This maple mustard smoked salmon is tender, flakey, and full of flavor. Marinate the salmon filet in a simple mustard marinade, smoke the filet, and you are all set to serve this maple mustard smoked salmon as an appetizer or the main dish.

Delicious Maple Mustard Smoked Salmon

This smoked salmon recipe is the sister recipe of our basic dry rub smoked salmon recipe. Rather than a dry rub, this salmon recipe uses a marinade and it leaves you with a slightly more tender and moist salmon that is just as flakey and delicious.

Why you’ll love it!

Reasons why you’ll love it.

It is a delicious balance of savory and sweet with a combination of maple and mustard.

Smoking salmon after letting it sit in a marinade adds so much flavor you won’t believe it.

This maple mustard smoked salmon is a great addition to any salmon salad, salmon patties, or even a salmon scramble.

Basic

Smoked Salmon

Through this dry rubbed smoked salmon at the same time as your maple mustard salmon.

Make it

Featured Ingredients

All of the featured ingredients for this smoked salmon recipe are in the title! Salmon, mustard, and maple syrup work together to add flavor and tenderness to this salmon.

• Salmon Filet: when in doubt, buy good salmon. We love Surrender Salmon because it’s wild-caught, Alaskan salmon that is flash-frozen the day it’s caught!
• Mustard: we love the combination of savory and sweet. The mustard adds a bit of vinegar and that mustard flavor that pairs so well with salmon.
• Maple Syrup: the sweetness of this dish comes from a little maple syrup. It adds flavor and a little caramelization to the salmon filet during the smoke time.
• Salt: don’t skip the salt! The salt gets the juices flowing in the salmon and enhances all of the flavors of other ingredients.

Try Surrender Salmon!

Our all-time favorite salmon is Surrender Salmon. They catch wild-Alaskan salmon off of Bristol Bay in Alaska. The salmon is bright orange, so flakey and delicious, and truly the best.

Surrender Salmon is a family-run company based here in Minneapolis and they are good friends of ours! Support a local business if you can.

Simple Instructions

1. Remove moisture: first, pat the salmon dry to remove any excess moisture.
2. Make the dry rub: whisk all the ingredients for the salmon marinade together in a large dish with sides. Place the salmon into the marinade and roll the salmon filet around a couple of times to coat the salmon.
3. Refrigerate: place the salmon in the fridge for around 1 hour.
4. Smoke: let the salmon rest on the counter for 10 minutes while your smoker preheats to 225ºF. Place the salmon on the smoker skin side down and save the marinade. PS: we used Traeger’s signature blend pellets. Smoke for 1 hour.
5. Brush with marinade: brush the salmon with the excess marinade after 1 hour.
6. Up temp: up the temperature of the smoker to 375ºF and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
7. Let rest: remove the salmon once the internal temp reaches 145ºF – 150ºF. Then, let rest for 5-10 minutes before digging in.

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Top Tips

Make sure your smoker always has pellets. The last thing you need is for your smoker to run out of pellets during the cook time. Be sure you fill your pellet box or that you always have soaked wood chips on hand to keep that smoker going.

Don’t skip the high heat at the end. For the last 10 minutes of smoking we have you up the heat. Don’t skip it! It will help crisp up the edges and top of the salmon.

Manage the internal temp. Be sure you are checking the internal temperature of the salmon filet a few times towards the end of the smoke time to be sure its not overcooking.

Smoker Essentials

Check out all of our favorite smoker products, including what smoker we use in the Fit Foodie kitchen for testing recipes!

Traeger

Pro Series 575

OXO

Thermometer

OXO

Tongs

Traeger

Signature Pellets

FAQ

What kind of pellets should I use for smoked salmon?

We recommend using Traeger’s signature blend. But any flavor would work.

Is smoked salmon raw or cooked?

Smoked salmon is cooked and not raw. If made correctly, the internal temperature of your salmon should reach 145ºF – 150ºF, a safe eating temperature for fish.

Is smoked salmon healthy for you?

Smoked salmon is high in protein and packed with omega-3 fatty acids making it a healthy option.

What is the best way to eat smoked salmon?

The best way to eat smoked salmon is with crackers, on a bagel, or in a smoked salmon dip.

How long do you smoke a salmon?

Due to the nature of fish cooking quickly, salmon only needs to cook for around 1 hour and 15 minutes to be safe to eat.

How long to smoke salmon at 225:

A 1/2-lb. filet of salmon should take around 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cook salmon until it reaches an internal temperature of 145ºF-150ºF.

Storage

Store leftover smoked salmon in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.

Freezer Instructions

1. Tightly the chilled smoked salmon in tin foil.
2. Freeze for up to 3 months

To thaw: let your frozen salmon in the fridge for 24 hours or on the countertop for about 3-5.