Stuffed and Smoked Salmon
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Smoked salmon is easy and you will also find that it does not take much time to do. In as little as 4 hours, you can brine, dry, prepare, stuff and smoke a salmon for dinner, and that is pretty fast fixing when it comes to smoking meat.
This stuffed smoked salmon recipe is extremely easy to make and smokes up quick.
Helpful Information
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Brining Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 45-60 minutes
- Smoker Temp: 225°F (107°C)
- Meat Finish Temp: 135°F (57°C)
- Recommended Wood: Hickory or pecan
What You'll Need
- Salmon filet, skin removed is best
- Stuffing mixture (recipe below)
- Jeff's original rub
Place salmon filet on cutting board or other cutting surface
Note: I removed the skin of this salmon using a very sharp knife. If you are not comfortable skinning the fish, you can omit this step or you can ask your butcher to do it for you. They are usually happy to oblige on things like this.
Cut the filet into pieces that are about 2 inches wide
Cut a groove lengthwise into the pieces of salmon for holding the stuffing.
Note: Cut as deep as you can without going all the way through then pull apart to accept the mixture.
If you want to brine, you can do so for about an hour or so by submerging the fish in a basic brine solution of 1 cup of kosher salt to 1 gallon of cold water.
Put a fan on the fish for about 20 minutes to dry the outside a little which will create a nice sticky surface called the pellicle or you can place the fish in the fridge uncovered for 3-4 hours to do the same thing over a longer period of time.
It is believed that this pellicle helps the smoke to adhere better to the meat. It also helps to prevent the white fatty albumin from seeping out during the cooking process.
Once you see the pellicle formed, a nice shiny surface on the fish that is tacky to the touch, you can proceed.
Here's a couple of stuffing recipes.. choose one, do them both or create your own.
Crab and Boudin Stuffing
- 1/2 cup lump crab meat, drained
- 4 oz. link of boudin, removed from casing
- 1/2 lemon, peeled and segmented
- 1 tsp. fresh chives
- 1 Tbs. butter
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
Instructions
Combine ingredients carefully to form a mixture being careful to not break up crab more than necessary.
Brie and Walnut Stuffing
- 4 oz. brie, room temperature
- 2 Tbs. walnuts
- 1 tsp. fresh chives
- 1/2 c. lump crab meat, drained
Instructions
Leave brie out of fridge for an hour or so to soften at room temperature. Combine ingredients carefully to form a mixture being careful to not break up crab or walnuts more than necessary.
Spoon about two tablespoons of the stuffing mixture (recipes below) into groove of salmon so that it is mounded up above the salmon
Sprinkle my original rub all over the fish and the stuffing.
You can also add the rub before you stuff it as I did in the one on the right (pictured below)
Prepare smoker for cooking at 225°F (107°C) with hickory or pecan if you prefer the fish to be well smoked. If you want a very mild smoke flavor then use the traditional alder or a light tasting wood such as apple.
Note: you can also cook the salmon at about 180°F for 1.5 hours or until it reaches 135°F (57°C) in the thickest part. Cooking salmon at lower heat is always better but it does increase the cook time.
Place salmon pieces on wood planks for great presentation and flavor. Place planks onto smoker grate and cook for 45-60 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.
My salmon took right at 50 minutes and was perfectly done, very moist in the center and might have been the best I've done;-)
Important: The USDA recommends cooking fish to 145°F (63°C) however, most chefs recommend only cooking salmon to 130°F (54°C) so it doesn't end up dry and tasteless. I tend to cook most of my salmon to 135°F (57°C) most of the time and it's perfect.
If you have enough planks, consider serving each piece on it's own plank or you can transfer it to a plate using a thin metal spatula.
Stuffed and Smoked Salmon
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs Salmon filet (skin removed is best)
- ¼ cup Jeff's original rub
Crab and Boudin Stuffing
- ½ cup lump crab meat (drained)
- 4 oz. link of boudin (removed from casing)
- ½ lemon (peeled and segmented)
- 1 tsp fresh chives
- 1 TBS butter
- 1 egg
- 3 TBS all-purpose flour
Brie and Walnut Stuffing
- 4 oz. brie (room temperature)
- 2 TBS walnuts
- 1 tsp fresh chives
- ½ cup lump crab meat (drained)
Instructions
- Remove the skin from the fish using a sharp knife, then cut the fish into pieces that are about two inches wide.
- Cut a deep groove or pocket into the fish without going all the way though.
- Brine the fish for about 45-60 minutes if you so desire in a mixture of 1 gallon of water and 1 cup of coarse kosher salt. After brining, pat the fish dry, then place a fan on the fish to dry the outside and form a shiny, tacky surface. Alternatively, you can place the fish in the fridge uncovered for about 3-4 hours.
- While the fish is brining make one or both of the stuffing recipes. Combine ingredients carefully to form a mixture being careful to not break up the crab more than necessary.
- Once the fish is ready, stuff the mixture into the pocket heaping it up on the top. Be generous. I use about two TBS of the mixture in each piece.
- Season over the top with Jeff's original rub and the fish is ready for smoking.
- Set up your smoker for cooking at 225°F (107°C) using indirect heat. If your smoker uses a water pan, fill it up. Once the smoker is preheated, it's time to cook.
- Place the fish on oiled grates to help with sticking. You can also place the fish on a wooden plan or even parchment paper for easier removal from the smoker and better presentation. Close the lid and let the cooking commence.
- Check the fish after about 30 minutes, but you can expect these to take 45-60 minutes depending on how well your smoker holds it's temperature.
- When the fish reach 135°F (57°C) they are finished and ready to removed from the smoker. *see notes below on USDA safe temperatures for fish
- Serve immediately.
Your rub on this recipe made this dish explode in our mouths it’s a must do thanks Jeff your the man……
This recipe looks fabulous.
I do have a question……the boudin sausage – cooked or uncooked? Im assuming its precooked as I don’t know if raw sausage smoke to a safe temp in an hour. I thought I’d ask. Im looking forward to cooking this for a party on Saturday evening!
Thanks.
Unless it’s stated otherwise, most boudin is precooked and only needs to be heated through. If you use sausage or any other meat in the stuffing, I do recommend pre-cooking it before stuffing it into the salmon.
Thanks Jeff! Much appreciated.
How much salmon did you use?
Thanks,
Greg
This is an older recipe and I don’t have this in my notes for some reason. It looks like about a pound and a half filet.
This recipe for this Smoked Salmon Stuffed with Crab, Walnuts and Brie looks amazing. Please try to make the recipe card available as soon as possible. The recipe cards make it so much easier to catalog your recipes and it’s very much appreciated.
Jeff, I would like to print out this recipe but cannot find the prompt like all your other recipes.
Richard, this recipe was created about a decade ago, before we started inserting those easy-to-print recipe cards. I will try to get a recipe card created for this one over the next few days.
Yum 😋
Jeff,
Does the salmon need to be brined to smoke properly? I'm a little confused on the necessity in this case.
Looks great and I think my girlfriend will be getting this cooked for mother's day!