A serious perk of being a commercial fisherman is the "home pack".
On the fishing vessel Atlantis, we take the time to process and freeze some of the salmon we catch for ourselves, filling the chest freezer throughout the summer. Once the boat is put away and we start gearing up for snow in the mountains, we brine and smoke our summer catch in order to have tasty snacks during cold, wintery KAVU days.
In our opinion, smoked salmon is the best back country snack you can carry..... sweet, salty, and full of good, healthy energy.
Step 1:
Catch, clean and filet the salmon.....
Step 2:
Cut salmon into smaller chunks for smoking. We like to vary the size so that we have smaller pieces for back country skiing days and bigger pieces for sharing with friends.
Step 3:
Place chunked salmon pieces in a Tupperware bin with brine. Our dry-brine is a simple combination of 2:1 brown sugar and kosher salt.
Step 4:
Let the salmon sit in the brine for 24 hours, flipping the Tupperware every 8 hours or so. The oils from the fish will combine with the brine to coat the salmon pieces.
Step 5:
Ready to smoke!
The type of wood chips used in the smoker can change the flavor of the smoked fish— it’s fun to experiment with different varieties of wood. This year we used a combination of alder and applewood. Make sure to soak the wood chips in water before loading them into the smoker, this increases the amount of smoke (and makes the chips last longer).
Step 6:
Load the pieces of fish onto the smoke rack, skin side down. It’s helpful to grease the rack before placing the fish. Place rack inside of the smoker.
Step 7:
Smoke time will vary depending on outside temperature, amount of fish and size of filet pieces. Usually between 6 and 8 hours.
Step 8:
Bring your smoked salmon on back country ski tours, to family dinners, holiday parties or to share with Copper dog… he’s a bit bummed that he didn’t get any.
Good luck and happy powder chasing!
McKenna Peterson
Dylan Peterson
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