Kamado Joe | Smoked Salmon

In today's video, I decided to smoke a salmon filet using a more traditional method with a dry brine cure, low temperature smoke, and a honey glaze at the end. This is easy to do and tastes fantastic!
Kamado Joe Smoked Salmon Recipe:
1 large salmon filet cut into 4 or 5 pieces
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
Honey to glaze
The day before:
Mix your brown sugar, salt, and pepper together and cover the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish with it. Place your rinsed and dried salmon filets on top of the sugar mixture and then cover the top of the filets with the rest of the mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
Cook day:
Remove the salmon filets from the brine. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels. Let sit on a rack at room temperature for two hours until the pellicle forms on the surface of the fish.
Preheat your Kamado Joe grill to 150-160 degrees and add a couple chunks of wood for smoke. Lightly grease your grill and put the salmon filets on for 2 hours. Keep the lid CLOSED to keep your temperature down!
Glaze the filets with honey for the last 30 minutes of the cook!
Enjoy!
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[@JMHackworth]

I followed your recipe on my Joe Jr this morning and it was out of this world good! Thank you

[@1jesus2music3duke]

Followed this approach multiple times and it’s always been a hit. Thanks, Joe!

[@johnmickelson8962]

I have followed this recipe a number of times and even the non salmon eaters devour it! So good!!

[@jaesbow]

I've done this twice. Thanks for the instructions, you'd make a good teacher.

[@deanhart249]

Memorial Day cook! Incredible!

[@deanhart249]

Smoked some salmon up this evening using this recipe. It was fantastic John! The honey glaze is a great finishing touch. Thank you for sharing!

[@tailoredsuits]

I tried this one too - my mother in law loved it ! I needed thicker filets but it came out good !

[@radikai]

Thank you so much for this recipe - I’ve made it dozens of times and it has made many friends and family happy.

[@jordanlandry9895]

Looks excellent John, thank you so much for sharing,

[@sadiebug212]

I had never used a dry brine on fish before. I had always grilled salmon on cedar planks, but after trying this I won't be using any more cedar planks! I am not a fan of the sweet glaze on salmon so I just seasoned mine with some salmon seasoning after brining. The texture of the fish was so much better and the smoke flavor penetrated completely. Best salmon I ever ate. Thank you for sharing this technique!

[@redsundon]

best video I have seen for smoking salmon.....can't wait to try it this week. Like the low temp. and the honey to finish it.

[@davidmollykistner4659]

I made this for the first time today, in a Big Joe III. I kept the temperature down to a dome temp of 175 (so probably 165 degrees at grill level). The fillet was a bit over 2 pounds, cut into 4 pieces. I followed the video instructions closely, and used a small piece of white oak for the smoke. The fish turned out fantastic.

[@mrmeaner3917]

I don’t have a Joe, I do have a 24”pit boss kamado, loving the inspiration.

[@raytristani]

Man I love your channel! Just getting into this. Really appreciate your lessons! Doing this today!

[@nicolasadileonardo]

Man I love these videos. Just started with my Joe this weekend and it was awesome, thanks to all the videos.

[@BubbasGrub]

gonna do this tonight! I hadn't thought of the honey glaze at the end, but doing it now. thanks bro

[@007qantas]

Hi John, recently acquired a classic joe and tried your recipe with Tasmanian salmon basted with maple syrup. Absolute gold, never knew salmon could taste so good. Thanks mate, keep up the good work.

[@greg6107]

Great Vid Joe, well definitely try this week, Thank U !

[@KurtsSharpeningService]

Love your vids! Just bought the 2017 classic Joe this past weekend....smoking a chicken as I sit! Thanks for your vids! I look forward from learning from the master!

[@GrillingNetwork]

Been wanting to try Salmon on the Kamado, great job

[@AussieAngeS]

Gosh that salmon looks delectable! Wow

[@DawgNo1]

Just having a browse and found this one, I love smoked salmon so ive done loads but without the glaze, i will def give this a try next time thanks John. BTW I have found a 3/1 ratio of Kosha salt to brown sugar and brining for 3-4 hours gives me the taste im after, its still sweet you can taste the sugar but its not too salty, we dont like the taste of over salty salmon, oh and I dont use pepper. You still get a lot of liquid out of the fish and putting a bit of weight on top is recommended while its brining.

