Hot Smoked Salmon with Cucumber-Avocado Salsa
Serves 6-8
Nutrition per serving – calories: 348, fat: 21g (saturated: 4g, unsaturated: 17g), carbohydrates: 4g, protein: 27g, fiber: 2g, sugar: 1g
**The salmon is brined in a mix of many different ingredients including high amounts of salt and sugar, which are then drained off. While this process will affect the nutritional breakdown of the meal, we have not accounted for it in our analysis.
Ingredients
½ cup Kosher salt
½ cup sugar
1 (2 ½-3 pound) salmon fillet, skin on, pin bones removed
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
1½ teaspoons freshly ground coriander seeds
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 cups wood chips (alder wood or hickory)
1 medium English cucumber, seeded and diced (about 2 cups)
1 large (or 2 small) firm-ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
¼ cup finely diced red onion
2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill
Zest from 1 lemon and 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dissolve salt and sugar in 2 cups of warm water. Add 4 cups cold water. Place salmon in gallon zipper-locked plastic bag. Pour brining solution into bag with fish and refrigerate for 3 hours.
Meanwhile, cover two cups wood chips with water in medium bowl; soak for 30 minutes, then drain.
Fold a large piece of heavy-duty foil in half. Remove salmon from brine and blot dry completely with paper towels. Place fillet, skin-side down on foil. Rub both sides of fillet, especially skin side, with oil. Dust flesh side of fillet with paprika, coriander and pepper.
Wrap wood chips in heavy-duty foil and poke several holes in the foil with the tip of paring knife. Open bottom vents on grill. Ignite a large chimney starter filled about 2/3 full with charcoal briquettes and burn until covered with thin coating of light gray ash. Empty coals into one side of the grill, piling them up in a mound and place foil packet of wood chips on top of coals. Put cooking grate in place, open grill lid vents completely and cover. Let grate heat for 5 minutes.
Place foil with salmon onto grill opposite fire. Cover and position lid so that vents are opposite wood chips to draw smoke through grill. Cook until salmon is cooked to 125-130 degrees, about 30 minutes. Remove the salmon from the grill by lifting it up with the sides of the foil.
While salmon is cooking, combine the cucumber, avocado, onion, dill, zest and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Gently toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Instructions for using a gas grill:
Place wood chip packet directly on primary burner. Turn primary burner to high (leave other burners off), cover, and heat grill until hot and wood chips begin to smoke, 15 to 25 minutes. Turn primary burner to medium. (Adjust primary burner as needed to maintain grill temperature of 275 to 300 degrees.)
Place foil with salmon over cool side of grill. Cover grill and cook until center of fillet registers 125-130 degrees and is still translucent when cut into with paring knife, about 30 minutes.