Spiced Kokanee Steaks
Kokanee fillets
2 T. olive oil
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 lemon wedges
Preheat oven to 350 degrees or outdoor BBQ grill to medium heat. In a cup combine olive oil, brown sugar, chili powder, ground cumin, thyme leaves and pepper. Wash, de-bone and dry Kokanee salmon.
Rub spice mixture on salmon. Place in a 9 X 13 baking dish in oven or put directly on grill. Cook for approx. 8 minutes or until fish flakes equally with fork. Serve with lemon wedges. DO NOT OVER COOK! Fish is done when it just begins to flake all the way through. If it is cooked until it falls apart it will be dry, chewy and flavorless
Fillet and skin kokanee salmon and cut them into 1/4 to 1/2-inch strips, cut length wise, not cross section like a steak. Make a brine from 1 cup non-iodized salt, 3 cups sugar, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, and 1 gallon of water. This is just a starting point for the salt-sugar brine; you can adjust this for your own taste. Plenty of sugar is the key.
Soak the fish in the brine for 8-10 hours, and refrigerate. Drain and rinse with fresh water. At this point, put the strips in a plastic colander and let drain for about an hour, or you can place them on smoker racks and pat dry them with a paper towel, (spray the racks with Pam first). Sprinkle some red pepper flakes on the strips if you like them hot. Black pepper works well also.
After the Kokanee strips have set on the rack for an hour or two, place them in the smoker and burn 3 pan fulls of alder chips and continue to dry the strips until they are toughened to the way you want them, can be 8 hours or more