[@davidroethlin]

Greeeeeeat Stuff - tried yesterday and was absolutely amazing!

[@getoutandgrill]

Killer cook John....Love salmon

[@EASTSIDERIDER707]

Just had some while watching playoff baseball. It was my first salmon catch. I’m watching a lot of smoking videos, and yours was one of the better ones. We’ll be on the water before sunrise and hope for one or two more.

[@bruisterlenoir6474]

Joe, I've never smoked. I followed you over here from your other channel and now I think it's about time. That salmon looked remarkable. Thank you. I think I need to throw that bad boy on the grill!

[@MrBarkoGt]

Great recipe,,, nice and moist without the over salty brine taste. I did add a little pineapple juice and lemon pepper to the honey glaze... MMmmm best smoked salmon ever.... Thanks

[@jar49er]

Another great video 👌👏👍👍👏👌

[@josephkent3238]

Nice job , will do next week....thanks

[@kylet3589]

Best salmon I've had!!

[@usernametakenchit]

Simple prep, Awesome, Delicious & Good Eatin' !!! , although your finished product tasted like screen :) , I applied this prep & temperature to my Masterbuilt Electric Smoker @ 170º for 1:30 mins. and another 30 mins. with the basted honey using apple wood chips. note: important tip - spray racks with light coat of baking spray as mentioned.

[@sailnekkid]

a little trick i learned from pa (may he rest in peace) about 30 yrs ago ....when drying salmon to get that glaze, you can shorten the time by adding a breeze over salmon with a small fan...glazed in about 1 hr.... ;o) also, when researching egg bbq/smokers a few years ago, you were the primary reason i bought a kamado joe jr (am single, so it works perfectly for moi most of the time and a small group of friends now and then)....there's lots of good bbq/smoking info on youtube, but your vids are my fave...have learned a LOT!...THANKS!!....am currently makin' a feeble attempt to lose about 25lbs and you're not helping matters...LOL

[@jeffbobold]

I have cooked a lot of salmon. I mostly think that salmon is... okay, but not great. That said: Just made this with a fresh caught coho salmon, kept the filet whole, kept the grill as close to 160 or lower (the vents are about 1/4" open top and bottom), and cooked it for two hours. Holy crap! It was great!!! Best salmon I've ever had. I didn't do the honey glaze (didn't think it needed to be that sweet), and it was friggin amazing! The entire family loved it. Will definitely make again. #kamadojoe

[@pierrevautard6463]

Bonjour John ! Bravo for this recipe. I have a question regarding salmon ! Is it necessary to do it without the skin ? If you tried with it, is it better, or not ? Does it bring something with or without ? Merci beaucoup !

[@gavinhenare5776]

Awsome video bro, definitely gonna try your recipe, gonna use New Zealand king salmon should be delicious,

[@smokingtarheel3003]

That looks awesome, John. Man, that honey glaze at the end looked like the ticket!

[@0211Josie]

great smoke. thx again

[@kpns306]

The great advantage of making food on the grill - you can cook healthy meals. In my experience, excellent tasting salmon dish can be prepared without all these extra sugar and honey. Salt, pepper, olive oil and spices - and you have yourself a gourmet meal.

[@TinaBagaporOHarrow]

Mmmm. I'm doing this tomorrow.

[@PITMASTERX]

Whoaa... that salmon looked very good

[@tdeal67]

Like an angel pee’d on your tongue....LOL

[@SmokeyGoodness]

Love that honey glaze! Hmmm... I have a grill that'll hold low temps! heh heh. I just might have to give it a go.

[@merlinkrisp3792]

John you make great videos, thank you for taking the time to make these videos

[@overtheturf]

They look amazing man. I like the honey at the end. I do the same to my ribs. I haven't smoked any fish yet but out of all the videos I just watched, yours looks the best. I'm going with that

[@melissacazes8197]

@@KamadoJoeGrills can I replace the honey with maple syrup?

