Salt cured and smoked beaver belly.

A nice fat, spring beaver would be best for this, but I’ve definitely made it with some leaner game. Making bacon is super easy and requires very little work, just a bit of patience. I usually omit the pink curing salt, but if you are looking for that classic bacon flavor it is essential to include. I like a little heat, but if that isn’t your thing just leave out the red pepper. After a few times you’ll want to start playing around with different flavors.

I almost exclusively use alder wood to smoke, because I have it available in abundance, but obviously apple, hickory, maple, cherry or mesquite would be all amazing, whatever is available to you.

Lox is one of my favorite foods and when we moved to a salmon river I knew I needed to master making it. This batch was made with chum salmon. Starting with fillets I pack them in a mixture of 1/2 Kosher salt and 1/2 brown sugar, wrap that up in plastic wrap with the end unsealed so that moisture has a place to drain out. Then I put them in a container and place a weight on them, I use a nice flat board with a rock on top but whatever you can improvise is fine, maybe a platter topped with a bowl of rocks. I then put it in a cold place. A refrigerator is ideal but I don’t have one so I use a covered hole in the ground. I leave it for several days, rotating them daily. The exact length of time will vary on the thickness of the fillets, usually 2 to 3 days, but they are ready when they feel firm throughout.

After they are cured, rinse off the salt mixture, and put it in the cold smoker for 3 or 4 hours, not long. The fish should be tacky enough to really pick up the smoke fast and too long will dry it.

Salmon Candy is one of the best treats, I mave been making mine with my own birch syrup and I love the darker smokey flavor it gets.