Charcuterie_ The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing - Michael Ruhlman [21]
The following method for salt cod uses plenty of salt to fully coat and dehydrate the flesh. Cod preserved this way will keep for many months refrigerated, wrapped well to protect it from other odors. It must be reconstituted and leached of salt for 24 hours in at least three changes of water; the reconstitution process is complete when the flesh is pliable and just slightly firmer than when fresh.
Once it’s reconstituted, the cod can be used in a traditional brandade (mashed with garlic, shallot, olive oil, and some cooked potato, if you wish, and served with slices of crusty toasted baguette), or shaped into cakes and sautéed. Some people like to eat it as is, no additional cooking, with olive oil. Whole pieces of salt cod can be broiled, simmered in tomato sauce, or poached (very gently) in water, milk, or olive oil. Look to Provençal, Spanish, Portuguese, or Catalan cookbooks, or the books from the aforementioned restaurants, for specific recipes, or experiment on your own. It’s hard to go wrong with this versatile fish.
One 2-pound/1-kilogram fresh skinless cod fillet
Kosher salt for dredging (about 1 cup/225 grams)
Cheesecloth
1. Dredge the fish generously in salt, pressing it firmly into the salt so that the entire surface is completely and evenly coated.
2. Wrap the cod in two layers of cheesecloth and place on a rack, or in a perforated pan, set over another pan or tray to catch the juices. Refrigerate the fish, uncovered, for 24 hours for every inch of thickness.
3. Remove the cod from the cheesecloth and rinse the salt off thoroughly. Pat it dry, and wrap it in a single layer of fresh cheesecloth. Refrigerate, uncovered, for 4 to 7 days, preferably on a rack to allow air circulation on all sides, until it is completely firm. The time will vary considerably depending on the thickness of the fillet. It will become slightly more opaque than when it was fresh, and it should feel completely stiff through to its center.
4. If you don’t intend to use the cod immediately, remove the cheesecloth and wrap the dried fish in plastic. It can be refrigerated for up to 2 or 3 months.
5. When ready to use the fish, soak it for 18 to 24 hours in plenty of fresh water, changing the water every 8 hours or so.
Yield: 11⁄2 pounds/675 grams salt cod
FENNEL-CURED SALMON
Salmon is a commonly and easily cured fish, but what’s special about curing salmon is that the process can introduce other flavors. Then, when cured and sliced very thin, the fish has a delicious flavor and appealing texture.
Traditionally, the salmon is packed in a mixture of salt and sugar and cured for one to three days, depending on its thickness. Optional flavors and seasonings are up to the cook. Here the salmon has the anise flavors of fennel and Pernod. Citrus flavors, added in the form of lemon and orange zest and juice, make for a very bright, fresh-tasting cure. Other common cures include pastrami seasonings (black pepper and coriander); dill, as in traditional gravlax; and horseradish. There are no hard-and-fast ratios for the amounts of such ingredients, but general guidelines would be the zest of two lemons and two oranges and a squeeze of juice from each; an even coating of pepper and coriander; a generous bunch of dill; or a half cup or so of grated fresh horseradish.
As a rule, a 2- to 3-pound/1- to 1.5-kilogram side of salmon requires 6 to 8 ounces/ 170 to 225 grams of salt and between half to an equal weight of that in sugar. This recipe calls for extra sugar, which results in a sweeter, moister cure. This type of cure is known as a soft cure because of its high sugar content. You can cure just a pound of salmon if you wish, reducing the recipe by half. The key element is the length of time in the cure rather than the