Pics to come tomorrow. This is a recipe I got from someone at r/smoking years ago and has been my go-to ever since. I usually brush half the pieces with maple and half I leave alone. The ones without maple have a smokier taste and are a tad crustier, a taste and texture I prefer for smoked salmon. I often brine overnight, rack the fish on the counter and use a fan to form a pellicle while the smoker is heating up. Takes roughly six hours to cook at the low temp smoke setting on my pellet grill.
Recipes: Thaw fillets, remove skin, cut the fillets lengthwise right down the middle and cut these strips into 7" or 8" lengths (usually 1/3 of the length of the fillet).
Brine: Put 1/2 quart of apple juice in a pot on the stove, bringing to low boil & then down to simmer. Add to this; 6 ounces of soy sauce 1/2 cup of non-iodized salt 1/2 cup of brown sugar 1/2 tsp of Garlic powder 1/2 tsp of Onion powder 1/2 tsp of Cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp of Dried Bay Leaf Flakes (or 2 or 3 fresh bay leaves)
Stir until salt is dissolved. Then add 1 1/2 quarts of water & ice to cool quickly.
Leave the Salmon pieces submerged in this brine for 4 hours (under 1/2") to 6 hours (over 1/2")
Dry the salmon and put on rack in fridge overnight to form a pellicle.
Smoke on low until internal temp reaches 145+. Brush with maple syrup once an hour to keep moist.
Edit: and here's a progress pic. Peppered on the left, maple on the right. Finished product looked very similar but a bit darker. Taste and texture were great. Funnily, the maple finished first despite getting brushed hourly.
There is still benefit to hot forging the steel to refine and align the microstructure, but it doesn’t have to be many folds.