Easy Tinapang Salmon (Oven-Smoked Salmon) - PinoyBites (2024)

Every year from mid-July to September, Sockeye salmon is in season. This prized aquatic animal is leaner, very flavorful and has a deep orange-red hue. Needless to say, it’s packed full of the healthiest omega-3s. Though there’s plenty of this type of salmon on the west coast, the price has always been on the steeper side and got even more expensive post pandemic.

There’s a grocery store in our neighborhood that holds an annual one day sale of this coveted fish. I would always keep my eyes peeled for their printed ads to make sure I don’t miss it. Like I mentioned, this is a yearly event (Fresh St. Market) and the prices of both fileted and whole are both “reasonable”… just for a day. Funny thing is, once I’m faced with piles of salmon at the store, I always have second thoughts which ones to buy…filets or whole. The latter is significantly less expensive but the extra labor I had to do at home is also a valid argument in my decision making. Do I want to spend the extra time of fileting a whole salmon or just take the easier (but expensive) route and buy the filets? Though it’s very tempting, the “wais” (wise) mom in me gravitates towards the cheaper whole … always! The savings add up if you’re buying more than a couple, you know.

Smoked fish is one of the dishes that remind me of home. Actually , hot smoked salmon is available at the supermarket but the price is sky-high. The price of a single serving portion is far from affordable and is definitely not within my budget. I guess our cravings and love for this dish were the reasons this recipe came about.

Buying a smoker, even how small it is, is out of the question. That’s how the store-bought liquid smoke became one of my pantry staples. I could only find the Colgin Hickory Liquid Smoke before but I recently tried another brand that I saw, Wright’s Hickory Liquid Smoke and they equally work. It gives the salmon that “smoke” flavor without the need for a smoker.

This dish is even easier to make than the Oven-Baked Homemade Tinapa (I skipped the steaming part in this one) and tastes as if it came out of the smoker! This sure is one of my must-try recipes and my picky tinapa eaters can attest to it. I use leftovers (if any) in my Special Pancit Palabok. Hope you love it as much as we do!