Charcuterie_ The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing - Michael Ruhlman [22]
Home-cured salmon is very easy to do and it’s a treat for people who love salmon. Be sure to start with very fresh, preferably wild, salmon with brightly colored, firm flesh that smells clean and appealing.
4 ounces/125 grams sugar (about 1⁄2 cup)
6 ounces/180 grams light brown sugar (about 1 packed cup)
6 ounces/175 grams kosher salt (about 3⁄4 cup)
One 2- to 3-pound/1- to 1.5-kilogram salmon fillet in one piece, no thicker than 11⁄2 inches/3.5 centimeters, skin on, pinbones removed
1⁄4 cup/60 milliliters Pernod
1 fennel bulb, with stalks and leaves, thinly sliced
1⁄2 cup/65 grams fennel seeds, toasted (see Note below)
2 tablespoons/20 grams white peppercorns, toasted and cracked (see Note below)
1. Mix the sugars and salt well. Sprinkle half of the mixture over the bottom of a nonreactive pan or baking dish just large enough to hold the salmon. Pan size is important, because the fish will release a lot of liquid, forming in effect a highly seasoned brine in which it will cure; and you want the brine to cover as much of the fish as possible. (If you don’t have a pan the right size, you can use aluminum foil to wrap the fillet in an enclosed package; the salt won’t have enough time to react with the foil, so that is not a problem.) Place the salmon on the salt mixture. Sprinkle both sides of the fish with the Pernod, then cover with the remaining salt mixture. Layer the sliced fennel over the top, followed by the fennel seeds and white peppercorns. Cover with plastic wrap (or enclose completely in the foil).
2. Place a pan on top of the salmon and weight it: A few canned goods will do the trick, as will a brick—try to use 4 to 8 pounds/2 to 4 kilograms. (The idea is to speed up water loss from the salmon by pressing it out, so the more evenly the fish is pressed, the better.) Refrigerate for 48 hours, redistributing the cure ingredients as necessary over the salmon once about midway through the curing. The salmon should be firm to the touch at the thickest part when fully cured. If it still feels raw and squishy, cover and leave in the cure for 24 more hours.
3. When the salmon is fully cured, discard the fennel and spices, rinse it well under cool water, and pat it dry. To store it, wrap in butcher’s paper or parchment paper and refrigerate. The salmon will keep for 3 weeks in the refrigerator; rewrap in fresh paper if the paper becomes too wet.
There are many ways to serve cured salmon, but it’s commonly sliced translucently thin. This requires a good slicing knife and some practice, but it makes a big difference in flavor and texture. Alternatively, the salmon can be diced for tartare. It can be served with the traditional sieved hard-boiled egg and diced red onion garnish, on toast points or blini with sour cream or crème fraîche. In Scandinavia, some of the juice from the cure may be strained and used to flavor a sauce; a tablespoon would work well mixed with a cup of sour cream and some Dijon mustard. The sliced salmon can also be used in a salad. This particular version works beautifully with a salad of shaved fresh fennel, sliced red onion, and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Yield: 2 to 21⁄2 pounds/1 to 1.25 kilograms cured salmon
[ NOTE: To toast peppercorns, or any whole spices, heat them gently in a small dry skillet until they begin to release their fragrance, a few minutes. They can also be toasted in a 300-degree-F./150-degree-C. oven for 5 minutes or so. ]
CURING SALMON
Mise en place for salmon that’s going to be smoked. The salmon will be rubbed on the top side with plenty of cure, then nestled in the remaining cure and covered with plastic wrap.
The salmon on the cure. The dry ingredients will soon liquefy as the fish releases moisture and become, in effect, a brine.