Cold Smoked Salmon

Looks great! What did you use to slice thin?

I used very sharp 6 inch boning knife. My slicer knife looked too big and wide. They used a slicing knife on U tube but it had a much narrower blade than mine. I wonder if a fish fillet knife would work as well. It was not as difficult as I thought it might be. Just go slow and wiggle the knife under the piece and change directions from time to time. I put the salmon near the edge of the board so that I had clearance for my hand and the knife handle. I did chill the salmon in the fridge a while and I considered maybe a short time in the freezer but I did not do that this time.

Whatcha cold smoke it with? Just got a 3lb. filet yesterday, was going to make Gravlax, but may cold smoke it instead.

CS025 Amazen 12 inch smoker tube. Filled 1/2 apple and 1/2 cherry pellets. Set my dual probe Maverick to 60 low and 85 high on the rack for oven temp not in the salmon. Torched it to get it started. Had to relight 2 times when the temp decreased to the 60 mark. Had to open the CS door a few times when the temp got to 85 mark.

lessons learned...Place a cover over the door opening (I would use a card board square cut to fit) and not close the CS door to allow more air and keep the temps down but keep the smoke in. And I would do more salmon. It would not be any more work to do several pounds as it did to do 1 pound. I wanted to give the process a try before using a larger more expensive load to see how it turned out.

I've never cold smoked salmon, or anything else, so maybe I'm missing something. Raw fish 15 hours in the 40 - 140 "danger zone"? Or does the brining somehow protect it?

I have to tell you I had the same concerns. I followed the recipe to the letter. With a little online research. I found that the salt in the brine plus the drying plus the smoke all help to keep the bacteria down. I don't know if it kills all of it and suggest you be very clean and follow the recipe closely. Here is the recipe and path I followed..http://www.smoker-cooking.com/coldsmokedsalmon.html