Kingly Smoked Salmon

Recipe from: Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the real Way to Barbecue
by Cheryl Jamison and Bill Jamison

Ingredients:
Pacific king salmon butterflied tail section (or use coho or silver salmon)
Alder wood for smoking

Rub:
1/4 cup dill, dried
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Optional Mop
Remaining Rub
1 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup canola or corn oil

Instructions:

The night before you plan to barbecue, combine the rub ingredients in a small bowl. Open the salmon flat and massage it well with about 2/3 of the rub, reserving the rest of the mixture. Fold the salmon back into it's original shape, place it in a plastic bag, and refrigerate it overnight.

Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature up to 180 to 200 degrees F.

Remove the salmon from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

If you plan to baste the fish, stir the remaining rub together with the other mop ingredients in a saucepan and warm the mixture over low heat.

Transfer the salmon to the smoker skin side down, placing the fish as far from the fire as possible. Cook for 50 to 60 minutes, mopping it after 10 and 30 minutes in a wood-burning pit, or as appropriate for your style of smoker. The salmon should flake easily when done. Have a large spatula and platter ready when taking the salmon off the smoker, because it can fall apart easily. Serve hot or chilled.

BBQ tips:
Alder remains the best wood for smoking Pacific salmon. Alder chips are fairly common across the country, but you may have more difficulty finding the wood in chunks or logs. Fruit woods are the best substitute, particularly when mixed with smaller pieces of alder.

Yield: 8 Servings