Ingredients
Salmon Fillets
Fresh Dill
Fresh Lemons
Kosher Salt
Olive Oil
Preparation
About one hour to an hour and a half before dinner, prepare the brine:
1/4 cup Kosher Salt
1 Quart Water
5 Tbsp Olive Oil
The key thing is maintaining these ratios. Ratio up as needed to be able to cover the salmon fillets. Stir to make sure the salt is dissolved before adding the salmon. Once the salmon is in, add ice on top to make sure it stays chilled.
Now, set up the Sous Vide and set it for 145F. Regardless of how long the Sous Vide takes to come up to speed, make sure the fish has been in the brine for half an hour. We brine the fish to prevent it from leaching out unsightly albumen (icky white stuff) during the cooking.
Once we’ve brined long enough, rinse the salmon fillets in cold water, pat dry, and transfer them fillets to individual zip lock bags. Put 1 tbsp of olive oil in each bag.
Put the bags into the Sous Vide water, displacing as much air as possible and zip shit.
Set your timer. The Salmon will be in the Sous Vide for 15 minutes. Remove and transfer them to a plate.
Optional: If you like, you can sear the salmon until the skin is crispy and golden brown. Do that in a hot non-stick pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil. I generally skip that step.
Now on to the smoking part.
I use a PolyScience 4933 Smoke Infuser (just $119 from Amazon), which is a fantastic little gadget. Put the fish together on a plate and cover with a bell jar. I got a Handy Smoker 2 from Amazon for $27 when I bought the Smoke Infuser. This device just keeps the smoke on the food long enough to develop some flavor. In this case, I keep the fish there for 5 minutes under smoke.
Once done, plate the fish, sprinkle with fresh dill and couple of lemon slices, and serve.