Smoked Salmon

Why Wild Caught

Over 60% of the fish eaten in the United States is farm-raised, so when you are at a restaurant do you really know if it is Wild Caught? And why should you care? Well…here are some scary facts!

1. MERCURY AND TOXINS: Farmed Salmon have 7 times the levels of PCB’s as wild salmon:  Wild salmon, for the most part, feed on krill, giving them their rich red color. Krill are mostly toxin-free (which is why I recommend Krill oil for an Omega 3 supplement). On the flip side, farm raised are fed pellets containing high concentrations of fish, which increases toxins and mercury in the salmon.
2. SEA LICE: Farmed Salmon has 30 times the number of sea lice. Blood-sucking sea lice often attach themselves to adult salmon, but the little parasites aren’t a big deal on larger fish. Also, sea lice can’t live in fresh water, so they die off when the salmon go upstream to spawn. By the time the young salmon make it to the ocean, they are large enough to handle the occasional sea lice. But, when salmon farms are located near salmon migration routes, the large numbers of adult fish swimming close together mean that sea lice start to cause problems and infestations start to happen. The young salmon can’t handle large numbers of lice so they never make it to adulthood. You would think this would put an end to the farmed salmon, but nope, they found a way around this problem… give them antibiotics!
3. ANTIBIOTICS: Farmed Salmon are given antibiotics at higher levels than any other livestock have less omega 3’s due to lack of wild diet are crowded into small areas inhibiting movement, and causing disease. To combat lice and other diseases, the man-raised fish are given antibiotics. The number of antibiotics given is in higher concentrations than any other ‘livestock’. Those antibiotics are passed on to the consumer, making us more antibiotic resistant.
4. FOOD DYE: Remember, I mentioned that the most common food we eat isn’t even a food… it is food dye? Well, this is also the case with salmon. The color of a farmed fish is gray due to its diet and confinement. To make it look pink/red, the fish are fed chemical dyes. One of the artificial colorants added to the fish feed, canthaxanthin, has been linked to retinal damage when taken orally and yet the FDA has approved it!
5. GMO FOODS: Farmed Salmon are fed chemicals to give them color are fed pellets of chicken feces, corn meal, soy, genetically modified canola oil and other fish which have dangerous toxins.  These toxic fish pellets also contain unsanitary and genetically modified foods.

MAKING SMOKED SALMON

This is why we order Butcherbox Salmon!

ButcherBox is an amazing company that mails tasty wild caught salmon, organic grass-fed beef, pasture-raised pork and chicken right to your front door! They save me so much time by not having to run to the grocery store! I always have something to make. Even just grilling up a steak or frying up a tasty burger or pork chops for an easy keto meal; I have something from ButcherBox in the freezer I can easily make such as my smoked salmon using wild caught salmon!

Click HERE to save time and get a the CURRENT Butcherbox Deal!

 Father’s Day Gift Idea

One of Craig’s favorite gifts was the smoker I purchased for him! We have experimented with smoking, poultry, meat, sausages, fish, cheese, eggplant but can also include smoked eggs, other vegetables, and nuts. The smoked eggplant was SUPER good!

 Click HERE to find the Traeger smoker I love!

Smoked Salmon

Maria Emmerich

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Servings 6

Calories

Ingredients

  

0.25x0.5x1x2x3x

• ▢ 8 Butcherbox Salmon Fillets
• ▢ 2 teaspoons Redmond Real salt
• ▢ Fresh ground pepper if desired

Instructions

 

• Thirty minutes before you smoke the salmon, soak the wood chips in water (if you are not using a Traeger Grill with pellets).
• Pat the salmon dry and season salmon on all sides with salt.
• To smoke the salmon: Read the manufacturer’s directions for your smoker before you begin. There are wood, electric, propane, and charcoal smokers, and each type works differently. Start the smoker and, if your smoker came with a water bowl, add water to it. When slow-cooking meat, it is essential that you have a thermometer to monitor the temperature of the smoker. When the temperature reaches 150-160°F, you can start smoking the salmon. If you use the smoker we have, it registers it for you. Click HERE to find (makes a great gift!)
• Place the salmon on the smoker rack, not directly on the heat source. Smoke for 1 hour or until thickest part of the salmon is 150 degrees F.
• Remove from smoker and serve. Can also be served chilled.
• Store extras in airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Can be frozen for up to a month. To reheat, place on a rimmed baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven for 5 minutes or until heated to your liking.

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