I love this brown sugar lemon garlic smoked salmon recipe! It is soooo good! If you have a smoker, you really need to try it!
Besides sushi I don’t love fish. What can I say? Cooked fish just isn’t my favorite. The exception would be smoked fish. Meat cooked in a smoker, if done right, is just crave-worthy to me. This Brown Sugar Lemon Garlic Smoked Salmon is no exception. It is amazingly good!
This recipe has a perfect balance of spices. The sweet, smoked, and tart flavors balance out beautifully while the salmon smokes.
Supply List for this Brown Sugar Lemon Garlic Smoked Salmon
A smoker
smoker pellets (cedar is usually a good flavor to use)
Ingredients for this Brown Sugar Lemon-Garlic Smoked Salmon
1 large filet of salmon
Salt sprinkled all over filet
Pepper sprinkled all over filet
3 Tablespoons minced garlic
1 Lemon, juiced
1/2 C Butter cut into 10th’s
1 C Brown Sugar
Optional: 1 Lemon for lemon wedges (served with),
Optional: 1 Tablespoon parsley minced for presentation
Directions on how to make Brown Sugar Lemon-Garlic Smoked Salmon
- Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place filet skin side down.
- Spread minced garlic all over salmon evenly.
3. Sprinkle the salmon with salt
4. Sprinkle filet with 1 C brown sugar
5. Top with butter cut in pats/small slices evenly spaced out on the filet (about 10 pats)
6. Sprinkle with pepper
7. Squeeze juice from 1 lemon over the entire filet.
8. Start smoker on smoke, allowing pellets to ignite. Switch to Medium and heat for at least 15 minutes.
9. If you are using a thermometer you’ll want it smoke at about 225°F.
10. Smoke the salmon on the cookie sheet covered in tinfoil for 35-45 minutes.
11. After 35 minutes, check to see if the albumin (the white stuff) has started oozing out. If it has, remove it. If not, check every 5 minutes until you see it. When you do, it is done.
12. Let the smoked salmon rest for 5 minutes before serving.
13. If presenting it for guests, or to make it a little prettier, add lemon wedges and sprinkle with parsley

Brown Sugar Lemon-Garlic Smoked Salmon
This recipe has a perfect balance of spices. The sweet, smoked, and tart flavors balance out beautifully while the salmon smokes.
Ingredients
- 1 large filet of salmon
- Salt sprinkled all over filet
- Pepper sprinkled all over filet
- 3 Tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 Lemon, juiced
- 1/2 C Butter cut into 10th's
- 1 C Brown Sugar
- Optional: 1 Lemon for lemon wedges (served with),
- Optional: 1 Tablespoon parsley minced for presentation
Instructions
- Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place filet skin side down.
- Spread minced garlic all over salmon evenly.
- Sprinkle the salmon with salt,
- Sprinkle C brown sugar over filet evenly
- Top with 1/2 C butter in pats/small slices evenly spaced on salmon
- Sprinkle filet with pepper
- Squeeze the juice from one lemon evenly over the entire filet
- Start smoker on smoke, allowing pellets to ignite. Switch to Medium and heat for at least 15 minutes.
- If you are using a thermometer you'll want it smoke at about 225°F.
- Smoke the salmon on the cookie sheet covered in tinfoil for 35-45 minutes.
- After 35 minutes, check to see if the albumin (the white stuff) has started oozing out. If it has, remove it. If not, check every 5 minutes until you see it. When you do, it is done.
- Let the smoked salmon rest for 5 minutes before serving.
- If presenting it for guests, to make it a little prettier add lemon wedges and sprinkle with minced parsley
This Brown Sugar Lemon-Garlic Smoked Salmon recipe is very tasty. If you are lucky enough to try it, let me know how you like it!
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Looks so good!
Thank you, it really is!!
It was great!
So glad it turned out for you!!
This was a GREAT recipe! Thanks for sharing !
You’re welcome!
I had a beautiful piece of salmon and i wanted to try it on the smoker.. This recipe was easy, and I had everything I needed. It came out wonderful. I will definitely do it again.