any smoked salmon is good, but the addition of a maple glaze and crunch really takes it to a whole new level.  The perfect combination of sweet and salty/savory.  It would last a week in the fridge, but only a month frozen.  It is the perfect snack food or accompaniment to your charcuterie board.  I love sockeye salmon; of all the salmon their taste is the best.   I would like to say this is fresh, but it is March in Texas and I got what I could get from HEB.  This is a 3 pound fillet.  

3 pounds skin-on salmon pieces (sockeye salmon is the best, but large trout will work also)

1-pound kosher salt

1-pound brown sugar

1 cup maple syrup or birch syrup

      I like to cut the fish into 1-2" strips first.  Mix the salt and brown sugar together.  Find a lidded container large enough to hold the salmon; a big plastic tub works well.  Lay down a layer of the salt/sugar mixture about 1/4 inch deep.  Put a layer of salmon down on this, skin side up. Cover the salmon with more salt/sugar mixture.  If you need a second layer of salmon, make sure the layer of salt and sugar between them is thick enough so that the pieces of salmon are not touching.  Basically, you are burying the salmon in salt and sugar.  Cover and let cure in the fridge at least 30 minutes, and up to 3 hours.  The longer the cure the saltier it will be.

Cut into strips

Salt/brown sugar dry rub

      Remove the salmon from the cure, which will get wet, and briefly rinse the fish under cold water.  Pat dry with a paper towel and set the salmon on a drying rack skin side down. Let this dry in a breezy place for 2 hours, or in the fridge, uncovered, overnight.  You are doing this to form a pellicle on the salmon, which helps it smoke properly.  

Pellicled

Into the smoker

      Traditionally salmon candy is cold smoked for several days.   I use my upright electric/water/wood chip smoker here for this.  In one pan I fill with water; the other I fill with hardwood lump charcoal already lit and progressing.  Every once in a while, I spike this pan with hardwood slivers, in this batch apple.  You want to bring the temperature up gradually over the course of an hour or so and let it sit at around 165°F to 200°F for at least 3 hours, and up to 6 hours if you like your salmon candy harder and smokier.  These went for 4 hours.  

Glazed with maple syrup

      Every 90 minutes, paint the salmon with the maple syrup.  This also helps to remove any albumen -- the icky white stuff -- that can form between the fish flakes if your smoker gets a little too hot too fast.

After several glazings, done at 4 hours

      When the salmon looks good and lacquered, typically about 3 to 4 hours, remove it to the drying racks again and paint it one last time with the maple syrup.  Allow to cool to room temperature before storing.  This works very well served with cheese, crackers, cantaloupe, and/or hot peppers.  They will keep well in the refrigerator for up to a week, in the freezer for only 30 days.  Enjoy.   

Plated

"The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air, the fragrance of the grass, they speak to me. The summit of the mountain, the thunder of the sky, the rhythm of the sea, speaks to me. The faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning, the dewdrop on the flower, speaks to me. The strength of the fire, the taste of the salmon, the trail of the sun, and the life that never goes away, they speak to me. And my heart soars"

Chief Dan George

WiFi provided by AT & T Wireless