A quick trip to the store for a couple of nice fillets of salmon. Salmon from Chile that was farmed raised with the skin still on. Perfect.
The fillets are too long for the smoker and needed to be cut in two. A quick rinse to get some scales off of the meat and onto the racks with cookie sheets underneath. I let salmon set on the counter to let the pellicle (dry a little on the surface). In northern Arizona our humidity is low so 30 minute to an hours is great. Letting the surface pellicle helps keep the meat moist during the smoke.
I put 2 full wood chip trays with apple wood chips. I put the salmon in, then set the temperature to 220*F and set the time to 4 hours. This was at 3:00 PM. It was hot and sunny with a slight chance for rain. I got a sheet metal panel out of the garage to cover the smoker to protect the digital.LED control from the heat of the sun.
Of coarse, an hour later I hear thunder on Mingus Mountain and wind picking up. Monsoon storms in Arizona can be very strong and violent. This was a mild one with .18 inches of rain in 20 minutes with 14 mph winds..I had to quickly bring the smoker into the garage until the storm passed.
I did not add any more wood chips during the smoke, but the 2 trays I put in at the start were plenty for salmon.
The second wave of the storm was just rain and a slight breeze for a few minutes. Now my garage is full of smoke. I opened all three vehicle doors and the side walk through door to get the smoke out after the storms.
I pulled the salmon at 2 hours 45 minutes. It was lightly browned and was easily removed from the skin. The meat was very moist, flaky and tender. I flipped the fillets over on the plate and lifted the skins off. See how clean the skin came off.
