Ingredients
- 2 six-ounce salmon filets
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh lemon
- wood chips soaked for at least 1 hour
- heavy duty foil
Instructions
Step 1
Take some heavy duty foil and make a shallow pan with it. This doesn't have to be anything perfect. As long as it holds the salmon and is a couple inches deep you will be fine. Place 2 boneless 8-ounce salmon fillets skin-side down on the homemade foil pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can also use a foil pie tin if you want. But, why waste one? Just fold up some foil, but heavy duty foil does work the best. Place this on a flat plate.
Step 2
This technique works best with white, dying coals. I like to do this after I've cooked my steaks or whatever I was grilling that day. The coals need to be hot enough to smoke the wood, but you don't want them so hot that the salmon is cooked before a nice smokiness is imparted. Spread the white, ashy coals evenly around the outside of the grill and up the sides. There should be no coals in the center of the grill.
Step 3
Take about a cup of wet wood chips and sprinkle evenly on top of hot coals. It will take about 5 minutes for the chips to start to smoke enough to begin smoking the salmon.
Step 4
Once the chips are smoking, replace the grill grates, and slide the foil pan with the salmon into the center of the grill.
Step 5
Cover the grill and make sure the vents on the lid are closed to keep in all the smoke.
Step 6
Smoke the salmon for 12 to 15 minutes depending on the thickness, and desired doneness. The surface should be very warm and the flesh fairly firm. Some people only smoke the fillets for 5-7 minutes, and eat them more on the medium-rare side.
Step 7
Carefully slide the foil pan back on to the plate using a pair of tongs.
Step 8
This hot smoked salmon is great served hot, warm, or cold. The smoke gives it a very rich flavor when served hot, so I prefer it garnished very simply with some greens and fresh lemon. It's great cold, flaked into a salad, and also makes a great spread when mashed with cream cheese. Enjoy!
