I hate to say that I found this recipe for Citrus Cured Salmon on the Martha Stewart website. Usually, I shun the place, but when Michael Ruhlman shows up, I pay attention. In my defense, I was googling “rulhman cured salmon” and this popped up. This is a very cool, simple to do recipe to use the awkward pieces of salmon leftover from cutting up a big fillet. I had a 8 oz piece of salmon to play with, so I thought I’d try this recipe.
Home Cured LOX
Zest some citrus fruits and mix with 1/2 cup salt and 1/4 cup sugar per 1/2 pound of fish. I got this mixed up and poured into a ziptop bag to stash in the fridge.
Gravelax Bag Cure
My wife saw this bag in the fridge and remembered she had some fruit in the garage that hadn’t gotten carried in from the last Costco trip, yet. So I got to finish the recipe with a lime and a 1/2 a grapefruit’s worth of zest as well (not pictured).
If you’re paying attention, you can flip the bag over every 6-8 hours to make sure you have good coverage of the salt. After a day or so, give the fish a little squeeze and test how firm it has gotten. If it’s a fairly thick cut, it might take an extra day. Once the fish is to your liking, rinse off the salt, dry with paper towels and wrap the fish tightly in plastic. Store in the fridge for one more day to allow the salts to equalize throughout the flesh.
Finally, slice thin and serve with bagels and cream cheese…
Variation: For a more savory flavor, mix together half salt, half sugar and stir in a spoonful each of caraway seeds and dill seeds. Cure as above…
Pingback: I wanna' make homemade cream cheese! - Better Done Yourself