I love salmon and always have. Now there are many recipes out there that tell you so many different ways to make this, and by using a brine, all types of seasonings etc. etc., but we are smoking just a plain old salmon.

The easiest way with not much prep time and if your salmon is store bought is this. Rinse your salmon under cold water briefly and then pat dry to remove all of the water. Take olive oil and rub it over both skin side and meat side of your salmon. You can add any kind of your favorite seasoning and as thick as you like. I only use salt and pepper applying it all over the meat side at a medium coat evenly.

Get your smoker up to 225 degrees and place your salmon on a cooking tray of some sort for easy handling, and then place it in the smoker and keep checking it until the internal temperature of the salmon reaches 140 degrees. It should have a nice darker color to it and sweating out any fat within the meat. The interior part of the salmon will look kind of pink as well, but once you check it with a meat probe at the thickest part of the salmon and it reads 140 degrees, then you know it's done. The total cooking time is usually around 1 hour. This can vary depending on your smoker temperature and what type of weather or altitude your smoking the salmon in. All of this can affect how your smoker performs. As the internal temperature of the salmon is almost reaching 140 degrees, I squeeze a little lemon juice over the top of the salmon to let it cook in a little before I take it off the grate. I add some more once I get it on my plate too, along with a little more salt and pepper. If that internal temperature gets up to 145 degrees, don't worry because 140 is a tender salmon and 145 just makes it a little more done.

I hope you enjoyed this post and feel free to leave a comment below to share your salmon recipe or enlighten me on a way to better my smoked salmon for good eating. Either way, enjoy that fish with a nice cold beer and some fries and until next time, C-YA!

Recipe Recap:

  • Whether fresh out of the water or store bought, clean your salmon thoroughly (just meat and skin is all that we want on or in that salmon)
  • Rinse under cold water and pat dry
  • Rub olive oil over both sides of the salmon just so it wont stick to any surface
  • Add a seasoning or just salt and pepper
  • Set the smoker to 225 degrees
  • Place salmon on a cooking tray for easy handling
  • Place salmon in the smoker and keep checking it until internal temp is 140 degrees at the thickest part of the salmon
  • Check to make sure inner part of the meat is pink looking, which should be close to done at that time, so don't forget to squeeze some of that lemon juice on it before it is completely finished cooking
  • Total cooking time is around 1 hour
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