How To Cure Salmon
How To Cure Salmon By: Barbecue Smoker Recipe Man
Before firing up the BBQ smoker, many chefs will either cure or brine the fish or meat as a way of adding extra flavor.
Curing and brining however have been traditional methods of preserving food for donkeys years and in todays refrigerated society the techniques and skills have been on the wane. That was of course until outdoor cooking became such a popular recreation. So rather than becoming obsolete they have started to make a comeback.
My research into curing started when I started writing for barbecue-smoker-recipes.com and as my research evolved, so did my interest. Even to the point where I started to experiment with curing and brining simply as a way to preserve food and forget about the smoker.
The science behind curing is that the salt slowly sucks the moisture out of the food, effectively acting as a desiccant and drying it out. Bacteria that normally would grow on the food are unable to do so because the substrate doesn’t contain the one essential ingredient to help it survive water.
So in essence the longer something is left to cure, the less susceptible it is to bacteria and therefore the safer it is to eat. This is the principle for cured ham or indeed any dried meat.
The curing process today is essentially about salt for the desiccant and sugar for the flavouring. In the recipe below I%96%92ve used treacle as a sugar substitute you can also use molasses. The flavours are slightly different and I would argue that the molasses is slightly more subtle but as ever, it%96%92s about what tastes good to you.
This recipe is a great tasty alternative to smoked salmon and its also really easy to do, certainly no need for a smoker. All that’s needed is a polythene bag, some salt, some treacle (or molasses) and a bit of time. It takes about a week to cure and I like to start out one Saturday so that its ready for the next weekend.
Ingredients:-
%92%b7 1 large salmon filet (skinned)
4 tablespoons treacle or molasses
%b7%b7 1 tablespoon salt
Method:-
Place the salmon in the polythene bag and tip in the salt and treacle / molasses. Seal the bag and give the ingredients a good mulch%93%94 around to make sure that the salmon is covered in the salt / treacle mix. Place the mix in the refrigerator and leave for a week.
When the week is up, remove the salmon from the bag and give it a rinse under the tap. Slap it on a board and slice really thinly. Please note that in order to slice thinly you need a very sharp knife remember the sushi chef.
I like to serve it spiralled inside canap%96%e9 cases with a little crme fraiche blob on top, you can also try it on a small circular cracker. It makes for a really tasty munchie to open up any barbecue cookout. But dont feel you have to wait for a barbecue, if it%e8’s raining outside that what better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than preparing a treacle cured salmon for next weekend?
The Barbecue Smoker Recipe Man writes free barbecue recipes & meat smoker cooking ideas on gas, charcoal or electric. Outdoor grilling tips, easy fire pit menus, healthy rotisserie suggestions and best homemade bbq sauce recipes are all available at http://www.barbecue-smoker-recipes.com .
