Hot Honey Candied Salmon might be one of the best things I’ve ever pulled off a smoker. The technique is inspired by Pacific Northwest Native American traditions. It’s also a new take on a version I made a long time ago: Smoked Candied Salmon. A whole side of fresh salmon gets cured in brown sugar and kosher salt, dried until tacky, then smoked low and slow until it turns into pure candy.
I won’t lie to you: making salmon candy takes time. But almost all of it is hands-off, and the payoff is a glossy, sweet-and-smoky bite that’ll ruin store-bought smoked salmon for you forever. So freakin’ delicious. My wife caught me sneaking pieces of salmon off the baking sheet before I even got the glaze on.
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love Hot Honey Candied Salmon
- What Is Salmon Candy?
- Hot Honey Candied Salmon Ingredients Round-Up
- Cure the Salmon
- Dry the Salmon
- Smoke the Salmon
- Pro Tip: Low and Slow Is the Whole Trick
- What to Serve with Hot Honey Candied Salmon
- Storage & Leftovers
- More Fun Salmon bites!
- FAQs for Hot Honey Candied Salmon
- Cowboy Campfire Is Here
- Hot Honey Candied Salmon Recipe
Why You’ll Love Hot Honey Candied Salmon
First things first, the texture is unreal. The cure pulls out moisture and firms up the fish, so you end up with dense, chewy thick strips instead of the soft flakes you get from a standard smoked salmon recipe.
Second, that hot honey glaze takes it over the top. Melted butter, honey, and hot sauce brushed on at the end give you a lacquered finish with just enough heat to balance all that sweetness.
Finally, this stuff is endlessly useful. Pile it on a charcuterie board with cream cheese and crackers, flake it into scrambled eggs, or just eat it straight out of the container standing over the sink. I’m not judging.
If you can’t get enough of salmon like me, check out my Best Salmon Recipes.
What Is Salmon Candy?
Salmon candy is salmon cured in sugar and salt, then smoked at low heat until it’s sweet, firm, and glossy. Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest were preserving fish this way long before smokers had temperature dials. Imagine hanging strips over smoldering fires in cool places where the smoke could work slowly.
The modern version leans sweeter, but the principle hasn’t changed: cure it, dry it, smoke it gently. Do those three things right and you’ll understand why they call it candy.
Hot Honey Candied Salmon Ingredients Round-Up
- Salmon & Cure – One whole side of salmon, brown sugar, kosher salt, honey, red chili flakes, and a couple of ounces of your favorite bourbon. Sockeye salmon is my top pick for its firm texture and deep color, but king salmon or coho work beautifully too. Want a little more kick? A pinch of my Cowboy Candy spice rub.
- Hot Honey Glaze – Melted butter, honey, and hot sauce, plus sesame seeds and chopped parsley or scallions for garnish. Maple syrup can stand in for some of the honey if you want a deeper, woodsier sweetness.
Now let’s make some healthy snacks the whole family can easily devour in one sitting. Full measurements are down in the recipe card.
Cure the Salmon
Leave the skin on and slice across the side of salmon to create “filets” without cutting through the skin. This lets the cure reach more surface area while keeping everything in one piece. Move it to a flat-bottomed, food-safe baking dish.
In a separate bowl, mix your brown sugar and kosher salt. Lay down a layer of the salt and sugar mixture, set the salmon in, then pack the rest over the top along with the honey, chili flakes, and bourbon. If you’re doing a double batch, you can build a second layer of salmon right on top of the first with another layer of salt between them.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, though 12-24 hours is where the magic happens. Flip the salmon every 4 hours so it cures evenly.
Dry the Salmon
This is the step people skip, and it’s the one that matters most. Pull the salmon out and gently rinse it under cold water to wash off the excess cure. Pat it down with a paper towel.
Place it on a baking sheet or drying rack skin side down and slide it back into the fridge uncovered for 1-2 hours. You’re waiting for the surface to develop a tacky feel — that’s the pellicle, and it’s what the smoke actually grabs onto. Some old-school folks do this on drying racks in a cool, breezy place instead of the fridge, which works great if the weather cooperates.
