Smoked Salmon Recipe for the Smoker (Brown Sugar Cure)

This smoked salmon recipe for the smoker makes flaky, tender, gently smoky hot-smoked salmon with a lightly sweet brown sugar cure. The process is simple: cure the fish for a few hours, rinse and dry it so a tacky surface forms, then smoke it low and slow at 200 to 225°F until it reaches 145°F. It’s wonderful warm from the smoker, chilled on a brunch platter, or flaked into dips, salads and pasta.

Below you’ll find the ingredients, how long to cure, step-by-step smoking instructions, a time and temperature guide, the best woods, food safety notes for home-smoked fish, and storage. The printable recipe card is at the bottom.

Hot-Smoked vs Cold-Smoked Salmon

This recipe makes hot-smoked salmon: it’s cooked through in the smoker to 145°F (63°C), so it flakes like baked salmon but tastes of smoke. Cold-smoked salmon, the silky, thin-sliced lox-style kind, is cured and smoked at low temperatures that don’t cook it. Cold smoking requires careful control of salt, temperature and time to be safe, and it isn’t something to improvise at home. Stick with hot smoking for home smokers.

Ingredients for Smoked Salmon

For the salmon

• Salmon, 1 skin-on side, about 2 lb (900 g), 1 to 1¼ inches (2.5 to 3 cm) thick. Farmed Atlantic salmon stays especially moist; wild sockeye or coho gives a firmer, leaner result.
• Maple syrup or honey, 2 tablespoons (optional), for brushing.

For the dry cure

• Light brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g), packed.
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt, ¼ cup (about 35 g). If you use Morton kosher salt, use 2 tablespoons; it’s much denser.
• Coarsely ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon.
• Garlic powder, 1 teaspoon, and dried dill, 1 teaspoon (optional).

How to Smoke Salmon (Step by Step)

1. Mix the cure

Stir together the brown sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder and dill.

2. Cure the salmon

Remove any pin bones. Set the salmon skin side down in a glass or plastic dish and pack the cure evenly over the flesh, a little thinner on the thin tail end. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours for a 1-inch side, or up to 6 hours for thicker fish. The cure seasons the fish all the way through and firms the texture.

3. Rinse and dry

Rinse the cure off under cold water and pat the salmon very dry. Set it on a rack over a tray and refrigerate, uncovered, for 1 to 2 hours, until the surface feels tacky. This layer, called a pellicle, helps the smoke stick and keeps the fish from weeping white albumin.

4. Heat the smoker

Heat your smoker to 200 to 225°F (95 to 110°C) with a mild fruitwood or alder (see the wood guide below). Check the temperature with a separate thermometer; built-in lid gauges can be off by 25 degrees or more.

5. Smoke

Place the salmon skin side down on the grate. Smoke for 1½ to 2½ hours, depending on thickness and your smoker, until the thickest part reaches 145°F (63°C), the FDA’s recommended temperature for fish, and flakes easily. If you like a glossy finish, brush it with maple syrup or honey every 20 minutes during the last 40 minutes.

6. Rest and serve

Let it rest for 10 minutes, then lift it off the skin with a wide spatula. Serve warm, or chill it completely for a brunch platter.

Smoking Time and Temperature Guide

Time varies with the weather, your smoker and how often you open it. Always finish by temperature: 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part. See the FoodSafety.gov safe minimum temperature chart.

Best Wood for Smoking Salmon

• Alder: the classic Pacific Northwest choice; mild and slightly sweet.
• Apple or cherry: gentle and fruity, and great with the brown sugar cure.
• Maple: mild and sweet.
• Avoid mesquite and heavy hickory for salmon; they can overpower the delicate fish.

Chef Emma’s Tips

• Don’t skip the drying step. A tacky surface takes on smoke evenly and gives a better color.
• Keep the heat low and steady. Above 250°F, salmon pushes out white albumin and dries at the edges.
• Use a probe thermometer in the thickest part so you don’t have to open the smoker repeatedly.
• Trim or fold the thin tail end so it doesn’t overcook before the thick center is done.
• Taste the cure level. If your first batch is too salty, rinse more thoroughly or shorten the cure by an hour next time.

Ways to Use Smoked Salmon

• On bagels with cream cheese, capers and red onion
• Flaked into scrambled eggs or a frittata
• Mixed with cream cheese, lemon and dill for a smoky dip
• Tossed with pasta, peas and a little cream
• Over a green salad with a mustard vinaigrette

Love smoky salmon? Try our sweet candied salmon, sticky brown sugar salmon, or for a quicker grill option, cedar plank salmon. Browse all our salmon recipes.

Food Safety and Storage for Home-Smoked Salmon

• Cook it through. Hot-smoked salmon should reach 145°F (63°C).
• Refrigerate within 2 hours of smoking, wrapped or in a covered container, and eat it within 3 to 4 days.
• Freeze for longer storage: wrap tightly and use within about 2 months for the best quality.
• Don’t store home-smoked fish at room temperature, and don’t vacuum-seal it for long storage in the fridge; low-oxygen packaging of fish carries a risk of botulism unless it’s handled under commercial controls. Keep it cold and eat it quickly.

Storage times follow the FoodSafety.gov cold food storage chart.

Smoked Salmon FAQs

What temperature should I smoke salmon at?

200 to 225°F (95 to 110°C), until the fish reaches 145°F (63°C) inside.

How long does it take to smoke salmon?

About 1½ to 2 hours for a 1-inch-thick side at 200 to 225°F, plus 4 hours of curing and 1 to 2 hours of drying.

Do I have to brine salmon before smoking?

It’s strongly recommended. The cure seasons the fish, improves its texture and helps it stay moist during the long, low cook.

Can I smoke salmon on a pellet grill?

Yes. Set it to 200 to 225°F with alder, apple or cherry pellets and follow the same steps.

Smoked Salmon Recipe Card

Calories are an estimate per serving (about 5 oz of farmed Atlantic salmon, with the part of the cure that stays on the fish) based on USDA FoodData Central values.

Chef Emma

Hot-Smoked Salmon with Brown Sugar Cure

A side of salmon cured with brown sugar, salt and pepper, air-dried to form a pellicle, then smoked at 200 to 225°F until it reaches 145°F.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Curing and drying 5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 7 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Calories: 325

Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients

  

Salmon

• 2 lb skin-on salmon side 900 g, 1 to 1 1/4 inches thick
• 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey optional, for brushing

Dry cure

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar 100 g, packed
• 1/4 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt about 35 g (or 2 tbsp Morton kosher)
• 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder plus 1 tsp dried dill, optional

Equipment

• Smoker or pellet grill
• Probe thermometer
• Wire rack and tray

Method

 

1. Mix the cure ingredients.
2. Remove pin bones, pack the cure over the flesh, cover and refrigerate 4 hours (up to 6 for thicker fish).
3. Rinse off the cure, pat dry, and refrigerate uncovered on a rack 1 to 2 hours until tacky.
4. Heat the smoker to 200 to 225°F (95 to 110°C) with alder, apple or cherry wood.
5. Smoke skin side down 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours until 145°F (63°C) in the thickest part, brushing with maple syrup in the last 40 minutes if you like.
6. Rest 10 minutes and serve warm or chilled.

Notes

Refrigerate within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days; freeze up to 2 months. Don’t store home-smoked fish at room temperature or vacuum-sealed long term. Calories are an estimate per serving from USDA FoodData Central values.