Salmon, Lox, Gravlax, Nova Lox

Ingredients

• Lox
• 1-2 pounds salmon fillet (previously frozen at least 1 week to kill any parasites)
• 1 cup Kosher salt
• 1 cup sugar

Plastic wrap

• Additional ingredients for Gravlax
• 2 tablespoon coarsely ground juniper berries
• 1 tablespoon coarsely ground peppercorns
• 1 cup fresh dill (can use 1-2 tablespoon dried)
• 1/4 cup gin
• 3 tablespoon (total) packed grated zest from 2 lemons, 2 limes and 1 orange
• For Nova lox
• Hickory pellets in a cold smoking tube (about half full)

Directions

1. Lox
2. Rinse a one or two pound fresh salmon fillet under cold water.
3. Remove any small pin bones.

Pat dry with a paper towel.

1. Slice the fish in half, placing each half skin side down on plastic wrap.
2. Make a salt cure by combining one cup of kosher salt and one cup sugar in a bowl
3. Spread the mixture over the two fleshy sides of the salmon.
4. Fold the salt and sugar-covered sides together, so the skins face out, and wrap tightly with the plastic wrap.
5. Place in a Ziploc bag, making sure all air is pushed out before sealing it up.
6. Place the bag in a glass baking dish and put in the refrigerator.
7. Place something heavy on top of the salmon (the added weight will help the fish absorb the salt mixture).
8. Keep refrigerated for at least two days, preferably three, flipping the salmon under the weighted object every day.
9. Drain any liquid from the bag that accumulates during curing, or poke several small holes in the plastic wrap and cure on a rack over a baking sheet.
10. When ready, rinse the salmon off, pat dry and slice thinly, leaving the skin behind, and enjoy.
11. If you prefer a slightly less salty Lox, soak the final product in cold water for about 30 minutes, then pat dry and slice.
12. Gravlax
13. If making the Scandinavian gravlax, add the extra ingredients to the bowl containing the salt and sugar and proceed as otherwise.
14. Nova lox
15. Once rinsed, soaked and patted dry do the following…
16. Place the salmon (now lox) into the fridge uncovered (no wrapping what-so-ever) for about 4 hours. This will form a tacky “skin” called a pellicle (see notes).
17. Set up cold smoker - Fill and light cold smoking pellets
18. Smoke the lox keeping the temperature below 80 degrees for 12 - 16 hours or until smoke stops coming from cold smoker.
19. Let rest at least 4 hours in refrigerator before slicing and eating.

Notes

With a bagel and cream cheese. The most common way to eat lox is on top of a bagel and cream cheese, also called “schmear,” the Yiddish word for a spread. Other popular toppings with this dish are red onion slices, capers, and a dash of black pepper.

Lox and eggs. There are a number of ways to pair lox and eggs. Scramble up a couple of eggs and eat along with fresh lox. Cut an avocado in half and fill the center with lox and a hard-boiled egg. Bake the lox into a rich frittata with eggs and fresh vegetables, like peppers, spinach, and mushrooms.

On a salad. Put fresh lox on top of a bed of arugula, radishes, cucumber, avocado, and a simple vinaigrette.

Lox and latkes. Make a batch of homemade latkes, sometimes called potato pancakes, which is another traditional Jewish food. Grated potato is mixed with onion, eggs, salt, and pepper and fried until golden brown. Top each latke with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche, horseradish, and lox.

All alone. To really appreciate the buttery taste of lox, eat it straight. Top each bite with a dab of horseradish for a little kick.

Lox is widely available at most stores, but homemade lox is a simple process, and less expensive than buying lox. With just a few ingredients, the total time to make your own lox is a few days, most of that time is unattended. Here are the four simple steps to cure salmon and make lox.

Lox freezes very well.

Pellicle

A pellicle is a skin or coating of proteins on the surface of meat, fish or poultry, which allow smoke to better adhere to the surface of the meat during the smoking process. Useful in all smoking applications and with any kind of animal protein, it is best used with fish where the flesh of a fish such as salmon forms a pellicle that will attract more smoke to adhere to it than would be the case if it had not been used.

Before cured foods are cold smoked, they can be allowed to air-dry to form a tacky outer layer, known as a pellicle. The pellicle plays a role in producing better smoked products as it acts as a protective barrier for the food and also plays a role in enhancing the flavor and color produced by the smoke.