faux.smoked.salmon

We have a bit of an aversion to fire around here, so setting a smoker on the deck to take care of our needs wouldn’t go over very well. But it’s all good as I actually prefer to use our dehydrator when it comes to ‘smoking’ fish. We did a batch of bits after our huge haul earlier this summer (bellies and parts that don’t work on a full filet) and have already munched our way through. However, considering we still have a good 100+ pounds of salmon in the freezer I pulled a few filets out today to brine and ‘smoke.’

• Rinse your filets and cut into 1/2 inch wide strips as long as you would like (after pulling the bones of course). I leave the skin on to process and we just pull the meat off as we eat.
• Mix 1 1/2 cups soy sauce, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 3 tablespoons lemon juice together and pour over your 1 – 2 pounds of cut pieces.
• Allow to marinate in the fridge for 2-3 hours shaking occasionally.
• Pat each piece dry on a paper towel and arrange on your dehydrator rack, making sure the pieces don’t touch.
• Set at 145* for 5-8 hours, depending on the desired doneness (we like ours still a little fresh ie: not full jerky.

This makes great snacking food and tastes just like some of the best smoked I’ve had without the fake added liquid smoke some recipes call for (which I always burp up – gross). What you can’t eat now stick in the freezer. It comes back to life amazingly fast after being frozen!