[KNIFE CLICK]
[RATTLING]
TUFFY STONE: I always want the meat
to be the star of the show, and then I
want the rub and the sauce and the smoke to be a backdrop.
[CHILL MUSIC]
Hey, I'm Tuffy Stone, pit master, chef,
collector of kettles.
I'm going to teach you how to treat smoke
like salt and pepper, starting with one
of my favorite smoked salmon recipes.
Really simple rub, dill rub.
It's going to go on our salmon.
We're starting off with 1/4 cup of kosher salt.
I've got 1/4 cup of pink peppercorns, ground.
I've got 1 teaspoon of juniper berries, again, freshly ground,
and some lemon peel.
And then I've got 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of dill seed.
And we're just going to combine these.
I'll just store this in a tightly-covered container
until we're ready to use it.
[CHILL MUSIC]
So this is super simple.
There are six ingredients.
We're starting off with 3/4 of a cup of Greek yogurt.
Then we're going to add some fresh, minced cucumber.
And now, I'm just going to add some freshly-chopped cilantro.
And we're going to come in with some simple syrup.
The sweetness is just going to balance out
a little bit of the acid from the lemon juice in there.
And then we've got about the juice of one lemon in here.
And then I've got some granulated garlic.
And we're just going to combine these, mix them well.
We're going to let the salmon be the star.
Give it a kiss of smoke, hit it with the rub, hit it
with the sauce, and make your friends and your family happy.
[CHILL MUSIC]
All right.
So with the holidays coming up, smoked salmon's a classic.
It's-- a lot of times, you'll see cold-smoked salmon.
This case, it's going to be hot-smoked salmon.
Salmon's a great choice for fish when it comes to smoking.
It's got a lot of fat content in there.
It'll work on the grill, the smoker, really well.
I've left the skin on.
There's no scales.
It's easier to cut the salmon while it's uncooked,
about 6 to 8 ounces.
And I'm just coming right down the center of the salmon,
but I'm going to cut nice little dinner-sized portions.
I have a really sharp knife, so it's going through that skin
really well.
The dill rub that we made is just
going to complement the smoked salmon so well.
And I'm just going to get all the edges.
So I'm going to come in, and we want
to let this seasoning sit on the salmon for maybe 30 minutes.
This is something that, sometimes, you
might want to get done before your guests arrive.
So if you are entertaining for the holidays,
friends come over, light the grill,
pour them a glass of your favorite beverage,
and then put them on the grill.
[CHILL MUSIC]
All right, it's time to smoke our salmon.
Got a few chunks of apple wood in there.
We're just going to put these right on the cooker.
There's no water in the pan.
Again, salmon is just a perfect fish for smoking and grilling.
The smoker is going about 300 degrees.
It should take about 20 minutes until they're done.
[CHILL MUSIC]
All right, it's time to check and see if our salmon's cooked.
Let's take a look.
It's looking good to me.
There's going to be a little bit of what I call
carryover cooking, not a lot.
For me, what's really important is
to not overcook your seafood.
All right, look, it's got pretty color.
You can see some of that fat rendered out.
I think that smells and looks delicious.
I know it's a little bit unfair.
You can't smell it, you can't taste it.
But I'm here to tell you, it smells great.
We're getting ready to serve it up.
I think it's going to taste delicious.
Follow the recipe.
It'll be great.
Have fun, get outside, and cook.