Hot-smoked salmon

salmon · verified system recipe · Pacific Northwest tradition

Pit temp
180°F
Pull at
140°F
Total time
~5.5 hr

Phase timeline

240m
45m
45m
Cure (offline)Cold start smokeClimb + glazetotal: 5h 30m

Step-by-step

  1. 1. Cure (offline)

    ~240 min

    Dry-cure 4hr in fridge: 1 part salt + 2 parts brown sugar packed over the flesh. Rinse + pat dry, air-dry in fridge 1hr to form pellicle.

  2. 2. Cold start smoke

    → 100°F · ~45 min

    180°F pit, alder or apple. Low + slow start sets the smoke flavor.

  3. 3. Climb + glaze

    → 140°F · ~45 min

    Crank to 225°F. Brush with honey + soy mid-cook. Pull at 140°F — flakes apart cleanly.

Rub
Brown sugar + salt cure (see phase 1)
Wrap method
none
Rest method
tent_5min
Minimum rest
5 min

📐 Scale for guests

Target weight
1.6 lb
0.4 lb/guest
Cuts needed
1
~2 lb per cut
Cook time / cut
5h 30m
+ 5m rest

Each cut cooks at its own rate — even if you double up, plan the same hours. For very large crowds, run multiple cuts in parallel and stagger by 30 min.

🎯 Adjusted for your pit

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