[@BBQGuys]

That looks incredible, John! mmmm!

[@tristancarter7917]

looks awesome John, how long will the salmon keep in the fridge after smoking before i have to freeze it? i had cedar planked salmon yesterday but want to try this tomorrow.

[@nathanield.4527]

Great video! Do you always smoke by time alone or do you measure the internal temperature of the fish? I figure you will always have varying thickness of salmon filets so if you just cook by time some filets will be more well done than others.

[@lilliputlittle]

Just saw this older video. Now I cannot wait until the Copper River salmon hits the market in late spring. I'm thinking about going 50/50 with a honey/soy paste glaze.

[@jimarnold4294]

made this today for brunch, had a small cool down and had to relight...But came out great to rave reviews. Little disappointed that i panicked on the temp and caused a flame out. Good new after I took the salmon off open the vents and brought it up to 350% and beer can chickened.

[@falcon81701]

going to try this on good Friday lunch. Just need to find a nice Salmon Fillet

[@falcon81701]

pafalzon this was delicious. Im not a huge salmon fan but this was different.

[@robmetzger9955]

Yummy!

[@stevestewart840]

I have a sloroler, do I need to used the deflector plates as well? Thanks

[@jonathanthalberg5602]

Is this also a result of LESS FUEL in the KJ?? I understand the "air" part, but what about fuel?? Can you advise?

[@Okiimiru]

Yum

[@lindseym6534]

Thanks!!!!!!!

[@jeffandmarylutz8761]

Trying this today, thank you John!

[@robloxawesome6764]

Do you recommend any other seasonings because I am new to this.

[@luckyswiss3853]

It works perfectly! Just tried it today, woooonderful! :-) Greetings from Switzerland!

[@LindasPantry]

Mercy!!!:)

[@GSXR0311]

How can I get my temp to 150F? By putting less charcoal? I have both vents almost closed and it’s still around 200F. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

[@Thestatic19821]

Would using coarse sea salt in place of kosher salt affect the recipt that much?

[@fredmichaud1480]

I think we will try a modified version of this. Going to use a homemade honey creole mustard.

[@tellasis6469]

Looking at buying a Kamado Joe, but worried about temps. Advertised lowest temp (2019) is 225 - WAY too hot for salmon. Also, noticed that the top vent design now is different than the video. Can salmon be slow smoked on a KJ anymore? If so, how to get necessary low temps?

[@dopicker]

Hey John, Frankly I hate Salmon but tried your technique and it got rid of the "fishy" taste. It was very good and we'll do it again. Thanks

[@MrJoshcc600]

dopicker got news for you, if you don't like the "fishy" taste you don't like fish

[@clintstandfill3536]

Hey John, what kind of lighter are you using?

[@clarusfish]

Great job John, how much of the charcoal was left after the cook do you figure?

[@robertguy23]

a lot still, not a lot of charcoal burns for 2hrs at that temp

[@bcampagnolo6759]

how much charcoal (by weight) do you use? for this recipe? It looks less than others. .

[@livustfan]

Hi, when you say 165 degrees is it Celsius or Farenheit?

[@awjake137]

U DA Man.

[@packrunner266]

So the dome temperature is hotter than the grate temperature?

[@MrRobadobalina]

John, any issue with leaving the filet whole? Planning to do as an appetizer and like the presentation of a whole filet.

[@kylet3589]

It would work fine just more surface area of multiple cuts allows easier drying

[@usernametakenchit]

CANNING & PICKLING SALT works well too.

[@EA-fz4qz]

Hi 160 degree fahrenheit or celcisius?

[@marcoantonacci7708]

hi, great video! what is the core temperature of the salmon when it is ready?

[@kylet3589]

Salmon/fish should be a min of 145f. It turns out perfect at that temp

[@bryanc2262]

could I substitute raw sugar for brown?

[@dustinf7745]

Can you brine it for longer than 12 hours ?

[@curtnicholson7771]

Where's mine? Can you mail me a piece of that delicious looking salmon, I've got the ice cold beer to go with it! A great job well done!

[@alext586]

do you ever flip the salmon while smoking them on the kamado grill? appreciate the help!

