Dry-Cured Smoked Salmon

Name: Dry-Cured Smoked Salmon
Total time: 4 h 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1/2 cup kosher salt; 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1 1/2 teaspoons dried lemon zest; 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper; 2 pieces of salmon fillet, about 1 pound each; About 2 handfuls of soaked mesquite, apple or hickory chips; 6 tablespoons olive oil; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; Freshly ground pepper to taste; 4 cups mixed greens (arugula, watercress, radicchio or other spicy bitter greens), optional

By Nancy Harmon Jenkins

Total Time: 4 hours 15 minutes, plus 6 hours' refrigeration
Rating: 4(21)
Comments: Read comments

Featured in: SUMMER PASTIMES; For the Adventurous Griller

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

The Dry Cure

½cup kosher salt
½cup brown sugar
1½teaspoons dried lemon zest
1½teaspoons dried basil
¼teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

The Smoked Salmon

2pieces of salmon fillet, about 1 pound each
About 2 handfuls of soaked mesquite, apple or hickory chips
6tablespoons olive oil
2tablespoons lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper to taste
4cups mixed greens (arugula, watercress, radicchio or other spicy bitter greens), optional

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
To make the dry cure, combine all the ingredients. This will make about one cup. The mixture may be kept, covered, for six months or more. For this recipe, you will need four tablespoons.
Step 2
Rub each salmon fillet on both sides with two tablespoons of the dry cure and place in a glass baking dish. Refrigerate for six hours, or overnight.
Step 3
Remove fillets from the dish and rinse quickly under running water, just to remove excess cure. Place fillets on a raised grid surface to allow air to circulate around them. Leave to dry for three hours, or until the surface is dry and shiny.
Step 4
Forty-five minutes before cooking, light the charcoal fire.
Step 5
When ready to cook, throw a handful of wood chips on the coals. Add hot water to the water pan of the smoker, or an improvised smoker (see note). Place the fillets on the grid over the water pan. Cover with the lid and leave the fish for at least 45 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Check periodically and replenish the fuel or chips if necessary. The smoker temperature should not exceed 190 degrees (use an oven thermometer). The fish is done when the flesh is firm to the touch.
Step 6
In a mixing bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and pepper to blend.
Step 7
Remove the fish from the grill and cut crosswise into serving pieces. Serve the fish immediately on its own with the vinaigrette, or on a bed of greens dressed with the vinaigrette.

Tip

A smoker may be improvised using a hooded grill and a metal bowl half filled with hot water. Follow the first four steps of the recipe. When ready to cook, throw on the chips and place the bowl in the center of the coals, rearranging the coals around the bowl. Put the fish on the grill and replace the hood. Continue with the recipe.