Steelhead.. from the Columbia River To the smoker

One of my favorite late winter/early spring things to eat is steelhead, fresh and smoked.

Theres's something about them that I just love, being in between trout and salmon.

Anyway, without further ado.. here's the star of our show.

This is about a 4lb steelhead, fresh from the Columbia River, cleaned and ready to go.

Here is the cure.. Salt boxing it again, with rough measurements

1 cup Kosher Salt

1 cup Brown Sugar

1TBSP black pepper

1TBSP Garlilc

1TBSP Red Pepper Flakes

1TSP Cayenne

1/2 tsp pink salt.

Coat the fish completely and cover with plastic wrap, placing in the fridge for 3-5 days.  Go shorter with this rather than longer in the cure to avoid over saltiness and drying out when you smoke .

This is what things should look like after coating ( more or less )


















This next pic is showing the filets after 2 days in the cure.   Look at that beautiful color.

I'll most likely pull them out at the end of day three and then place in the fridge for a full day to develop a pellicle, then smoke for 4-6 hours.