Gravlax

[ppanther]

Dinsdale, stop reading now. Your delicate digestive tract could probably catch something just by reading about this.

The rest of you: Any of you ever cure salmon (or other fish)?

I have for Christmas Brunch for the past two years. I have decided that Christmas is not often enough, there is really no good reason not to cure salmon any time I feel like it.

The cure on my Christmas recipe is, per 1 lb. salmon (fillet with skin):
1 c dried apricots, soaked in hot water flavored with pernod (amounts inexact), then pureed in the FP
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c kosher salt
1 tbsp. black peppecorns
2-3 fennel fronds, chopped

The method: Stir together all the cure ingredients, spread it on the flesh of the fish, wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Place in a dish large enough to hold it (I use a 13x9 Pyrex), place another heavy dish or pan (11x7 Pyrex) on top of the fish, and add heavy items to the plate (I go for about 3 lbs. of weight per lb. of fish). Leave in the fridge under weights for 48-72 hours, draining every so often (as liquid accumulates in the dish). The texture of the fish will vary according to the amount of time it sits in the cure. The cured fish will keep for quite awhile, but that too depends on the amount of time it sits in the cure.

Since I have decided to make this often, I have done some research and have tried some other ingredients. According to popular opinion, it is NOT necessary to use wild salmon for this recipe, unless you have some good reason to do so. MANY people report excellent results with Coscto salmon. (Dins, I told you to stop reading awhile ago.) I just had a tremendously good result curing Steelhead (again, DIns, go away) using the following cure:

For 2.5 lbs. steelhead, 2 fillets:
Brush both sides with Brandy
mix 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/2 c. kosher salt, 1 tbsp. black peppercorns, 1 tbsp. coriander seeds
Coat flesh side of fillets with cure, sandwich together, wrap in plastic and weigh down as described above.

After 48 hours the texture was perfect -- not too cured, not too soft. The flavor is amazing.

Any of you cure anything other than seafood? Homemade bacon, maybe?

[Mikey]

Never cured anything, but this does sound good.

[Dinsdale]

I "cure" it in brine, then stick it in the smoker... your methos sounds a little too high-falutin' for me.

Dang -- I need to get out and whack steelies more. Been a great season for winter steelhead so far -- big runs.

Fresh steelhead (means it was alive the same day it's being eaten) is da'bomb.

[ppanther]

I am a big fan of steelhead. I couldn't remember if it was on the "OK" side on the dins-o-meter.

Dins, your method makes lox. Very similar yet slightly different. I eat both the same way (even though gravlax is meant to be eaten with pumpernickel and mustard sauce). Nothing better for breakfast than a bagel with cream cheese and lox (or gravlax).

[Dinsdale]

Dins, your method makes lox.

No, my method makes "smoked salmon."

If it was brined and then cured, without the smoker (or according to some methods/descriptions, very briefly in the smoker), it would be "lox."

Very definitely not the same thing...

Although we should maybe consult Shrubber for the final word, what with him being a Native American Jew and whatsuch.

[Derron]

I suppose if your using that fucking farmed fish you get at Costco, you got to put all that shit on it to try and kill off the hormones they feed those genetic freaks. Nothing hits my grill that was not caught in the NW rivers, even the hatchery fish are good.

A good mix of salt, brown sugar, mayo, mixed together, then applied before cooking with a couple strips of bacon, they wrapped and put on the BBQ makes a great salmon dinner.

Dins has a pretty standard brine, which makes a great smoked salmon. Smoking on the back deck it also brings in the local feral cat population, and allows better control there as well.