Savory Salmon Brine For Smoking - cooking recipe

Ingredients

10 large filleted salmon, cut into strips
1 cup non-iodized salt
2 gallons cold water
2 lbs dark brown sugar
16 ounces red wine or 16 ounces white wine
1 (32 ounce) bottle teriyaki sauce
6 ounces garlic powder
6 ounces onion powder
4 ounces pickling spices
1 ounce cinnamon
1 1/2 ounces italian seasoning
1 ounce mace (optional)

Preparation

Prepare fish, tie strips together, etc.
Combine all ingredients and let stand one hour.
Marinate fish in brine for 12-24 hours, stirring or agitating every 2 hours or so. Usually go for 24 hours.
Remove fish from brine and rinse brine off thoroughly in cold, running water.
Let fish air dry for at least 1 hour, until the flesh gets a \"tacky\" surface on it.
Place fish in smoker (do not use a barbecue). Distribute fish over racks evenly to make sure there is plenty of space between pieces.
Fill chip pan with a 50/50 mix of alder and apple chips. A pan of chips usually takes 1 hour to burn out. Replace chips as they burn out for the first 5 hours, then every 4-6 hours for the rest of the smoking time.
A salmon fillet will take between 8-24 hours to smoke depending on the size of the fillet and the desired amount of doneness. A 10-lb. salmon will yield 2 3.5-pound fillets that will take at least 12 hours to smoke for a soft texture. We smoke this salmon for a minimum of 24 hours to get a hard, smoked texture. (Depending on the weather, this could take 3-5 days.).