This coming Saturday, my family and I will be attending our second year at the Depoe Bay annual fin-clipping event, where roughly 20,000 coho raised from eggs are marked as hatchery stock to supplement the state’s sports fishery. The adipose fin is quickly clipped from the juvenile coho to mark them as hatchery raised and make them easily identifiable for anglers. In the state of Oregon, coho salmon limits are two per person, per day, a minimum of 16 inches, and all must have a healed adipose fin clip.
Being a part of such an important process is a huge honor, and it’s always so much fun and such a great learning experience for my children, learning about the lifecycle of the salmon, clipping the fins and releasing them into the Depoe Bay Reservoir.
Every year, Beanie Robison, chairman of the Depoe Bay Salmon Enhancement Commission, provides volunteers with a spectacular hot dog cookout. But this year, his son Vaughn Robison and I have teamed up add some delicious coho salmon dishes for the volunteers as well. Many of these people work really hard every single year at this event, never having the opportunity to enjoy the coho they’ve helped release into the reservoir, so Vaughn, being the avid fisherman he is, donated the coho that I will be transforming into smoked salmon and salmon dip this Saturday for the volunteers.Â
(Smoked Salmon Recipe by Smoked Meat Sunday)Â
Whole salmon or whole salmon ribsÂ
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup apple cider vinegarÂ
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Combine the brine ingredients in a food safe container.
Place your salmon in the container and then liberally sprinkle the brine over your fish. Every nook and cranny of the fish fillet should be covered with your dry brine. Once the fish is adequately covered, cover the pan with saran wrap and place the whole pan in your refrigerator.
Let the fish brine for at least 3 hours, and up to 6 hours. Any longer and it will be too salty.
After the salmon has been brined, rinse each of the fillets thoroughly, and then pat dry.
Place the fish on a grill rack, and then put the rack on the sheet pan you were using before, and back in the fridge with the fish. If you don’t have room in the fridge, you can put the fish in a cool, well-ventilated area. The fish will need to sit out for at least three hours. This step produces a tacky film on the surface of the salmon, called the pellicle. The pellicle will help your trout or salmon hold more of that smoke flavor you’re looking for, and keeps the fish from cooking too quickly.
Set your smoker up to cook with indirect heat at around 140 or 150 degrees, and then place your salmon fillets on the grill grates.
Combine the glaze ingredients in a small bowl.
Stir the ingredients until the honey and brown sugar has dissolved, and then set aside.
At the end of each hour, brush your fish with the glaze.
After 2 hours, increase the temperature in your smoker by 20 degrees. Repeat this process every 2 hours.Â
Smaller salmon only take a few hours to smoke, but larger salmon pieces can take several hours. Check the temp of your fish with a good meat thermometer after a few hours, and when the fish has reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees, you can pull the fish from the smoker.
When the fish is done smoking you can eat it warm, or let it cool for about 60 minutes before putting it in an airtight container in the fridge.
14-16 ounce canned SalmonÂ
2 tablespoons chopped chivesÂ
1.5 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon Johnny’s Seasoning Salt
Using a fork mash the salmon into the cream cheese and remaining ingredients. That’s it!
I find it tastes best the next day. Eat chilled or bring to room temperature and serve with your favorite cracker or bread.
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