Smoke the Salmon
Preheat your smoker to 185-200 degrees F and add some wood chips or chunks for extra smoke flavor. Pull the salmon out of the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Lay the salmon in a single layer on the grates and smoke for 3-4 hours, until it’s browned and caramelized all over. Keep that temperature between 185 and 200 degrees F — this is the whole ballgame. Go hotter, and the white stuff (albumin) will come weeping out of the fish, and you’ll lose that beautiful lacquered look.
About an hour before it’s done, whisk together the hot honey glaze and brush it over everything. Let it set in the smoker for the final stretch, then pull the salmon and let it cool for 5 minutes. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped scallions. Cheers!
Pro Tip: Low and Slow Is the Whole Trick
If you take one thing from this recipe, make it this: do not rush the smoke. Every problem with candy salmon traces back to too much heat. Low heat keeps the fat from rendering out too fast, keeps the albumin inside where it belongs, and gives the sugars time to caramelize into that signature glassy finish.
If your smoker struggles to hold temps that low, bank your coals to one side, crack the lid slightly, or run the salmon on the top rack furthest from the fire. Patience is the ingredient nobody lists.
What to Serve with Hot Honey Candied Salmon
Honestly, my favorite way to serve this is on a charcuterie board with cream cheese, a sharp cheddar, pickles, and crackers. It’s also killer on a bagel, tossed into a salad, folded into pasta, or flaked over rice. Next time you’re hosting, put out a plate of this alongside some crusty bread and watch it vanish.
Storage & Leftovers
Store the salmon in an airtight container or lidded container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. The cure does a lot of preserving work for you. Keep the pieces in a single layer with parchment between stacks so they don’t fuse together. It also freezes well for up to 3 months; thaw in the fridge overnight and let it come toward room temperature before serving.
More Fun Salmon bites!
FAQs for Hot Honey Candied Salmon
That’s albumin, and it means your smoker ran too hot. Keep it between 185-200 degrees F, and it’ll stay put.
Please don’t. Without that tacky pellicle, the smoke won’t adhere properly, and you’ll lose a ton of that smoky bite. A couple of hours in the fridge is all it takes.
Nope. You can cut the salmon into thick strips before curing if you’d rather have individual pieces. Just shorten the cure time to around 6-8 hours since there’s more surface area exposed.
Hot Honey Candied Salmon
Ingredients
Salmon & Cure:
- 1 Whole Side of Salmon
- 1.5 cups of Brown Sugar
- ¼ cup of Kosher Salt
- 2 tbsp of Honey
- 2 tbsp Red Chili Flakes
- 2 oz Favorite Bourbon
Hot Honey Glaze:
- 2.5 tbsp of Melted Butter
- 2 tbsp of Honey
- 1 tbsp Hot Sauce
- 2 tsp Sesame Seeds
- 2 tsp Chopped Parsley
Instructions
- Leaving your salmon on the skin, slice across to make “filets” without cutting through the skin. Next, add it to a flat bottomed food safe plate.
- In a separate bowl, mix together your brown sugar and kosher salt. Add the mixture to your salmon along with the honey. Mix together and place the salmon into the fridge. Let cure for at least 8 hours but ideally 12-24 hours. Make sure to flip the salmon every 4 hours so that it gets evenly cured.
- When the curing is done, pull the salmon out and gently wash with cold water to release any excess cure. Place the salmon on a baking sheet skin side down, and place in the fridge uncovered for 1-2 hours until the outside has developed a tacky texture.
- Preheat your smoke for 185F-200F. Add some wood chips or wood chunks for added smoke flavor.
- Pull your salmon out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes. Place the salmon into the smoker and cook for about 3-4 hours until they have become browned and caramelized all over. Make sure to keep the temperature within 185-200F as the white protein inside the salmon will leak out if hotter.
- About 1 hour before the salmon is done, mix together the Hot Honey Glaze. Glaze the salmon all over and let sit in the smoker until done. Once done, pull the salmon out and let cool for 5 minutes.
- As the salmon cools, garnish with scallions and sesame seeds. Serve and enjoy!
