The deep, rich hues of wild-caught salmon come from astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant known to reduce inflammation, nourish the skin, and support healthy nervous system, brain and immune function. Like omega 3 fatty acids – also found in abundance in wild salmon – astaxanthin degrades when exposed to heat.
No fear, though! Today Jenny from Nourished Kitchen is sharing her secret for succulent home-cured salmon as part of an exclusive sneak peek into her online class, Get Cultured! How To Ferment Anything. This is a delicacy that even my 20 month old appreciates, so don’t think it is too hoity-toity for the dinner table!
Salt-Cured Lox
difficulty: easy | yield: 2 filets | time: 5 mins (active), 3 days (marinating)
How To Cure Salmon (Lox) At Home – Exclusive Video Tutorial From Get Cultured!
Ingredients
- 1 cup coarse sea salt
- ¼ cup spices and herbs (choice of dill, juniper, caraway, coriander and peppercorns)
- ¼ cup fresh whey (optional)
- 2 wild-caught salmon filets
Instructions
- Stir coarse sea salt with spices and fresh whey, if using, until the spices are evenly distributed in the salt.
- Lay one salmon filet flesh side up and pour half the salt and spice mixture over the fish, sandwiching the other filet on top of the first.
- Season the outside of the salmon filets with the remaining mixture, and wrap the sandwiched filets of salmon in plastic wrap or cheesecloth as tightly as you can.
- Place the wrapped salmon in a resealable plastic bag on a plate. Place a second plate over the first to weight down the fish. Turn the fish once a day for three days.
- Brush off excess salt and spice, slice fish as thinly as possible and serve.
My son adores salmon this way!
What I find confusing is that there is always a specifier about using “really fresh fish”. For those of us landlocked or in cities with no fishmonger, is wild caught, frozen supermarket salmon acceptable?
Yum!
Amanda Hubartt – http://www.vitalchoice.com is a a good option for landlocked folks in my opinion. They clean and flash freeze their catch very quickly.
Amy Miller Baars – Ahhh, you are in Alaska! I’ll bet he does, lol!
Thanks. We have gotten vital choice before… I guess I just thought canned couldn’t be cured or be used for gravlax.
Amanda Hubartt – It can’t, but they offer frozen fillets too!
Does this cook the salmon in a way? I’m new to all this, but isn’t raw fish kinda risky?
Nicole Pyle – It’s more like pickled or brined than cooked. I personally feel safe consuming it as long at it has been frozen for two weeks (which kills off any parasites or pathogens that may be present), but everyone will have their own comfort level.
Do you leave this out on the counter or in the refrigerator for the 3 days?
Fridge! 😉
Hi! What is the total weight of the 2 filets? Thanks!
What is the weight of the 2 fillets of salmon for the lox recipe?
Mine are usually about 6-8 ounces