Recipe from the Old Country

Chicagoboyz are connoisseurs of fine foods. I love smoked salmon in particular. Here’s an easy but really good recipe:

Buy fresh salmon, the fresher the better, and a bottle of salt. Get a zip-lock bag, or any sealable container. Cut the salmon filet/section in half, leaving the skin on, and de-bone. Rub handfuls of salt all over the salmon. Don’t worry about putting too much salt, it won’t affect the taste. Put the salmon in the bag, seal, and refrigerate for a day. Serve with bread.

Bon appetite.

Update: My mother in law corrected me. It’s not handfuls of salt, rather a good amount but not too much. I guess this is where the art of cooking comes into play.

11 thoughts on “Recipe from the Old Country”

  1. The best cole slaw I ever had was made along similar principles as your salmon. Shredded & salted cabbage was packed tightly in a jar, poked with holes and left to sit for a while. I think it was ultimately mixed with sunflower oil, too.

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  3. With a piece of copper tubing, a drill press, abrasive powder, and a bit of clay and water. Poking holes in the lid is probably easier, though. ;)

    I’ve had great success smoking both salmon and suckers with Alton Brown’s recipe, and a smoker made out of a couple of cardboard boxes and an old electric skillet:

    Link

    I generally use bark shed by one of my hickory trees, though cherry sawdust from my woodworking impart a nice flavor, too.

    BTW, you’ve got an over-active obscenity filter.

  4. This is, of course, not smoked salmon, but cured salmon. (Smoked salmon being a subset of cured salmon). Here’s a jumping off link for explorations in this recipe space.

  5. “Handful?” “Good amount?” What’s this, the infernal communist metric system?

    BTW, I use a smoker. Mmmmm.

  6. Forgot: I cut down an apple tree a few years ago and still have some wood to smoke with. It’s almost a flowery scent. Oak is nice, too, with a vanilla flavor. I want to try black birch (Betula lenta) on something neutral like chicken — it was originally the source for root beer flavoring. Has anyone tried it?

    Smoked jalapenos = chipotle. I try to throw a couple peppers, hot or sweet, onto the spare places on the smoking rack. There is also a German sausage kitchen nearby, and their sausages are the food of the gods when smoked. They can fit in almost anywhere while you smoke something big, like a turkey breast. You can also freeze the sausages after smoking them, then grill them quickly when you want them. Treat pork chops & ribs the same way.

  7. I hope you’re using kosher or sea salt instead of regular table salt. The difference is huge! I always thought salt had a metallic taste to it, but that turns out to be the various things they add to table salt.

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