LIGHTLY SMOKED WILD ALASKAN KING SALMON WITH TURMERIC

Lightly Smoked Wild Alaskan King Salmon with Turmeric image

Number Of Ingredients 6

Ingredients

1 pound Wild Alaskan King Salmon Fillet, Thawed
1 cup Water
2 tablespoons Organic Sugar
2 tablespoons Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Turmeric
1 cup Wood Chips for Smoking, your favorite, soaked in water. I used Hickory for this recipe.

Steps:

Combine Water, Salt, Sugar and Turmeric and stir until solids are dissolved to create your brine.
Place brine in a flat bottomed glass container that will be the right size for your salmon fillet.
Place your wild Alaskan King Salmon fillet, flesh down, into the brine. Make sure the brine covers the sides of the fillet. It does not need to be fully submerged, the skin does not need to be brined.
Cover and place into refrigerator to brine for around 2 hours.
While salmon is brining, soak your wood chips in water.
Once your salmon is brined it's time to start the grill and get your wood chips going. I use a small cast iron smoker/humidifier that is made to use on the grill. It wouldn't be appropriate for full scale smoking/preserving, but it works perfectly for giving meat a smoky flavor, and the humidifier part really helps keep the meat moist!
Place smoker/humidifier on the bottom grill rack and close the grill. Get the wood chips going so that they are smoking.
Once you have a good smoke going, place your King Salmon fillet, skin side down, on the top rack.
Keep the lid closed and the heat high, cook for around 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes check for doneness. Salmon is done when it flakes easily, but is still lightly translucent. For this dish I let it cook all the way on the grill to get the most smoke flavor. Both the high healthy fat content of the salmon and the steam from the smoker/humidifier kept the salmon very moist.
Slide your spatula between the filet and the skin, remove from grill without the skin, and serve!