Stovetop smoked salmon is so easy to make and tastes out of this world good. I serve it with creamy dill sauce, steamed new potatoes, broccoli, and white wine. You will seriously wonder why you haven’t made this before.
I have already talked about how to smoke chicken on the stovetop, and this stovetop smoked salmon uses the same procedure. I use a regular stainless steel stockpot with a pasta insert. There’s plenty of room in it, so if you wanted to add some veggies, you could do that, too.
But this was all about the salmon. I like freshly caught wild salmon from a good fishmonger. I’m very lucky to live in Glendale, California where we have one of the last and the best fish stores, Fish King. All the fish at Fish King is same-day caught and cut. If you don’t know exactly what you want, they are more than happy to help you. In addition, they have a cafe and you can get fish cooked to take home. If you are near Glendale, I highly recommend visiting them.
How to Buy Fish
Fish King smells like the ocean when you walk in the door. That’s how a good fish market is supposed to smell. If it smells like fish, that means the fish is old. If you don’t like the way fish smell, there’s a good reason for that. Smelly fish means that the fish has started to decompose, and just as human decomposition is God awful smelling, it’s just as bad in fish or any other protein. If you are buying fish from the fish counter in your local supermarket, always smell it first. Even if it’s a little off, don’t buy it, but tell the store manager or butcher so they can get rid of it – it’s not safe to eat.
Equipment
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Ingredients
- 1 large Salmon filet
Dill Rub
- 2 tbsp freeze-dried dill
- ½ teaspoon crystallized lemon
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, or sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
Green Sauce
- 1 bunch fresh dill, a few sprigs reserved for garnish
- 1 teaspoon capers
- ½ Lemon, juice of
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
Instructions
- Mise En Place
Prepare the Wood Chips
- Soak the wood chips in water for at least half an hour.
Make the Dry Rub
- For the Dry Rub
- Combine the ingredients of the dry rub. Generously cover the top of the salmon with the rub. Don't put any on the skin. The skin is for the pets and dogs and cats can't have lemon in any form. Let the salmon sit uncovered in the refrigerator until the wood chips are ready.
Make the Sauce
- For the Sauce
- Remove the stems from the dill. Put the dill, juice from the lemon, capers, and mayonnaise in a small food processor and process until all the ingredients are well mixed. Chill until ready to serve.
Prepare the Salmon
- Put a large piece of foil in the bottom of a large stockpot. It should come up the sides as well.
- When the wood has soaked enough, drain it carefully and well and put it on another large piece of foil. Put one more piece of foil loosely on top of that so there is room for the smoke to come out. Please that on top of the foil already in the pot. Light the burner under the pot.
- Now you have to be QUICK.
- Lightly oil the pasta insert and put the salmon on top. Don't remove the rub. Put it in as-is. Put the pasta insert into the pot and put the lid on the pot.
- Let it sit on high for 5 minutes, then reduce it to low. After 30 minutes, turn the heat off completely. Let the fish rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
- Put the fish on a nice platter with some of the reserved dill sprigs. Serve with the green sauce.
Notes
Hi, I saw this in the newsletter. I made it but it kind of messed up my stockpot. What can I do?
Hi, Jeanine, hope you are doing well. No worries on the stockpot. You can use Bar Keeper’s Helper on it.
I made this for my boyfriend and he loved it. Then he told me he doesn’t like fish, but he really liked this because it didn’t taste fishy at all.
I didn’t know you could use regular wood chips and smoke on the stovetop. This is a game-changer for me. Thanks!