Seafood
Cold-Smoked Salmon Technique (Electric)
Cold smoking is a 3000-year-old technique rediscovered by modern home cooks. The process is simple: cure the fish with salt and sugar, form a pellicle, then expose to wood smoke at temperatures under 80F for 4+ hours. The result is silky, richly flavored salmon that slices paper-thin and outshines any store-bought lox. The Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect XL works for this technique because its generous interior space fits a full salmon side and a cold-smoke tube simultaneously. Critically, you do NOT turn the grill itself on during cold smoking. Only the separate pellet smoke tube is lit. The grill body is just a smoke chamber. This is a weekend technique, 24 hours of cure and rest, then 4 hours of cold smoke, but it produces something that cannot be bought at any price point.
Ingredients
- 2 lb side of salmon, skin on, pin bones removed
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp dill, dried
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Alder or apple wood pellets for a cold-smoke tube
Instructions
- 01
Cure: mix salt, sugar, pepper, dill, and lemon zest. Line a pan with plastic wrap, put half the cure down, place the salmon on top skin-side down, cover with the rest of the cure. Refrigerate 12 hours.
- 02
Rinse the cure off and pat completely dry.
- 03
Rest the salmon uncovered on a rack in the fridge for 12 more hours to form a pellicle (a slightly tacky surface that smoke adheres to).
- 04
Set up the grill for cold smoking: load the pellet smoke tube (NOT the grill's own smoker) and light only the tube. Do NOT turn the grill on. You want ambient temp under 80F so the salmon cures further without actually cooking.
- 05
Place the salmon on the grate. Smoke for 4 hours, refilling the tube if needed.
- 06
Remove and refrigerate 4+ hours before slicing paper-thin against the grain.
Pro Tips
From our kitchen
- ★Cold smoking requires ambient temp below 80F. Run this at night, in winter, or in an air-conditioned garage. The grill itself stays OFF, only the smoke tube is lit.
- ★The pellicle is non-negotiable. Without it, smoke cannot adhere to the salmon surface and the flavor does not develop.
- ★A dedicated 12-inch pellet smoke tube ($15 on Amazon) produces 4-6 hours of cold smoke from about 1 cup of pellets.
- ★Cold-smoked salmon is cured but not cooked. It must be eaten within 5 days and kept refrigerated below 38F.
We recommend for this recipe
Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect XL OG951
The Ninja Woodfire Pro Connect XL OG951's 406 sq in surface and bluetooth app connectivity and 2 built-in thermometers make it our pick for this recipe. the woodfire smoke infusion delivers the deep flavor this recipe needs.
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