Smoked Salmon and Steamed Green Beans

Alright – it’s not my best plating, but aside from the picture this dinner turned out fantastic. I’m loving using the Traeger and also so incredibly happy that I was able to get my husband to admit he actually loves green beans! I know a lot of people that love smoked salmon. I don’t know why you wouldn’t. It’s healthy and so easy, great leftover and doesn’t take too long (compared to other things you would smoke)

Usually we will smoke an entire large filet, but this time we decided on just a couple of smaller pieces. We always try to buy the sustainable, wild-caught. We are not on a coast so our fresh options are slightly limited. I like to purchase the salmon the same day I plan to cook it – maybe one day before, but I don’t like to freeze and then re-thaw before smoking. I put these on a pan so that I could season and throw back in the fridge for a couple of hours before putting on the smoker.

I kept this pretty simple based on what I typically always have on hand in my kitchen/spice cabinet. Start by dusting the entire filet with a little Himalayan salt. I then added some lemon powder – if you don’t have this you could use lemon zest and/or just squeeze some lemon juice on top. Next, I drizzled each with some honey. I only use the local honey – much better for you and a better guarantee of where it actually came from. Then, sprinkle on some paprika and garlic powder. Sit in the fridge until ready to smoke.

I cooked these on smoke temp (150-200 degrees) for about an hour. The sun was going down and the smoker was staying on the lower side of temps so I decided to turn it up to medium heat and finished that way. Overall they took about another 45 minutes. You can tell when they are done with the fork test – they should flake and not show any raw pieces. That’s literally it – done with the salmon. Depending on what kind of smoker you have and temperatures we have found the average time is 1.5-2 hours total smoking time.

I served our salmon with some lemon, buttered brown rice and steamed green beans with roasted garlic. I think I’ve mentioned just how much I love veggies? Several years ago my husband declared he hated green beans. I was slightly devastated and trying to figure out why. I went with it as he will eat almost everything else. However, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the fresh beans at the store and bought some thinking I’d just make them for myself.

So easy.. break off the ends, wash and place in a pan just about covered with water. Bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain the water. I added a little butter and roasted garlic (they had pre-roasted garlic in the deli section at the grocery store – score/time saver!). I let the butter and garlic and beans cook together for another 5 minutes and done!