On Food: Cured Fish at Home
Gravlax is just a day or two away from fresh salmon
Oh the memories of youth!
My real interest in making my own food started in middle school. I liked most things my mom and sometimes my dad cooked. My sister, a bit older had started to cook. She was a good cook too, though the things she liked, well, me not so much. Even though I was getting fed pretty well, at some point I got up in my mom’s ear too much about menu selection. Harrrrumph. “Why don’t you learn how to cook yourself if you don’t like what we are making…” There was no winning any arguments with her, but this was a new opening. “I’ll help you and you can cook instead of doing other chores.” BOOM! That was that and my life as a cook had begun in earnest.
My first job was at Friendly’s. An American theme restaurant chain [still holding on] that started as an ice cream shop. I started as a dishwasher, but quickly moved up to line cook. My manager Tony really inspired me and my skills and knowledge grew. I learned to cook burgers and run the fryer. In the walk-in, I learned from the older cooks how to get high on the leftover nitrous oxide in the whipped cream canisters when the cream ran out. We smoked weed. I met my first real girlfriend.
My second job, in a delicatessen, gave me my first exposure to the fascinating foods of the Jewish American culture: bagels, gravlax [lox,] liverwurst, knishes, kippers, pastrami. The reuben. Rye. The bagels that we served came from Kimmel’s. We would drive to pick them up in Longmeadow, MA. Their business was so successful, they didn’t deliver for anyone at the time.
We sold a lot of bagels. And we sold a lot of bagels with “lox.” I made hundreds of bagels with lox. Hundreds. I was skeptical at first. And they were expensive. I vaguely remember that I did like fish at that time, but really hadn’t yet dabbled in pickled or cured fish. I had tried the sardines that my mom liked and I hated them. But there was curious aura around lox. And the people that ordered it at the deli did so with confidence and catchy enthusiasm. They would smile, nudge nudge, wink wink. IYKYK. Apparently, the brand we sold [also from Kimmel’s] was well respected. My curiosity developed momentum. One day, after serving a sesame bagel with lox, red onion and capers to a young woman towards whom I’d developed both heart flutter and a speech-impediment, I tried my first lox. I had to know what she knew. I tasted just the lox first. Salty, dilly. A little fishy but buttery soft texture. I liked it. I made myself an exact replica of the bagel earlier served to my crush. I sat down with it on my break and thought of her. I imagined the seductive sound of her voice when she ordered. So self assured. I took a nibble. Another. I imagined us eating together. Eating bagels and lox together. Another nibble. So good. I made it last my whole break. I thought I was now in the IYKYK club. I basked in the glory.
Welp. I repeated making my own after she came in for hers for a while. I never really talked to her besides the usual banter. She eventually stopped coming. It was a college town. We’d see someone 3 or 4 times a week for a year or so. Then they’d be gone. And after a year and a half I left the deli life, I moved on to being a line cook in a theme bar and restaurant. That’s a story for another time.
My appreciation for gravlax/lox and cured fish in general was born. I continue to like the stuff. Funny, now the nutritionists say we should eat oily fish a few times a week. Fine with me.
Here is a basic method for making cured salmon. I’ve also done it with herring, mackerel, lake trout and brook trout. I also use this same salt/sugar cure for a shorter time before I hot smoke fish. You can get as creative as you want with the seasoning. I’ve used rosemary, tarragon, thyme, white pepper, cloves, anise seed in addition to the ingredients below. If you want to maximize the flavor from your aromatics, tightly wrapping the curing fish will help. I usually just use the glass dish which isn’t quite as effective, but works well.
Ingredients:
I like to make large batches, say about 500 g each of salt and cane sugar with seasoning and store in Ball jars, so it’s ready whenever I have suitable fish. That way, if I catch a nice salmon and am roasting it, I’ll cut the tail piece and cure it and cook the majority of it as planned.
100 g salt, coarse. Sea salt if you are feeling flush.
100 g cane sugar. Any sugar will do, but I like to avoid granulated sugar as it’s usually from GMO sugar beets.
15 g/1 T fresh ground black pepper, I like the Telicherry.
Fresh or dried dill leaf, use your judgement
10 g/1 T dill seed
3 g/ 1 t fennel seed
Some lemon or other citrus zest
Method:
Bone your salmon
Place salmon filet, skin side down, in container or on large sheet of plastic wrap. I use alternately a glass bread pan with wrap, or a rubbermaid container with lid. I find the plastic wrap only method can result in leaks of salmon juice in the refrigerator—a good thing to avoid. If you are wrapping to maximize the effect of your aromatics, put the wrapped fish on a sheet pan in case it leaks. You're welcome.
Cover liberally with cure mixture.
Wrap and move to refrigerator for 24-48 hours depending on your tastes and the thickness of filet.
Unwrap and rinse in cold water. Dry with a towel. Water is a leading cause of bad things.
Slice and enjoy.
It’s that simple and so rewarding. You will impress your friends!
Eat with joy, slowly and with family and friends.
Good cooking, good eating, good loving - K. Paul