Smoked Salmon on a Pellet Grill

4.93 from 27 votes

Smoked Salmon on a Pellet Grill

You won't need a cedar plank or a complicated seasoning rub to enjoy the most delicious and flaky, tender Smoked Salmon. Make this right in your own backyard using a pellet smoker. All it takes are five ingredients to create an impressive, smoky salmon treat to enjoy any time! Use it to make Creamy Seafood Chowder. Serve it with several of my favorite potluck side dishes. And check my recipe for Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese and this collection of 15 Delicious Salmon Recipes!

Prep Time5

Cook Time2

Brining and Drying Time18

Total Time20 5

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 366kcal

Author: Melinda O'Malley Keckler

Equipment

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh salmon, skin on - chinook, sockeye or coho are excellent varieties to use
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup non-iodized salt such as sea salt or kosher salt, which are coarse grain salt
¼ cup brown sugar
3 cloves garlic sliced thin
4 cups water

Instructions

Make the Brine

Place the water in a 13” x 9” glass dish, add the sugar, non-iodized salt, brown sugar and sliced garlic.
Whisk to blend all the ingredients and until the sugars and salt dissolve, this creates the brine that the fish will soak in.

Add the Salmon

Place the salmon fillet in the liquid in the dish. You’ll want all of the fish covered in the brine so, depending on how thick the salmon fillet is, you may need to flip it skin side up in the dish.

Chill and Brine the Salmon

Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 13-15 hours.
A fillet thicker than about an inch will likely need up to 15 hours, a thinner piece of salmon will use the shorter brining period of about 13 hours.

Dry the Salmon

Remove the dish with the brine and fillet from the refrigerator. Discard the plastic wrap, discard the brine and place the fillet on a rack over a baking sheet to dry.
Leave the salmon fillet on the rack, uncovered at room temperature for 5 hours.

Prepare the Smoker

Alder pellets are the best for smoking salmon but Apple, Pecan and even Hickory - which is one of the stronger flavored wood chips - all work well.
Preheat the Traeger pellet grill to 225°F for 15 minutes.

Smoke the Salmon

Place the salmon fillet skin side down on the grill. Close the lid on the pellet grill and reduce the temperature to 180°F.
Check the temperature of the fillet after 1.5 hours.
Watch for an internal temperature of 135° - 140°F. Once the salmon reaches that temperature on the grill, use a large, sturdy spatula to remove it and place it on a large plate or baking sheet, and cover it with foil.
The salmon will continue heating and will reach 145°F, which ensures that it is fully cooked.
It may take 2 hours or possibly a little longer depending on the thickness of the fish, the outside temperature and variety of salmon.
Most pellet grills include temperature probes to monitor the temperature of food while it's cooking. Those work well but if your fillet is thin, you'll get the best results by using a hand-held, instant-read digital thermometer.

Serve

Serve and enjoy your smoked salmon warm or chilled.

Notes

No, there's no need to rinse off the brine. The ratio of water to salt creates a brine that isn't overly salty.

I recommend using a fillet with the skin on. The skin creates a barrier between the hot grill and the fish so you don't need to place the fillet on a pan or foil while it smokes. For a wonderful dessert after you've enjoyed your salmon, serve Perfect Vanilla Cheesecake.

Nutrition