I'm not really going to give up anything for lent because I'm not really into being catholic, but for those more observant citizens I'll whip up a couple of posts without my favorite protein.  Today's challenge is smoked salmon. For my birthday I smoked a whole salmon, some speckled trout, and a couple dozen chicken wings. My birthday also happened to be on Superbowl Sunday which helps when throwing a party. You'll need to plan ahead as the salmon will need to soak in brine for 12-24 hours before you smoke it. A word about brine, I've seen ever ratio of salt to sugar, and, when hot smoking, what this boils down to is really a matter of taste. I've had great success using a ratio of 1 part kosher salt, 1 part white sugar, 1 part brown sugar with a healthy splash of soy sauce just for kicks.

Continue reading I <3 pork, but it’s lent, so let’s get salmony →