Tom had shared a dry brine recipe with us awhile back so I decided to use it again. Produces great results. I gave credit to Jim Minion but after rereading Tom's post, I believe this to be Cardog's Award Winning recipe.
Dry Brine Recipe
1 C light brown or turbinado sugar (I used turbinado)
1 T dill weed
1 C non-iodized salt
1 T summer savory
3 T granulated garlic
2 t tarragon
3 T granulated onion
I increased this recipe by 50% to have some available for future use.
Mix all ingredients and pack on the flesh side of the filet. Let the filet rest for 3.5 hours, refrigerated. I forgot to take a picture until the salmon was refrigerated for an hour or so. Here it is with the dry brine on it.
After its rest, rinse the filet in cool clean water to remove the brine and pat dry. Allow to dry on the counter for about 30-45 minutes, until the flesh becomes tacky. At this point, sprinkle the salmon with this dry rub, which compliments the brine.
Dry Rub
1/2 C light brown or turbinado sugar (I used turbinado)
1 t summer savory
1 T granulated garlic
1 t tarragon
1 T granulated onion
Here's the salmon ready for the smoker (don't forget to Pam or grease the pan). I should have taken a picture before applying the dry rub so you could see how shiny the salmon looked after the brine and rest on the counter. You also can't tell how incredibly red this fresh caught salmon is compared to farm raised, which is orange in color. My bad.
Place the salmon into a cold smoker set to 200*. I used 3 oz Apple (split in two) cause I was out of Alder. When the internal hit 135*, I removed the salmon from the smoker.
Delicious. If you try, hope you enjoy.
