Black’s BBQ Recipe: How to Make Smoked Salmon at Home

Most people think of brisket and ribs when they think of Texas BBQ. But the pit at Black's BBQ in New Braunfels, Texas handles a lot more than beef. Brandon Anderson, General Manager at the Original Black's BBQ New Braunfels, put wild-caught Atlantic salmon on our thousand-gallon offset and finished it with a bourbon barrel-aged maple glaze. The result, in his own words, is Brandon’s favorite way to eat salmon. Here is how to make it at home.

Do Not Be Afraid to Smoke Fish

Fish intimidates a lot of backyard cooks. It should not. As Brandon puts it, "Don't be afraid to smoke fish. It's super easy. One of the easiest things that you can do on the pit." The cook is short, the seasoning is simple, and the payoff is significant. The one thing that matters is attention. Fish is delicate and moves fast on a hot smoker. Pay attention, and it comes together quickly.

Why Cedar Planks

Before anything goes on the smoker, the cedar planks need to soak in water for at least two hours. This is a required step, and not optional. A properly soaked cedar plank does two things during the cook: it releases moisture steadily throughout, helping keep the fish from drying out, and it gives the salmon a stable surface to sit on so the skin never touches the grates. Anyone who has tried to pull fish off a hot grill without a plank knows what happens to the skin. Cedar planks solve that problem entirely. They also make rotating mid-cook simple and clean without risking the fish tearing apart.

Food-grade cedar planks are widely available at most grocery stores.

What You Need

For the salmon:

• 1 side of wild-caught Atlantic salmon, cut into two fillets
• 2 cedar planks, soaked in water for at least 2 hours
• Salt, to taste
• Granulated garlic, to taste
• Coarse black pepper, to taste

For the bourbon maple jalapeño glaze:

• 1 cup bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup
• 2 oz Texas bourbon
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 jalapeño, minced
• Butter, as needed

Seasoning the Salmon

Season the salmon with a light, even coating of salt, granulated garlic, and coarse black pepper. Brandon seasons from up high rather than close to the fish: "If you season down, you're going to end up piling all of your seasoning in one particular location. The higher up you season, the more of an even spread you get." Keep the seasoning light. The glaze is doing significant flavor work, and you do not want the seasoning to overpower the fish.

Place each fillet, skin-side down, on a soaked cedar plank and set aside until the smoker is ready.

Making the Bourbon Maple Jalapeño Glaze

Make the glaze while the salmon is on the smoker so it is ready for the final stretch of the cook.

• Melt butter in a pan over medium heat
• Add minced shallots and jalapeño and stir frequently, allowing them to soften and begin to brown at the edges
• Cut the heat completely before adding the bourbon

This step matters. Adding bourbon to a hot pan with the heat still on will cause it to flambé immediately and without warning. Cut the heat first, add the bourbon, then turn the heat back on.

• Once the bourbon is in, return the heat to high and allow it to flambé
• Once the flame dies down, cut the heat again and add the maple syrup
• Return to medium heat and reduce by half, stirring occasionally, until the glaze thickens enough that dragging a spoon across the bottom of the pan leaves a brief trail before the liquid rushes back in
• Remove from heat and keep warm until ready to use

Brandon uses bourbon-barrel-aged maple syrup here, which adds bourbon notes that reinforce the glaze without making it overpowering. A standard high-quality maple syrup works well, too.

On the Smoker

• Preheat your smoker to 250°F
• Place the cedar planks with the salmon directly on the grates
• Smoke for approximately 30 minutes, then check the color and internal temperature
• Rotate the planks if one side is coloring faster than the other
• At the 45 to 50 minute mark, or when the internal temperature reaches 137°F, apply the glaze evenly across the entire surface of the salmon using a silicone brush
• Open the smoke stack fully to increase airflow for the final stretch
• Pull the salmon when the internal temperature hits 145°F, approximately 50 minutes total at 250°F

You are not looking for heavy bark or significant browning on smoked salmon. The goal is a gentle cook that keeps the fish moist, a glaze that adheres and caramelizes slightly, and an internal temperature of 145°F all the way through.

A Few Things to Know

• Soak the cedar planks for at least two hours. Less than that, and they will not have absorbed enough moisture to do their job.
• Season lightly. The glaze carries the flavor. Over-seasoning will fight it.
• Cut the heat before adding bourbon to the pan. Every time.
• The cedar plank can double as your serving board. Pull it straight from the smoker to a tray and serve directly off the plank.
• Live fire temperatures fluctuate. Adding fresh wood will briefly spike the temperature. That is normal and not a problem for a short cook like this.

Smoked salmon is a fast, approachable cook that works on any offset smoker. At Black's BBQ in New Braunfels, it came off our pit in under an hour with a beautiful glaze and shallots and jalapeños caramelized exactly right. 

Craving Central Texas BBQ? Come on by. Visit any of our four locations in New Braunfels, Lockhart, Austin, and San Marcos.