Weekly Fish #2: Smoked Salmon

Our second installment of Weekly Fish highlights the new smoker that Jess found at the thrift store for a steal. We previously tried some smoked mushrooms and deemed it a success, so naturally we wanted to take it to the next level. Salmon came to mind as a fish that could handle the heat, and so it was to be.



The smoking process begins with heating up some soaked wood chips for a while, then throwing the fish on a rack above the wood chips, and sealing the whole thing for a while. The smoker was quite effective at infusing the fish with a strong smoke flavor, and the house with an equally strong smoke aroma. That's the price of a stove-top smoker: the sensation you've just stepped away from a campfire.

I followed the directions included in the smoker, but found that the fish was undercooked. I ended up finishing the salmon in a grill pan, which didn't seem to take away from the smokiness at all. And I do think the salmon could have stood a little less ... smoke.



Not too shabby, though. You see it plated here with a bit of quinoa, wild rice, dried fruit, pecans, and kale.

I think the next thing we ought to smokeshould be a bit heartier than salmon (itself quite a hearty fish). Ribs anyone? Oh yes.

Udon with Smoked Mushrooms - April 21, 2011

Some of you Dinner Clubbers might be aware that I am a voracious thrifter. I love hitting up the local thrift stores looking for all manner of things, but dare I say my favorite things to thrift are kitchen items. Last week I scored a brand new, still-in-the-box, never-been-used stove top smoker...for $10. Yeah, I was excited. To test it out I decided to try my hand at smoked mushrooms. I found a little 'how-to' posted here and got to work. The smoking definitely gave the mushrooms a lot of flavor. I'm not sure it was exactly the flavor I expected, but expertise will come with experimentation. This was a good start. I decided to highlight the mushrooms in an udon noodle dish complete with pan roasted broccoli, poached egg, and a little hoisin sauce. Everything was very flavorful. Nick and I are both excited to play with the smoker in the weeks ahead. Nick especially is looking forward to trying his hand at fish. Speaking of, we are starting a new routine at our house involving a once per week 'fish night' planned and cooked (and blogged about) entirely by Nick. It's going to be a lot of fun, so keep your eyes peeled for some fun fish posts courtesy of Nick!