Fish is a healthy, delicious food that can be prepared in a variety of ways. That’s why I’m so excited to share with you how to make this simple, yet delicious salmon recipe. The best part? It’s NOT full of breading and fried. Instead, it relies on the natural flavors of the herbs and spices used.

Spicy Maple Salmon Bites are the perfect weeknight dinner! You will need to plan this meal a day prior, as a cure will be needed overnight… Trust me, it will be well worth it. The recipe calls for two whole fillets but you can cut the ingredients in half for just one filet. Plus, I highly recommend fresh salmon, if possible. Okay, let’s jump into the recipe!

Spicy Maple Salmon Bites

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Prep Time 10

Cook Time 3

Total Time 3 10

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Ingredients

2 Fresh, whole salmon

Cure

2 cups Light brown sugar
½ cup Kosher salt
3 tbsp Maple syrup
2 tbsp Hot sauce

Spicy Maple Glaze

¼ cup Maple syrup
1 tbsp Hot sauce
2 tbsp Butter

Keyword easy salmon recipe, maple salmon bites, salmon bites, spicy salmon bites

Instructions:

Start off by prepping your whole salmon by slicing it longways, you want to make 1” thick strips. Once you have the long strips cut, now, cut the salmon across (left to right) to form as close as you can get to 1” salmon cubes.
Place all of your salmon cubes into a large mixing bowl and add your curing ingredients. That is 2 cups of light brown sugar, kosher salt, maple syrup, and hot sauce. Cover the salmon and place them in the fridge for a minimum of 12 hours.
The next day, get the salmon cubes out and rinse them off with cold water. Pat the salmon bites dry and leave out for about one hour. Place them on a wire cooking rack and place in the smoker with whiskey wood chips/chunks. You want to smoke the salmon bites at 180-200 degrees for 3-4 hours.
Near the end create the spicy maple glaze by combining the maple syrup, hot sauce, and melted butter. Stir and mix, now use a basting brush and brush each individual salmon bite with the glaze.
Let them smoke for an additional 20-30 mins and the glaze should be set. Remove the salmon bites and garnish with sesame seeds (scallions are optional).
Once garnished they are ready to eat, you can use toothpicks to place in the salmon bites to make it easy to handle.
Enjoy with family and friends!

These salmon bites are a great dish to make and serve at your next party. This recipe adds a nice spicy kick to add some flair to the typical salmon fillet. Get creative with any other spices used in the marinade to change up the flavor profile of your bites. They cook quickly in the smoker, so you’ll have them ready for meat and veggie trays in no time!