Tennessee Style Smoked Salmon Recipe
As you would expect from a Colonel in Tennessee, this recipe certainly has some spirit to it.
4 salmon filets ? skin on
Bourbon (enough to soak the filets in a bowl ? y’all will find about 1 cup will do ?
not accounting for any the cook might sample)
½ cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
½ teaspoon Powdered Thyme
1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Black Pepper
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt (or coarse sea salt)
Pour bourbon over meat side of the salmon filets, (sour mash bourbon is best here folks but straight bourbon will do).
Then turn the filets over so that the skin side is up and meat side down in the bourbon. Let the filets marinate for about 2 hours.
Mix brown sugar, garlic powder, thyme, black pepper and salt together. Mix it up well. Remove the filets from the bourbon and rub the sugar-spice mixture on the meat side of the filets. Gently place the filets, skin side down, back into the bourbon for another hour of marinating. Best approach is to not let the bourbon cover the top of the filets, but what the heck, it doesn’t hurt if some does.
Fire up your grill.
Me, I’m still a purist using charcoal. If you are also a charcoal fan, put just a few briquettes, I’d say about 8 on one side of your grill ? mine’s a Weber with a swing section of the grill that allows me to add more coals and most importantly that great justsmokedsalmon.com alder wood.
Then gently remove the filets from the bourbon marinade, place them skin side down on the grill, put your alder wood chips onto the hot coals, place the lid on the grill and let it smoke for about 2-3 hours. You probably will have to add more briquettes, but be careful not to get the fire too hot…it’s the smoke that does the trick.
Gas grill fans ? low heat on one side ? filets on the other. Keep it low and smokin’.
Note ? if you feel the urge, oil the grill with olive oil, cooking oil, or spray.
As much as it hurts, throw out the bourbon you used for marinade. If you’re a mind to, pour a Tennessee Two By Four ? that’s two fingers of Tennessee Sippin Bourbon and four ice cubes ? sit back relax and watch the neighbors go absolutely nuts over the wonderful smokey smells coming from your deck.
