Skin on or skin off?

[rcger]

I'm going to brine and smoke some wild salmon fillets I purchased from Costco.  They still have the skin on one side.  Should I remove that before brining and smoking or do it afterwards?  This is my first time doing salmon.  Thanks in advance.

[Grouperman941]

I have only hot smoked salmon a few times, but I left the skin on. generally, with fish, this makes it easier to handle. Many people like to eat the skin, too, at least in my family, so I scaled it well.

[Gafala]

I leave it on, it is really a option that is left up to you. Its like a restaurant some leave it on some don't.

[tskeeter]

I leave the skin on during brining, smoking, and storage.  I remove the skin as I am plating the salmon to avoid having an unattractive mess of skin on a serving platter while people are serving themselves.

[Salmonsmoker]

Everyone's got you covered on this.

[Kummok]

Totally a matter of personal taste and processing. I get rid of the skin because its just extra junk to me, hides the yucky (smoker's term) grey meat that tastes crummy to me and it serves no purpose the way I process my fish. If I was doing a whole slab, I might consider leaving it on just to hold the meat together for easier handling. I endeavor to end up with a finished product that just gets popped into the mouth without any mess...but again, that's just my own preference. Hopefully, whoever processed the salmon for Costco, removed the scales!