Smoked Sockeye Salmon with Arugula, Spinach, and Walnut Pesto
Wild Smoked Sockeye Salmon, topped with a buttery Arugula, Spinach, and Walnut Pesto and cooked perfectly in the smoker. This healthy dinner, with incredibly delicious flavor, is perfect for summer, family, and friends.
I got a new toy! We are the proud new parents of an honest-to-God real smoker and so far it has been one of the best things everrr …after my triathlon bike. …Well after. …But still…
SO! I am excited. Because the food we are making using this sexy beast is some of the crazy tastiest food I have ever made. BUT, nothing I am making is out of reach if you do not have a dedicated smoker – I published before Smoked Orange Basil Salmon and Beer in the Rear Smoked Chicken and I did both on my regular grill. …so do not run away if you do not have a smoker. Even if you just have wood chips and aluminum foil (to make a pouch), you can smoke on a grill. Just google it. 🙂
{and guess what …even if you don’t have a grill or smoker, you can just bake this salmon and still have a fabulous meal.}
So of my new successes of smoky smokes, I am first giving you this salmon using a pesto that is bright and beautiful and delicious and healthy. And awesome. This pesto recipe is from my Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Arugula, Spinach, and Walnut Pesto, and I did not add near as much olive oil as would normally be used in a pesto (I never do) because I wanted to keep it lighter and tighter. This pesto is thicker then and, of course, perfect for spreading on shtuff. Like Sockeye. Sockeye is an outstanding salmon if you have not tried it. It has a really nice full flavor that stands up so well to grilling or smoking. I used it here because it is in season (and on sale), but use whatever salmon is available to you.
This Smoked Sockeye Salmon recipe is so summer. And SO tasty – seriously. So far, I have smoked using cherry, apple, and mesquite chips, and I am learning how to pair the wood with meats depending on the flavor I want. For this salmon, I used mesquite because, even with the shorter cooking time for fish, mesquite is stronggg and in-yo-face with the smokiness and very able to impart a lot of smoke flavor in a shorter period of time.
So here it is kids. My first big girl smoker recipe. Health and oh-my-Lord delicious. Serve fresh and warm with a side or two for dinner, or at room temperature as part of a spread for entertaining. I really really hope you will give it a go. Even if you do not have a smoker. Even if you do not have a grill. The nutty, creamy pesto on this fish {yummmmm} comes together to an incredible tastiness. Just perfect.
For the ultimate in Big Green Egg or smoker cooking, see my Smoked Over-The-Top Chili recipe.
Smoked Sockeye Salmon with Arugula, Spinach, and Walnut Pesto
Equipment
- smoker
Ingredients
- 2 lb sockeye salmon with the skin
- kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- Arugula, Spinach, and Walnut Pesto
Instructions
- Prepare smoker to ~235F according to manufacturer's instructions. I used mesquite chips to smoke.
- Lay the fish on a fish mat, skin side down. Schmear the pesto over top. I used roughly half the recipe of pesto for this dish.
- Put the fish in the smoker. Use the internal temperature probe in the thickest part of the salmon. Cooking times will vary depending on how often you open the door to the smoker or how fast the wood burns, but cook to 145F internal temperature. For me, this was about 30 minutes.
- Remove from the smoker and serve immediately. Yields: 4-6 servings.
Nutrition
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