For smoked salmon my recipe and method is
4 cups dark brown sugar (or a whole bag of C&H)
1 cup kosher salt
1/4 - 1/2 cup granulated garlic(fresh is better)
Fillet the fish and leave the skin on. If the fish is large, #30+ or more than about 1 1/2" thick, cut the fillet lenthwise at the thickest point. Cut the fish into 1 1/2" wide strips.
Dredge the strips in the dry drine so the entire surface is completly covered then put it into a container, I use plastic meat lugs made by cambro.
Let the fish cure in the fridge for 24 - 72 hours depending on how much fat the fish has. If its really fatty 72 hours is ok. I overhaul the fish twice a day and use a turkey baster to circulate the brine (juice) around 2-4 times a day. All that does is help the fish brine evenly so you dont have any unbrined or overbrined spots on the fish.
When the fish is done brining I fill the lug with water, gently so you dont blast the meat with water. Swish the meat around in the tub for a minute or so then pour the water off. Do it twice if you want to just be gental with it, you dont need to rinse all the brine off because it will act like a glaze and help develope the pelic when you dry it.
Pat, dont wipe, the fish virtualy dry with cloth or paper towels and place onto a drying rack. You can use a fan if you want, to speed things up a bit. Let the fish dry, room temp is fine your fish is cured by now, untill the pelic is sticky or tacky. The time it takes to dry will vary depending in the wether and stuff, dont get worryed if it takes 6 hours or so it will be fine. With a fan it usually drys in a couple of hours or so.
Smoke the fish at about 100 - 125* untill its about the way you like it as far as smoke flavor and dryness. Fish high in fat can smoke longer than lean fish wihout drying out. I usually smoke it for 10 - 12 hours at 125*. The last 20 - 30 minutes I fire up the smoker to about 200* so the fish reaches 130 - 140* internal. Sample the fish as offen as you want so you know how dry its getting and how smokey the flavor is.
Salmon should be firm and slightly flakey and moist when its done, if its mushy it needs to smoke longer in my opinion.