Smoked salmon à la Grisell

[grisell]

Grisell

7.1% would be very high for a UK product - 2 - 5% seems to be the norm:

Fillets are laid skin side down on a bed of salt 2-3 cm thick in the bottom of a box and covered with salt to a depth of about 1 cm at the thickest part and reducing to a light sprinkling at the tail to assist uniform penetration. Additional alternate layers of fillets and salt can be laid on top of the first layer until the stack is complete. The fillets are left in salt for up to 36 hours depending on size to achieve a salt content in the finished product of at least 2-5 per cent; typical times in practice are about 12 hours for fillets from a 4 kg salmon, and 24 hours for fillets from an 8 kg salmon, but the time will vary to some extent depending on initial quality and fat content.

From: http://www.fao.org/wairdocs/tan/x5886e/ ... tm#Salting

I guess that you like a saltier product in your country.

Phil

This is another indication of what I touched upon earlier: it has to do with money. They don't have time for weights and measures, just throw them into a container with lots of salt - the more salt the sooner it's ready and the cheaper.

[grisell]

You don't have to appologize, I'm not saying it was not fit to eat, just that it was too salty for my liking. And I'll be trying it again soon, but then I'll add less salt. Your recipe still appeals to me, just because i'ts a clean recipe, without al kinds of funny stuff.

Thanks for your support and encouragement!

[grisell]

The average would appear to be 3.5% rather than the 7% that you say is in yours.
Phil

The 7% was just a theory. It's probably less. I don't know.

[wheels]

It's a while since I've been indulgent so here's my smoked salmon:



Phil

[grisell]

Looks gorgeous. So: how is it?

[wheels]

I'm very pleased with it (other than my lousy filleting!). I covered it in a good layer of sea salt (about 1kg) for 6 (ish) hours and then smoked it for 1½ days. I may go with less salt for longer next time - imitating the method used by the London smokers (having seen a programme where they visited Formans in London).

Phil

[grisell]

You should really get a professional salmon knife. I bought one from Sabatier for £60. Not cheap, but it makes a real difference and it works great for ham as well.

[wheels]

I think that adding another knife to my collection will have to wait until Christmas!

I quite fancy this one:

http://www.formanandfield.com/salmon-knife-p-1791.html

Phil

[grisell]

Oh yes! Lucky you.

The Sabatier was the cheapest I could find here in Stockholm. The salmon was waiting in the fridge and it was impossible to slice it respectably with an ordinary knife, so I was in a hurry to find one. I had no time to order from the Internet. I'm very pleased with it, though, despite the cost.

[wheels]

Will UK sellers not ship to you (given time that is).

Phil

[grisell]

They sure will. But my salmon would have decomposed by the time it would have arrived.

[wheels]

[Jaunty]

Mark Hix has a video of him doing smoked salmon here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XvrqYiR4Eo

At the end you can see how he cuts it - just straight down in slices at 90 degrees to the skin. I do it this way quite often as well.

[grisell]

I think this issue with the slicing has Swedish origin. At the smörgåsbords (which can be very voluptuous in fancy restaurants), where gravlax (cured salmon) and smoked salmon are served side by side, this is the way to tell the difference (since it's not readily visible from the appearance): smoked salmon in paper-thin slices parallell to the skin and gravlax in thick slices perpendicular to the skin. It's also a practical way for the cooks to see the difference immediately without tasting. This has been practiced in all restaurants I've worked in, and I think the method has been in practice for 60-70 years at least.

Actually, I think it can be cut up the way one likes it as long as the pieces are presented in attractive way and one is consistent. Smoked salmon can be so beautiful! I myself prefer both gravlax and smoked salmon in thin slices parallell to the skin. The special gravlax sauce (sweet mustard sauce with dill) to gravlax and nothing or maybe just a drop of lemon to the smoked salmon.

I have to stop now. I'm gonna make myself a sandwich!

[wheels]

That may be true Grisell - but Forman's have D-cut salmon for at least 100 years - I like mine cut sort of half-way between.

Phil