Cold smoking wild salmon

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 2 salmon (wild salmon)
• 1 tbsp black pepper
• 100 g sea salt
• 100 g brown sugar
• 100 g dill, fresh
• 2 organic lemons, zest
• 2 organic oranges, the zest
• 4 cl gin

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest period approx. 2 days; Cooking/baking time approx. 16 hours; Total time approx. 2 days 16 hours 30 minutes

You’ll also need a packet of smoking chips. First, prepare both sides of the salmon. To do this, rinse the fish with cold water and then pat it dry with kitchen paper. Then remove the bones with fish tweezers. These are easy to see and feel. Coarsely grind the peppercorns and mix with the salt and sugar. Spread the spice mixture generously over the fish. Then spread the finely chopped dill and the orange and lemon zest over the fish. It’s best to place this in a dish on a draining rack. Refrigerate the fish for at least 48 hours. You’ll notice how much liquid is extracted from the fish during this time. After 48 hours, rinse the spices off the fish, pat it dry, and coat it with the gin. Smoke the fish for 2 x 8 hours, with a break of the same length in between. After this, you’ll never buy “ready-made” smoked salmon again. Note: I cold-smoke the fish. This avoids high temperatures, which would cause the protein to coagulate. I use a cold smoke generator for this. This generates smoke and delivers it to the grill via a metal hose. For cold smoking, light different wood chips in this cold smoke generator according to your taste. I’ve already tried the following wood chips: beech, cherry, apple (my favorite), and hickory.