[@SargonvonThule]

Think the temp was a little bit to high normally if the white stuff comes out the Fisch is done another 40 min just dryes it more

[@yornike]

wish we could see what it looked like when you cut it.

[@biffjohnson2076]

Could you vacuum-seal, freeze, and then reheat down the road in some boiling water? I'm not much of a fish guy, but always looking to expand my horizons. Anyone feel free to chime in on this. Thanks!

[@jimengle9869]

When did you pull the skin off

[@benrees9215]

Is the temp you speak of in Celsius or Fahrenheit

[@Kedeco628]

Fahrenheit

[@kieraoharrow5534]

Skin? It's been in the brine for 12 hours, but I left e skin on. Is that ok.

[@DannyLB]

Does the fish come out sweet? Or, too sweet?

[@DannyLB]

Thank you.

[@itdoesntmatterok]

I gotta eat more fish,..damn.

[@alansousa2488]

Degrees Farenheit or Celsius? My grill is a coyote...

[@jeffbobold]

Farenheit

[@tinagrabowski3941]

the kosher salt and sea salt are ok. the salt you really should not use is iodized..

[@RobPeevy]

Can you cook Mahi Mahi on the Joe?

[@KamadoJoeGrills]

Definitely!

[@garthionmuhammad5808]

What can you substitute If you don't have the Tennessee honey

[@gregmerget4757]

Maple Syrup works too!

[@richardblay3141]

I am a newbie with the Kamado Joe but not new to smoking food. If you like salmon, this is very good recipe and smoking technique. I have a few comments: The dry brine of brown sugar, salt and pepper is very good. I vacuumed sacked the salmon in a Foodsaver plastic bag for 10 hrs. Next time I will dry brine for 6-8 hrs and then rinsed in cool water before cold smoking on the Kamado Joe. I think the vacuum sack intensified the amount of salt in the salmon. I also wanted to confirm the temperature of the dome thermometer. I put a Thermawork Chef Alarm temperature probe on the cooking surface of the grill and it red hotter than the dome thermometer by 40F. (Target temp for the Kamado Joe was 165F). (And yes, I had previously checked the calibration of the dome thermometer in boiling water prior to first use. Again, I am new to Kamado cooking and there is a learning curve. Overall, I am very impressed with the Kamado Joe results.

[@Oravoanu2]

is it F or Celsius ?

[@jboody79]

Always F in USA

[@Veyenel]

Didn’t know fat joe had a KZbin channel

[@Veyenel]

#Leanback

[@natemoyal8859]

I found the honey glaze to be too sweet. Substitued maple syrup, which worked better for my taste.

[@KamadoJoeGrills]

Sounds fantastic🔥

[@dimplezdimples8451]

Way to hot for salmon, notice the albumin coming out of the fish??

[@hoffa41]

Salomon like this is not Salomon. He does his best to make it taste "as not Salomon" as possible……

[@jossfitzsimons]

Under no circumstances use Kosher salt for this recipe...or any recipes This stuff is used for the industrial production of cheap bacon. Use only Atlantic, or any sea salt. But do not throw your Kosher salt away. Do what the Municipalities do with it....spread it on pathways so you don't get a nasty fall. If you want to go to the opposite extreme try Maladon salt. Pure Atlantic salt...but I doubt if this premium brand is better than any other Atlantic salt. From Joss in South West Ireland. Maladon is English costal...by the way.

[@MrJoshcc600]

Joss Fitzsimons nonsense

[@markspc1]

Wow 8 teaspoons of salt per pound of Salmon and cured for 12 hrs then cooked for 2 hrs at 150 F; it must had been saltier than a cow salt lick and overcooked like charcoal !

[@jackaltv]

I know what you mean. I usually go with 2 cups of brown sugar and 1/8 cup of salt. You can put other non-salty things like garlic & onion powder.

[@snipper1ie]

Salmon doesn't need anything except a wee bit of salt

[@joepasquarello1273]

Kamado Joe warranty is useless. Customer service is even worse. Try to get something replaced. Will never happen. Their reps are trained to do everything they can to deny claims.

[@BlueStar1124]

way too much sugar dude