Hot Smoked Salmon

Ever wondered how to hot smoke salmon yourself? It is dead easy and you can do it without all the sophisticated equipment!


This recipe serves 2.



Ingredients:
- 2 salmon fillets, skin on (+/- 200g)
- Sea salt
- Olive oil
- Lemon juice (optional)
- 2 hand fulls of wood chips (I use Manuka, a native to New Zealand. Make sure the chips are hard wood, Maple or apple wood are also good)
- Tin foil
- Wok with lid
- Rack that will fit inside the wok or feel free to use some chicken wire. (It'll do the same job just fine)

Preparation:
Line the inside of the wok with tin foil (saves you time cleaning up afterwards) and place two handfuls of the wood chips in the base of the wok.

Grease the rack with olive oil and place inside the wok. Make sure the rack doesn't touch the base or the wood chips! Rub the salmon fillets with sea salt and olive oil and place them skin side down on the rack.

Put the lid on top and turn the stove on. Smoke the fillets over a medium heat for about 8-10 minutes. Do not open the lid in the meantime just to have a look. I know it;s tempting, but you'll loose all the heat, smoke and flavour!!! Plus the house will smell smokey for the rest of the week.

You will notice that after a couple of minutes the smoke will develop. Open a window to get a bit of fresh air circulation. After the cooking time, turn the heat off and let it sit for another 3 minutes before taking the lid off. This enables the smoke to penetrate the fish a bit more and enhances the smokey flavour. When finished, I suggest you take the lid off outside to prevent all the smoke from staying inside the house. Carefully transfer the fillets on a plate and if preferred season with sea salt and black pepper and drizzle with some lemon juice. I like to serve them with some steamed broccoli and garlic mashed potatoes.

Tip: Try adding a sprig of fresh rosemary and some sprigs of fresh sage to your wood chips to give the salmon a distinct flavour. Or go wild and use tea leaves. (Haven't tried that myself though)

Next time I will try to smoke chicken! To be continued...