Teriyaki Smoked Salmon is a hot smoked salmon recipe that is brined and then smoked on our Traeger wood-pellet grill. A super flavorful teriyaki sauce is painted on several times during the smoke to infuse the whole piece of meat with delicious Asian-inspired flavors.
Teriyaki Smoked Salmon
Smoking salmon is one of my favorite ways to prepare the bounty of fish we have available living in the Pacific Northwest. It’s a great way to preserve and freeze your fillets. Smoked Salmon is wonderful to have available for a quick and delicious appetizer. It also makes an amazing afternoon snack.
I have several Salmon recipes here on my site that uses different spices and flavors. This Teriyaki Smoked Salmon is a wonderful addition to your recipe collection.
Check out all of my Traeger Recipes!
What is Teriyaki?
Teriyaki is a Japanese cooking technique in which foods are broiled, grilled, or smoked with a glaze teriyaki sauce incorporated into the mix, usually during the cooking process.
Teriyaki sauce typically consists of four main ingredients:
- Soy sauce
- Sake (Japanese Rice Wine) or Mirin
- sugar
- ginger
In a broader sense, “Teriyaki” in the Pacific Northwest can also refer to a type of restaurant of a kind of food.
“Let’s go out for teriyaki!” can mean you are eating a grilled piece of chicken with teriyaki sauce alongside some white rice and a green salad, or any number or more traditional Chinese dishes that they seem to serve at these types of restaurants like Orange Chicken, General Tso’s Chicken, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Mongolian Beef, or just a big bowl of stir-fry.
For this recipe, I’d recommend just buying a high-quality teriyaki sauce.
What other recipes can I use teriyaki sauce on?
I am a big fan of teriyaki sauce, so we have tons of recipes here that feature it. Make sure and check out these!
- Teriyaki Smoked Shrimp
- Pork Tenderloin Teriyaki
- Grilled Teriyaki Pineapple Pork Tenderloin Sliders
- Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl
- Spicy Grilled Chicken Teriyaki
What kind of salmon should I use for smoked salmon?
I have a full detailing of the different types of salmon over on my Togarashi Smoked Salmon post. I included a bunch of information there about the different kinds of salmon and what they are most commonly used for.
Plus, as long as you’re considering smoking salmon, why not try a few different flavors at the same time? If you serve a platter, your guests will enjoy the variety!
The cliff notes are King Salmon or Silver (Coho) Salmon are our favorites.
What else can I make with Salmon?
- Togarashi Smoked Salmon
- Smoked Salmon Chowder
- Lemon Pepper Smoked Salmon
- Smoked Salmon Dip
- Easy Salmon Orzo Pasta Salad
- Lemon Pepper Traeger Grilled Salmon
- Traeger Smoked Salmon
- Traeger Grilled Lemon Dill Salmon
- Traeger Grilled Salmon with Togarashi
Salmon can be used as an entree, an appetizer, a snack, or a great luncheon option. You can even get really creative and include it in your breakfast or brunch recipes!
With camping and picnics around the corner, Smoked salmon or fresh salmon cooked in foil pouches would be a great change if you want to incorporate a little nutrition into your outings this spring and summer.
So, impress your guests with a beautiful seafood dinner, or serve them a wonderful appetizer platter with a variety of smoked salmon flavors. Any way you decide to serve this salmon, you can rest assured it will be enjoyed and appreciated!
Reader Reviews!
Made this with our leftover prime rib bones & meat. Best beef barley soup I have ever had/ made!! The flavor is wonderful and it comes together quickly if you have the bone broth made ahead of time. I will be making this again and again! Love, love love!
– Sheri G
Love this recipe. Salmon turned out amazing and tasted great!
~ The Betz Adventures
Teriyaki Smoked Salmon
This tender hot smoked salmon is coated in teriyaki sauce and smoked on the Traeger wood-pellet grill!
Ingredients
- 2 large salmon filets
- teriyaki sauce
BRINE
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup kosher salt
Instructions
- Make sure if you are using frozen fish that it is completely thawed before brining. Remove pin bones with tweezers.
- Combine brine ingredients until the sugar is dissolved, and place into a large ziplock baggie or large covered container. Place your cleaned, thawed salmon into the brine, and refrigerate for 16 hours.
- Remove the salmon from the liquid, rinse, and pat dry with paper towels. Let sit out in a rack in the fridge, uncovered, for 2 hours for the pellicle to form. DO NOT SKIP THAT STEP.
- Turn your smoker to smoke to get the fire started, and place the salmon on a cooking rack that's been sprayed liberally with cooking spray.
- Place the rack on the smoker, and close the lid.
- Smoke for 4 hours, and don't let them smoker get above 180° or fall under 130°. Every 30 minutes, gently brush on a bit of teriyaki sauce.
- Remove from the grill and serve warm with crackers, or let it cool to room temp and then wrap tightly and keep in the fridge for up to a week. You can also vacuum seal and freeze.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 137Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 24mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 0gSugar: 15gProtein: 8g
Nutrition data provided here is only an estimate. If you are tracking these things for medical purposes please consult an outside, trusted source. Thanks!
Thaly
Sunday 11th of August 2024
What if you don't own a "Traeger wood pellet grill"? Another method for smoking food without wood grill? (they are forbidden on my terrace). Thanks.
Nicole Johnson
Sunday 11th of August 2024
You can't really smoke without a smoker, especially not something like this that requires quite a long smoke time. You could maybe look into one of the Ninja Electric Smokers? Maybe that would be allowed? https://amzn.to/4diX3E2
Andrew
Wednesday 31st of May 2023
What flavor pellets do you recommend?
Nicole Johnson
Wednesday 31st of May 2023
Whatever is in your hopper. ;) I'm a big believer in just using whatever is handy. It doesn't make a big enough difference, in my experience, to really have a preference. We usually buy cherry, apple, or maple - or the Gourmet blend that's available from Costco, if we're using Traeger pellets.
Jim DiPlacito
Tuesday 29th of June 2021
I noticed with the teriyaki recipe you brine for 16 hours and let it rest at normal temperature. With the maple recipe you brine for 12 hours then let it rest in the refrigerator. Why the difference?
Nicole Johnson
Tuesday 29th of June 2021
We've done some experimenting along the way, in our smoked all the salmon journey. I post what we make, and sometimes that means some variations and iterations on the same base recipe. This was just one of those times. It turned out great, so we shared the method we used to make it. Whether you rest your fish on the counter or in the fridge is really just personal preference and comfort levels. Food safety experts will definitely tell you to do it in the fridge. We usually do too, unless the conditions are pretty ideal in the house (cool-ish, with a breeze). In this recipe, we let it air dry in the fridge as well. I've been through too many food safety classes to play it fast and loose on that front.
Ben
Thursday 26th of September 2019
Is this a website or a video game? Killing popups every few seconds.
Nicole Johnson
Thursday 26th of September 2019
Weird! There shouldn't be more than one email capture. If you want to send me a screenshot I'd be happy to take a peek! Sorry about that! orwhateveryoudo @ gmail . com
25 Amazing Salmon Recipes and How to Cook Salmon
Sunday 9th of June 2019
[…] Teriyaki Smoked Salmon – Or Whatever You Do […]