Smoked Salmon Candy
When I used to run a meat and seafood department, we would make our own salmon candy and sell a ton of it. We brined salmon bellies in a simple salt and sugar mix. The bellies would then get smoked and brushed with maple syrup during the process. This stuff was so damn good. We could barely keep it in stock. So now that I own a smoker, I thought that I’d recreate the recipe and save you about $15/lb.I had purchased 2 large sides of farm raised salmon for smoking. I cut off the whole bellies for the candy. You can use salmon portions if you want. I also used the first couple of inches on the head side of the fillet and chopped them up into nuggets. They brined for 4 hours. Pat them dry with paper towels, then rub them with brown sugar. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees, then turn it down to 225 degrees. Smoke the salmon for an hour. At that point, brush on maple syrup and smoke for 30 more minutes. Let cool before eating. The salmon candy is good for up to a week in the refrigerator. But I guarantee to you that it won’t make it for more than a day or two.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- salmon bellies
Brine
- 1/2 gallon water
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
Glaze
- brown sugar
- maple syrup
Wood Chips
- alderwood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the brining ingredients.
- Brine the salmon bellies for 4 hours.
- Place the bellies on a rack. Pat dry with paper towels. Let cool at room temp for an hour before smoking.
- Rub the bellies with brown sugar.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Turn down the smoker to 225 degrees. Smoke the salmon for an hour.
- Brush maple syrup on the bellies. Smoke for 30 more minutes.
