Rum Soaked Hot Smoked Salmon

Rum Soaked Hot Smoked Salmon

When people think of smoked salmon they normally mean the cured and cold smoked variety which is served in most restaurants or sold in supermarkets.  This is an alternative, which we believe to be better, and can be simply produced on your smoker with a little forethought.  The ingredients for this recipe are not set in stone and can be substituted with something similar, Wild Sea Trout works well instead of Salmon and your own choice of rum.  Scale up the quantities for a whole side of salmon.

To make enough for a good sized starter for 2 people take …

• Large piece of Fresh Wild Alaskan Salmon 
• 150ml Spiced Rum

The Cure

• 50g Maple syrup
• 75g Dark brown sugar
• 50g Sea Salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Remove the skin from the salmon and pull out any pin bones.  Lay the salmon in a shallow dish (as small as the salmon to save wasting the rum) and pour enough rum to cover.  Leave for 20 minutes – do not leave any longer than this as the salmon will be ‘over flavoured’.

Drain the rum (sorry but you have to throw it away … unless you like to drink it fishy) … pat the salmon dry on kitchen towel.  

Make the cure by mixing the cure ingredients together and cover both sides of the salmon.  Cover and leave to cure, in the fridge, for 4-6 hours.

Remove salmon from the cure and rinse under cold running water.  Pat dry on kitchen towel … this is important as the fish will take the smoke better when dry.

Place on the oiled grill of the smoker (or on a Maple or Alder plank) and cook on a low heat(approx 200F) until the fish turns from translucent to opaque and is cooked.  This will take approximately 30 minutes (larger / thicker pieces of salmon will take longer).

Remove from smoker and cool quickly.  Cover and refrigerate.

To serve, remove skin and either cut into slices approx ½ thick across the grain or break into large flakes.

Goes well with a crisp green salad and a lovely Oaked Chardonnay.