Smoked Candied Salmon

This is a great recipe I stumbled across years ago. I haven’t been able to find it again, so I’m not sure who to give credit to. This became a favorite of most of my kids, which says quite a bit for a fish recipe. Usually you’ll want to use a mild smoking wood like alder or a fruit wood. That said, I’ve even used hickory and really liked the results. Here it is as I make it:

You’ll need one 2.5 to 3# salmon filet

Marinade 
1c Brown sugar, packed
1c Water
3/4c Soy sauce
2 Garlic cloves — minced or finely chopped 
1t Ginger — fresh, chopped

Process 

1. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a non-reactive pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
2. Cut the fillet into half pound sized pieces. Put the salmon in a non-reactive container (plastic, glass, zip-lock bag) and add the cooled marinade. Let the salmon marinate for 48 hours in the fridge.
3. When you are ready to cook, bring your smoker up to temp…if your smoker can do it, shoot for 180F, otherwise go with 220-230F.
4. Add a generous amount of fresh ground black pepper to the salmon.
5. Place the salmon – skin down – on a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil in your smoker.
6. Cook until the salmon reaches 125F degrees in its thickest spot or until the edges are brown and the inside is opaque. I actually cook mine a little longer and render out more oil/fat. I basically cook it until the whole filet flakes easily with a fork … which I’m sure would really upset some true salmon connoisseurs, but that’s the way I like it. If your smoker can do 180F, feel free to increase the temps up to 220-230F after a bit.

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Best BBQ Beans

I started writing this post ages ago and just realized I’d never published it. It looks like the Purple Smoke site isn’t up any longer, but this is still a great BBQ bean recipe.

I've been making these beans for years and they're pretty tasty. My wife proudly declares that she hated BBQ beans until she tried mine. That said, I can't take credit for this recipe because it's based on the World's Best BBQ Beans recipe from the Purple Smoke competition BBQ team. I stumbled across Purple Smoke's website years ago and saved their recipe for BBQ beans and their World's Best BBQ Sauce.  I've made a few changes to the BBQ beans recipe over the years, so it's deviated a bit from the original.  The last time I tried to find the Purple Smoke website, it appeared they let their domain registration expire, so it may be difficult to find the original and it's also the reason I figured I should document my version here. 

One note, with all the bacon fat, this probably isn't the healthiest dish around, so I wouldn't recommend eating it on a daily basis but it's good for special occasions. Here's the recipe as I've been making it:

2 - 16oz cans Red Kidney Beans, drained
2 - 16oz cans Butter Beans, drained
2 - 16oz cans Pork 'n' Beans, do not drain
1# Bacon cut crosswise into 1/4" strips
2 - Large Yellow Onions, diced
2 - Jalapeños, seeds and stems removed, diced
1c Ketchup
1c Your favorite BBQ Sauce
3oz Apple cider vinegar

2t Kosher salt 

3/4c Dark brown sugar, packed

4t Dry mustard 

Optional - If you have any leftover smoked meat, chop it and add up to a pound.

Process

Use a cast iron Dutch Oven or similar pot and cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy and the fat has been rendered.
Remove bacon and set aside on a paper towel reserving the drippings. 

Add chopped onion to the pot with the drippings and cook until translucent, about 5 mins.
Reduce heat to low and add chopped jalapeño.
Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
Bake at 300F in your oven, grill, smoker, it crock pot until it bubbles, about 1 hour.

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Blue Hawaiian

Blue Hawaiian 

Serves 6

This was a favorite around our house back during Covid days when we’d do a Tiki Night after work on the occasional Friday. It’s based on the Trader Vic recipe and I thought it was a pretty good candidate for the Slushi. This is a sweeter cocktail, but I don’t think it’s overly sweet. Flavor-wise it’s very similar to a Pina Colada but with a striking blue color due to the Blue Curaçao. Use a good one like Drillaud or Giffard. For the rum, I like to use Hamilton 87, Plantation Silver, or Stades White.

9oz White/Silver Rum

3oz Blue Curacao

6oz Coco Lopez

18oz Pineapple Juice

1.5oz Lemon Juice

26.5oz Water

Add all ingredients to Slushi and set to Spiked setting. Alternatively, you can pre-mix and chill in the fridge. I wouldn’t recommend doing this more than 24 hours in advance as the quality can degrade. Pre-chilling will reduce the time required to freeze the drink. Once it reaches the desired consistency, serve an enjoy.

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