Hard to believe it's been more than 13 years since I first documented this process. Not much has changed but I did recently 'upgrade' some of the tech in my process, so I figured it might be time for an update. I typically make this a couple times a year, in the winter months, because there are annual events at which I serve it. But it's wild salmon season right now and with this year's annual events very much in question, I figured why not make an August run . . .
Whole Side of Wild King SalmonA beautiful piece of fish, and so much easier to procure this time of year than in November/December/January. As you'll see, most of the side was used on this project. The rest of it was used
here.
MiseIt's basically gravlax first, and this is pretty much everything needed. Pure kosher salt, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, fresh dill, rum and a plate of seasonings: white pepper, black pepper, bay leaves and blade mace.
Seasonings In The Spice GrinderTechnically, it's a coffee grinder but it's never had any coffee beans in it, so around here, it's the spice grinder.
Making The CureSalt, sugars and ground seasonings get mixed into a homogeneous cure.
CureMixed and fish-ready
Bottom BedFirst, an even layer of cure goes into the curing vessel.
RumOnce the fish is laid atop the cure in the vessel, a splash of rum goes over it. I think you can use just about any liquor -- and I know aquavit is a popular choice -- but I like this rum for this application, even though I'd probably never drink it on its own.
DillI lay a light and canopy of dill evenly over the surface of the fish.
CuringOnce the dill is in place, the rest of the cure is applied to cover the entire fish.
Full CoverageThe fish is covered completely with the cure.
WrappingNext up, the fish is wrapped up for its time in the refrigerator.
Wrapped FishOnce, wrapped, it's
almost ready for refrigeration.
Pressing The FishI purchased two of these vessels because they nest snuggly. So, once the fish is wrapped, I place the second vessel atop the first and weigh it down with a (wrapped) brick. The fish goes into the refrigerator for 24-72 hours, depending on all sort of variables, preferences, prognostications and other omens.
Cured SalmonEssentially gravlax now, this is what it looked it after ~28 hours. In my estimation, that was enough time. The fish was still supple but slightly firm and there was a large amount of liquid in the curing vessel.
Rinsed and DriedBecause I'm cold-smoking the fish, after it's rinsed entirely in cold water, it's dried off and placed on a rack in the refrigerator to develop a pellicle, which helps the smoke adhere better. In this case, I left it on the rack overnight (~8 hours), which seemed adequate.
Now, turning to the smoking part of the process . . .
Modified Weber Kettle LidI retrofitted an old, failing lid from a Weber kettle. The rivet that held the damper to the lid had failed and the damper came off. So, I stacked an HVAC flange on top of it and drilled matching holes through both pieces. I then attached the damper to the flange using small nuts, bolts and washers. Then I reattached the entire apparatus to the lid of the Weber.
Duct AttachmentUsing a circular thumbscrew clamp, I affixed an 8-foot length of aluminum dryer duct to the lid.
Starting The FireSome lump charcoal and a log of apple wood. Once the log had burned fully and reached ember stage, I covered the Weber with the modified lid.
Laying Out The FishWith the smoke at a light wispiness, it was time to position the fish for smoking.
Cold-Smoking RigDoing its thing, mostly as planned. The fish was far enough away from the fire so that the smoke was entirely cool by the time it reached the fish, only flavoring it, and not cooking it. I let it smoke until the fire burned out, about 2 hours. I may need to add another vent/damper set to the lid because even with the bottom damper fully open, with the duct attached, there wasn't great air flow. A few times, I had to leave the lid ajar just a sliver for a moment or two to maintain the desire temperature. That said, it's far preferable to my former rig.
Old Cold-Smoking RigA fairly similar set-up but the new rig provides several advantages:
1) Being able to use a Weber, a device on which I have literally thousands of sessions and innate familiarity.
2) Having capacity to burn whole logs rather than chips or small chunks.
3) Being able to finely tune the fire far more easily.
With the fish cured and smoked it was finally time for a taste test . . .
Cold-Smoked Salmon and Takeda Classic Yanagi, 310mmIt was an honor to be able to cut my amateur-hour fish with such an awesome blade.
Plated UpToasted sesame seed bagel, chive cream cheese and homegrown yellow tomato. It really doesn't get much better than this. That said, my baking friend and I are going to swap some of this fish for some of his home-baked bagels in the next day or two. So, maybe it does get better than this.
=R=
Same planet, different world