How I have salivated over the chance to do a home-cured smoked salmon or gravlax as some people know it to be. After researching much on the internet, my initial excitement turned to one of confusion by the sure load of good information mixed with utter rubbish on the net. I had to learn to filter what makes sense to me before I got overwhelmed and give up before I even attempted.
Still, all that is behind me now and I managed to do this today. See if this helps you, eager beaver.
Ingredients
Very fresh and of the highest grade Salmon
Atlantic Sea Salt
Brown Sugar or White Sugar
Fresh Dill, chopped
2 Tbsp Hard Cognac or Vodka
Method
Mix salt, sugar and chopped dill. Proportion of salt and sugar is 1:1. Mix enough to cover the fish.
Sandwich the fish between 2 layers of the mixture.
Pour liquour over the fish.
Cling wrap tightly and store in fridge for 2-3 days.
Place something heavy on the fish to extract maximum water.
After 2-3 days, remove fish from fridge. There should be water seeping out and cling-wrap is soggy.
Rinse fish under running water, otherwise it will be way too salty to serve. The fish should feel hard and rubbery.
Slice very thinly and serve on a good cracker with cream cheese and fresh dill.
Read my research on Wild Salmon vs Farmed Salmon.
Pls tell me how the smoked salmon goes on Wednesday. Hubby is a bit worried about curing it in the fridge ( food poisoning ?? ) , and prefers the usual tea leaves rice routine. If your review is good, I will start curing with a wee bit salmon.
ReplyDeleteSure, I'll post an update. I've googled cured salmon and this process is pretty consistent amongst those I saw. I'm only missing some alcohol here.
ReplyDelete