I've always had that presumption that cured salmon are difficult to make, therefore it is always served in teeny-tiny portions (when I am pretty sure I don't mind having more of it) but when I saw Byron Talbot's youtube video on his homemade cured lox, I couldn't resist to buy salmon on my next trip t o try it out myself. The thought of having the entire piece to myself was exciting, and I was willing to wait 48 hours (or more) for my food to prep!
Cured salmon is prepared differently than smoked salmon. Cured means treating it in salt and brining it, never cooked so it has translucency and silky texture. Traditionally, only salmon belly was used to make cured lox but nowadays, you could use any parts of the fish. Lox are usually thinly sliced and topped over bagels and cream cheese or eaten with some rocket salad.
According to Byron Talbot's video, here are the things you'd need to prep your salmon-
Ingredients:
- chopped fresh dill + tarragon
- fennel seeds
- equal parts of salt + sugar (depending on the size of your salmon but this mixture has to completely cover your fish)
How To:
- Once you have cleaned the fish from bones or skin, cover it generously with the herb (fennel, dill & tarragon) mixture and rub it all over the fish.
- Mix the salt and sugar to make sure they're thoroughly mixed and pour over the salmon, making sure it covers all sides.
- Cover it with cling wrap, and let it sit in the fridge for a minimum of 24 hours. I personally left it for more than 2 days, cause I forgot about it and it came out perfect.
- Once it's out, give it a quick rinse to rid of excess salt, sugar and herb then pat it dry before thinly slicing it.
My only concern was that it would have been too salty, but the flavors were just right. Don't worry about the amount of salt and sugar. I sliced it and prepped it over bread and cream cheese right away.
Hope this helps and have fun trying it out!
