Walk past a deli counter and you'll see smoked salmon sold a half-dozen ways. Some is cooked, some is raw and some was never smoked at all. Here's what each style really is, how it's made and which ones are safe to try at home.
The short answer
- Hot smoking cooks the fish all the way through. It's flaky, safe to eat right away and the best choice at home.
- Cold smoking adds smoke flavor without cooking the fish. It's silky and sliceable, but it's raw, and it carries real food-safety risks.
- Lox and gravlax are cured with salt, not smoked and not cooked.
If you're new to smoking fish, stick with hot smoking. Our guide on how to smoke fish walks you through it.
Hot smoking
Hot smoking is what most backyard smokers do. The smoker runs around 175–225°F, and the fish cooks until it reaches 145°F inside, the safe temperature the FDA sets for fish. The flesh turns opaque and flakes with a fork.
The fish is brined first, then air-dried until a tacky skin called a pellicle forms. That helps smoke stick and keeps the fish moist. Hot-smoked fish is great warm off the smoker, cold on crackers or flaked into salads and dips.
Most of our fish recipes are hot-smoked, including smoked salmon, smoked trout, smoked mackerel, smoked black cod, smoked tuna and smoked catfish.
Kippered fish
In the U.S., "kippered salmon" usually just means hot-smoked salmon. It's brined, then smoked and cooked until flaky. Some commercial kippered salmon is colored a deep red on the outside.
In the U.K., a "kipper" is something else. It's a whole herring that's split open, salted and usually cold-smoked. Those kippers are meant to be cooked before eating, often grilled or fried for breakfast.
Cold smoking and Nova
Cold smoking keeps the fish below about 90°F, so it never cooks. The fish is cured with salt first, often for a day or more, then smoked for many hours or even days. The result is the silky, see-through salmon you slice thin for bagels.
"Nova" was first a name for salmon from Nova Scotia. Today it generally means cold-smoked salmon with a mild cure. It's less salty than traditional lox.
Cold smoking only works safely when salt, temperature and time are all tightly controlled. Here's why it's risky at home:
- The fish sits in the danger zone. Bacteria grow fastest between 40°F and 140°F. Cold smoking keeps fish in that range for hours or days.
- Nothing kills the germs. Since the fish never cooks, any Listeria or other bacteria on it survive. Listeria can even grow slowly in the fridge.
- Botulism is a real concern. The bacteria behind botulism, Clostridium botulinum, can grow in fish that's under-salted and kept too warm, especially in low-oxygen packs like vacuum-sealed bags.
- Parasites survive. Wild fish meant to be eaten without cooking must be frozen first. FDA guidance is -4°F or colder for 7 days, or -31°F for 15 hours. Many home freezers don't get that cold.
Commercial smokehouses measure salt levels precisely and use humidity control and strict sanitation to manage these risks. Home smokers can't easily match that. For that reason, we don't recommend cold smoking fish at home, especially for beginners. If you love Nova, buy it from a store.
Lox
Traditional lox is salmon, often the belly, cured in a salty brine. It's never smoked and never cooked. That's why it tastes saltier and brighter than smoked salmon. These days many people say "lox" for any thin-sliced salmon on a bagel, including cold-smoked Nova, so check the label if you care about the difference.
Lox is raw fish, so the same parasite and bacteria cautions apply.
Gravlax
Gravlax comes from Scandinavia. Raw salmon is packed in a mix of salt, sugar and fresh dill, then cured in the fridge for a few days. It's rinsed and sliced thin. It's cured, not smoked and not cooked.
Gravlax is often served on rye or crispbread with a sweet mustard-dill sauce. Like lox, it's raw. If you make it at home, start with fish that's been frozen to the FDA's parasite-killing temperatures, and keep it cold the whole time.
Candied salmon (salmon candy)
Salmon candy is a Pacific Northwest favorite with deep roots among Native peoples of the region. Strips or chunks of salmon are cured in salt and brown sugar, air-dried, then hot-smoked low and slow while being brushed with a sweet glaze like maple syrup, honey or brown sugar. It ends up chewy, sticky and sweet, somewhere between smoked salmon and jerky.
Because it's hot-smoked, it should reach 145°F like any other smoked fish. Try our salmon candy recipe.
Smoke-dried fish and jerky
Smoke-dried fish is hot-smoked longer, until much of its moisture is gone. Fish jerky goes further, with thin strips dried until firm and chewy. The fish should hit 145°F before or at the start of drying. Even dried fish should be stored in the fridge, since fish fat can spoil. See our salmon jerky.
Smoked fish dip
Smoked fish dip starts with hot-smoked fish, flaked and mixed with cream cheese, sour cream or mayo, plus lemon and herbs. It's a classic around the Great Lakes and in Florida. Whitefish, trout, mackerel and salmon all work. Try our smoked whitefish dip. Once you mix in dairy, treat it like any other leftover and eat it within 3–4 days.
Side by side
| Style | Temp | Texture | Fridge life | Safety | How to serve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot-smoked / kippered | Smoker 175–225°F, fish to 145°F | Flaky, moist | About 1–2 weeks | Cooked; safest at home | Warm, cold, salads, dips |
| Cold-smoked / Nova | Fish stays below about 90°F | Silky, sliceable | Follow package date | Raw; Listeria and botulism risk | Thin slices on bagels |
| Lox | Not heated; salt-brined | Silky, salty | Follow package date | Raw; cured, not smoked | Bagels, cream cheese |
| Gravlax | Not heated; salt-sugar-dill cure | Silky, firm | A few days after curing | Raw; freeze fish first | Rye, mustard-dill sauce |
| Salmon candy | Hot-smoked low, to 145°F | Chewy, sticky, sweet | About 1–2 weeks | Cooked | Snacks, appetizers |
| Smoke-dried / jerky | Heated to 145°F, then dried | Firm, chewy | Keep refrigerated | Cooked; still perishable | Snacks, trail food |
| Smoked fish dip | Made from hot-smoked fish | Creamy | 3–4 days once mixed | Cooked fish plus dairy | Crackers, veggies |
Storage and who should be careful
All smoked fish is perishable unless it's canned or labeled shelf-stable. Keep it at 38°F or below and eat hot-smoked fish within about 1–2 weeks, or freeze it for longer. Vacuum-sealed fish must stay in the fridge or freezer, because low-oxygen packs kept warm can let botulism bacteria grow.
The FDA advises pregnant women, young children, older adults and people with weak immune systems to avoid refrigerated smoked fish of any kind, including Nova, lox, kippered and fish jerky, unless it's cooked into a hot dish. Canned or shelf-stable smoked fish is fine for them.
Why we recommend hot smoking at home
Hot smoking gives you a built-in safety step. Getting the fish to 145°F kills parasites and bacteria, so you don't need lab-level control of salt and humidity. It's also faster, more forgiving and works on any smoker that holds a low temperature.
Cold smoking, lox and gravlax all depend on precise curing and cold handling, and a small slip can make someone sick. Leave those to commercial producers, and enjoy hot smoking at home. To pick a fish, see the best fish for smoking.
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