I think I could eat smoked salmon every day for a week and not be sick of it, especially if what’s coming off the smoker is anything like this Smoked Salmon with Blueberry and Garlic Cheese Sauce. Salmon is a hearty, put meat on your ribs, kind of fish, but also has a delicate buttery flavor. It has this subtle sweetness to it that is not found in other fish.
Someone may offer you a freshly caught whole large fish, like a salmon or a striped bass. Don’t panic - take it! ~ Julia Child
I decided last week to have a Sunday salmon meal each week. The first week I did an old favorite of mine, Pecan Butter Crusted Grilled Salmon. I love the buttery pecans and grilled salmon together. It is a meal that never disappoints.
This Smoked Salmon and Blueberry dish went in an entirely different direction from the previous week’s meal. Instead of savory hints of Italian seasoning bouncing off the pecans and grilled fish, the salmon was smoked with a sweet blueberry sauce. I had my doubts if it would work not, but this meal did not disappoint.
The sweet, sticky blueberry sauce paired perfectly with the hearty texture of the salmon. The sauce also really highlighted the buttery flavor of the salmon. Finally, the garlic cheese sauce rounded out the dish with a little kick of garlic heat and a little salt from the cheese sauce.
So, if you are ready for a new adventure in salmon fire up your smoker (or you could also do this on the grill and it would work perfectly), pull out your fresh slab of salmon (your choice on the type), and grab some blueberries. It’s Salmon Sunday time!
Preparing the Smoker and Salmon
Start with preheating your smoker to 450 degrees. I used a cherry wood for my smoke this time. I like the fruit woods for fish.
While the smoker is coming up to temperature, season the salmon. I wanted to let the salmon do most of the talking because it was going to be paired up against the strong flavors of the blueberry sauce and garlic cheese sauce. I kept things simple. I doused on a couple tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, for a little salty goodness, and a couple tablespoons of coconut aminos, for a little sweetness, onto the salmon. If you don’t have coconut aminos you can also use soy sauce. Next, I evenly coated the salmon surface with steak seasoning. Keeping it simple!
Once the smoker is up to temperature, lay the salmon slab skin side down onto the hot grate and let it go. You want salmon to reach about 140 degrees internal temperature. This results in a flaky, light piece of salmon. How long this takes depends a lot on the thickness of the salmon piece you are cooking. My piece was still in a large slab, about 12-14” long, and almost 2 and ½” at its thickest part. This piece of salmon took 30 minutes to cook. I set the timer for 22 minutes and then checked the meat every minute or two until I thought it was done, as I did not want to overcook it. If I had a slightly thinner piece, say between an 1 and ½” to 2”, I would expect it to be done in about 25 minutes so I would start checking around 18 or 19 minutes. Anyway, that is just the way I do it.
So, back to smoking, put the salmon on the smoker, close the lid, let the magic start brewing, and it’s time for the blueberry sauce.
The Blueberry Sauce
In a medium sized sauce pan over medium heat, melt two tablespoons of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the butter is melted, add in a minced shallot, about two tablespoons worth. Let the shallot cook until softened, three to four minutes.
Next, add in a pound of blueberries. They can be fresh or frozen. Either is fine. Let the blueberries cook for a few minutes. They will start to break down, popping and releasing their juices. Let them cook for three or four minutes before pouring in a ½ cup of red wine.
The wine choice is solely up to you. I used a pinot noir for this sauce. It gave the sauce a dry finish. If you would like a sweeter finish to the sauce I would use a merlot. A cabernet would also be a great choice. Let the wine begin to simmer down. This could take five or so minutes.
Once the wine has simmer down a bit, add a teaspoon of garlic powder and a ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar.
Finally, finish the sauce with two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, a few sprigs of thyme, salt and pepper to taste, a teaspoon of cinnamon, and a teaspoon of all spice. Let the sauce simmer for ten minutes or so. It will become thick and gorgeous!
I poured my finished blueberry sauce over my smoking salmon during the last ten minutes of cooking. This added a touch of smokiness to the blueberry sauce, and also created a tacky, glaze from the blueberry sauce on top of the salmon.
Garlic Cheese Sauce
While the blueberry sauce is doing its thing on the salmon, it’s time to make the garlic cheese sauce. The garlic cheese sauce is meant to be more of an accent flavor on the dish. Unlike the blueberry sauce, it isn’t designed for drenching the salmon, but instead is lightly drizzled over the final dish for a little garlic and salt flavor.
In a small saucepan, melt two tablespoons of butter over medium heat.
Slice four cloves of garlic into very thin slices and add to the melted butter. Let them cook for a few minutes, making sure to keep the heat low enough they don’t start to brown or the garlic will develop a bitter flavor.
Add four ounces of cream cheese and start to melt it down. Next add about a quarter cup of buttermilk and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Mix and mix until things start to get smooth and creamy.
To reach my final desired consistency, I added in a quarter cup more of the buttermilk and then salt and peppered the sauce. The sauce should be silky and lump free.
Plate It Up!
To serve up this gorgeous Smoked Salmon with Blueberry and Garlic Cheese Sauce, remove the smoked salmon from the skin. Platter it up and then drizzle a few tablespoons of the garlic cheese sauce over each piece of smoked salmon and blueberry sauce. And that’s really it! Dig in!
Happy Fishing!
Smoked Salmon with Blueberry and Garlic Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
- 2-3 pound piece of wild caught salmon, skin on
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos (could also use soy sauce)
- 2-3 tablespoons steak seasoning
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 1 pounds blueberries
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4-5 thyme sprigs
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic, sliced
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon dijon
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat smoker to 450. Add wood of your choice. I used a cherry wood. I prefer fruit woods for fish.
- While smoker is preheating, prep fish slab by smothering on worcestershire sauce and coconut aminos.
- Evenly sprinkle the steak seasoning over the entire slab of fish, creaking a thin coating of the seasoning.
- Place skin side down on smoker and close lid.
- Smoke salmon for 25-30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. A 2 and 1/2" thick piece takes about 30 minutes to reach an internal temperature of 140 degrees.
- For the final 10 minutes of salmon smoking, you will add the blueberry sauce on top of the salmon.
- In a medium sized saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil. Add the minced shallot and cook for three to four minutes, until shallots are soft.
- Add the pound of blueberries and cook for additional three to four minutes.
- Pour in red wine and reduce on a simmer for about five minutes.
- Add the teaspoon of garlic and balsamic vinegar. Continue reducing sauce for three or four minutes.
- Add the Worcestershire sauce, sprigs of thyme, cinnamon, allspice and salt and pepper.
- Continue cooking on a low medium sauce for 7 to 10 minutes. The sauce should be thick and glossy.
- Pour the sauce over the salmon slab the last ten minutes of the fish's smoking time.
- In a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
- Add the garlic slices into the pan and heat for five minutes, taking care to not let the garlic burn.
- Add the cream cheese and melt
- Add in half the buttermilk and tablespoon of dijon mustard. Whisk until smooth and creamy.
- To thin sauce to desired consistency, add remaining buttermilk. Sauce should be creamy and lump free.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- To serve, drizzle over smoked salmon and blueberry sauce.