So you’re probably wondering, Evey, what’d you do with that Coho you slaughtered in your last post? I’ll tell you what we did, we made smoked salmon of course…we’re Jews after all…! Our smoked salmon is insanely delicious, meaty, brine-y and flavorful, not those slimy, thin, hot pink lox you get at the deli.
All the accompaniments are just as essential as the smoked salmon: cream cheese, capers, red onion, tomatoes and lemons.
Obviously I’ll never make this in my New York apartment, but I would like to have this recipe on file. It’s funny because as I’m typing, I’m looking in the guest book of our Tofino house (we keep a guest book/journal every year so we can remember everything, recipes included) and apparently Dad calls this recipe his “Lil’ Chief Smoked Salmon Deluxe,” so we’ll continue to call it that.
Lil’ Chief Smoked Salmon Deluxe
The process is quite long (about 13 hours door to door NOT including actually catching the fish) but nice and easy if you have the time and a smoker. We start with a super intense brine with the ingredients below. Mom and Dad will adjust the recipe depending on what’s in fridge but you get the idea. We leave the fillets to brine for about 4 hours in the fridge, then leave it to air dry on the counter until it forms the pellicle – that glossy, salty seal on the top of the fish which apparently helps the smoke adhere to the fish more effectively. Then we smoke it in our smoker (looks like a mini-bar fridge) for 6-8 hours at different temperatures (below). I might not be able to smoke the fish back in New York but I sure can eat it back in New York! Going to have to have you all over for brunch soon…
For the Brine
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups soy sauce
- 1/4 cup non-iodized salt
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- crushed garlic (knowing my family, a whole bulb)
- onion powder or chopped onions
Smoke for:
- 1-2 hours at 100-120F
- 2-4 hours at 140F
- 1-2 hours at 175F