Basic Smoked Salmon

Due to how much time this project takes to get ready I'll only be posting how to smoke the salmon which will be used in a recipe for tomorrow.  Now this is just a basic recipe that I like for smoking salmon and could be used for other fish that you might wish to smoke.  For this I tend to use a wet brine over a dry one just due to personal choice but both work great.  You can also during the brine process add spices to enhance the flavor like soy sauce and ginger to gain a more Asian flavor to the fish but I needed a more strict salmon flavor for tomorrow.

Ingredients:

1. 1 Cup Sugar
2. 1/2 Cup Sea Salt
3. 1 TBSP. Black Pepper
4. 1 Large Filet of salmon with skin still on

Directions:

1. Feel the filet for small bones and remove with tweezers.
2. Cut the filet of salmon into smaller pieces so that they will fit into a container
3. Place about a 1/2 gallon of warm water into a container then mix in sugar, salt, and pepper.  After sugar and salt dissolve into the water add the salmon and allow them to sit for 6-8 hours in the refrigerator.
4. Remove the salmon from the brine and pat dry with paper towels.  Then allow the salmon to sit uncovered until the flesh gets tackey.
5. Start the smoker and allow it to get up to temprature.
6. Place the salmon into the smoker skin side down and let it smoke for 2 hours.  In the last 30 minutes if you desire brush on a preserve like apricot jam to add some sweetness and flavor to the salmon.
7. Remove for smoker and allow to rest.