Getting a nice piece of wild salmon is difficult and expensive here in the mountains. You can get small frozen fillet pieces. She Who Must Be Obeyed loves salmon so I do what I can.
On this day, we were very busy in the garden but an order for salmon had been given. I needed something quick so I made a simple glaze and smoked the salmon. This recipe could be made in an oven or gas grill over indirect heat. As you are not trying to introduce smoke flavour with those methods, you could cook at a higher temperature (350 F) for a shorter time.
I started by mixing equal amounts of teriyaki sauce, honey and Dijon mustard. I preheated my Louisiana Grills Smoker to 230 F and put the fillets on skin side down. I have them a brush of the glaze and smoked to an internal temperature of 140 F, brushing the fish with glaze every 20 minutes. This took about 1 hour 15 minutes on my smoker. It will vary by the thickness of the fish and your smoker’s tendencies.
I will note that some people only cook their salmon to an internal temperature of 125 F to get a softer texture. If you are one of these people, have at it. However, both I and She Who Must Be Obeyed like ours a bit firmer.
The Verdict
There was a nice sweet/salty/spicy hit from the glaze ingredients and this made a very nice dinner. Give it a try the next time you’re feeling lazy.
The Old Fat Guy
Ingredients
- 3 pieces salmon fillet
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) teriyaki sauce
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) honey
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Mix the teriyaki, honey and Dijon together.
- Preheat a smoker to 230 F.
- Put the salmon on and brush with sauce.
- Cook to an internal temperature of 140 F, brushing with sauce every 20 minutes.
- Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
3 Responses
The glaze sounds simple and delicious!
It is! Thanks for the kind words.
America”s Test Kitchen recently did a blind taste test with a panel.
They found that tasters preferred wild salmon cooked to 120F and higher fat farmed salmon cooked to 125F.
I had always cooked my salmon to a higher (and drier) temperature in the past. As soon as my wife tasted wild Alaska salmon cooked to 120F via Sous Vide. she said, “Please cook all my salmon to this degree of doneness in the future”. Since we eat sushi regularly, it does not seem “raw” to us.