Smoked Salmon Brining Tips

Adhering to these brining tips will help you to consistently create high quality smoked salmon.

Keep your utensils clean and watch out for cross contamination. Anything that's touched raw food cannot be used to handle or hold cooked food, unless that utensil or plate is washed.

Salmon Brining Tips For Great Smoked Salmon

• Don't cross contaminate
• Don't reuse brine
• Don't decrease the amount of salt in the brine
• Do use pickling salt or kosher salt
• Do keep the brine cold
• Adjust brining time or rinse time to adjust salt taste
• Change the amount of sugar to adjust sweetness

See the Food Safety page for food safety information that will provide you with all the knowledge you'll need to safely handle and prepare food.

Use Salmon Brine Once, and Only Once!

Get rid of that brine after it's been used...don't use it a second time. During the brining process, liquid and broken-down proteins are pulled from the flesh as salt, sugar, and flavors enter. What remains has an unknown concentration of salt and sugar, and contains liquid and proteins removed from the salmon...not a very palatable mix. Using fresh brine for each batch insures that you'll end up with high quality smoked salmon from batch to batch.

Brine Saturation Level Is Critical

Three cups of a salt and sugar mixture per gallon of water creates a solution of about 80% saturation. A solution of between 70% and 80% saturation is required to brine salmon properly. This concentration will both cure and dehydrate the salmon to prepare it for smoking.

Choosing The Best Salt For The Smoked Salmon Brine

Table salt can be iodized or non-iodized. Table salt also contains anti-clumping ingredients that keep it loose and free flowing, but can also impart undesirable flavor to the food. Never use iodized salt. It can add a metallic taste.

Pickling salt is finer than table salt, is non-iodized, and is ideal for brining. It doesn't contain anti-clumping agents, either. Kosher salt is non-iodized, and since it weighs less than table or pickling salt, it will take a greater volume.

Table salt weighs 10 ounces per cup, while Kosher weighs anywhere from 5 to 8 ounces per cup, depending on the brand. To convert, multiply the number of cups of salt called for in your recipe by ten, and weigh out that many ounces of Kosher salt.

Rock salt and ice cream salt are not pure...they contain various minerals that can affect the taste of your salmon, so they should not be used. Take a look at All About Salt for more interesting information.

Chill The Brining Salmon To a Safe Temperature

Keeping the brining salmon cold is one of the most important brining tips. Don't take a chance on allowing bacterial growth. Brining fish and meat must be kept at between 35 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

If there's room in the fridge, great. If not, use a cooler. Bag the brining salmon in good, leak proof freezer bags and put them in a large pan or bowl in the fridge. Or put the bagged, brining salmon into a cooler, along with some ice.

Adjusting Salt and Sweet Taste Perception Of Your Smoked Salmon

To adjust the saltiness of your salmon, decrease or increase the brining time. A longer brining tips the balance toward a saltier taste. Rinsing longer will pull salt out of the salmon.

Keep records of how long you brine and rinse and use the information to make adjustments with your next batch. To increase or decrease the sweetness of the salmon, change the amount of sugar you add to the brine.


With these tips you'll be able to produce great smoked salmon safely. For more information about brine and brining, the Salmon Brine page should be of interest.