Lightly Cured Salmon - Sunday Dinner with Chef Michael Van Houten
The process of curing meat may sound intimidating. You may believe the only way to have good cured salmon is by going out to eat or buying the overly priced, pre-cured salmon at the grocery store. Reality is that curing is one of the most straightforward processes in the culinary world. Curing is the process of coating meat in a salt mixture, with the goal of removing as much moisture from the meat as possible. Lack of humidity creates an environment on the meat that means it’s nearly impossible for microorganisms to grow, like this making the meat safely preserved.
This is one of the world’s oldest forms of food preservation and was vital for the survival of entire societies throughout time. Cured meats can be found throughout every significant culture and date back as far as history has been recorded. A traditional form of cured salmon is known as gravlax, a Nordic dish that has its origins in the middle ages. Fishermen would coat the salmon with salt, sugar, and dill before burying it in the sand above the high tide mark. The sugar is used to help balance the salty flavor in the fish, while the dill incorporated flavor into the meat. Today’s chefs have been curing salmon with a wide variety of flavorings; I personally like the orange and fennel flavor profile. The brown sugar and orange zest provide a citrus brightness to offset the fennel seed, with a well-balanced and exciting dish.
I have seen some menus with arctic char instead of salmon, purportedly more sustainable and i think a similar more fatty style flesh.
There’s also the mexican tradition of ceviche raw fish preparations, but i think those use a different mostly citrus based preparation yet include anything from firm white fish to scallops and squid
It is ironic this topic popped up this week. I have been curing my own salmon for no less than the last 25 years, have been doing so at least 4 or 5 times a year.
I use a low salt recipe, engrained in my head, originally found in the NT Times.
Although I just recently found a new preparation and only tried it last week.
I went to a local Asian market with a really nice, huge fresh fish department that I frequent almost weekly. I was buying some cod and salmon for two meals. I started a conversation with a guy who was dressed in kitchen greys and black, as he was buying fish. I asked him if it was for a restaurant, and he indicated or home…
I asked him if he had any suggestions for the salmon. He suggested a cure. I mentioned to him that I have been using the sugar/salt/vodka/peppercorns/dill for a long time. He said he does use that too, but added how about a dark soy cure?
He said, mix about 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup of sugar, a few drops of sesame oil pour over piece of filet salmon with pin bones removed and place in a covered flat container for two days. … I took it out of the container, rinsed it off and thin sliced against the grain…Pretty good ……., and preparation about 5 minutes.
Happy to find this thread. We rotate small batches from this list of preparations. Our Asian market also offers wonderful salmon at a fair price or we go to Costco.
This is one of the world’s oldest forms of food preservation and was vital for the survival of entire societies throughout time. Cured meats can be found throughout every significant culture and date back as far as history has been recorded. A traditional form of cured salmon is known as gravlax, a Nordic dish that has its origins in the middle ages. Fishermen would coat the salmon with salt, sugar, and dill before burying it in the sand above the high tide mark. The sugar is used to help balance the salty flavor in the fish, while the dill incorporated flavor into the meat. Today’s chefs have been curing salmon with a wide variety of flavorings; I personally like the orange and fennel flavor profile. The brown sugar and orange zest provide a citrus brightness to offset the fennel seed, with a well-balanced and exciting dish.
