Smoked Labrador Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the salmon in soft cold water for 48 hours, changing the water at least three times.
Clean the outside of the fish with a medium-hard brush and warm water, focusing on the fins and tail.
Remove the skin and any remaining small guts with a brush and sharp knife.
Carefully remove the gills and brush the entire fish until it is clean and red.
Remove the backbone and shape the fish as desired.
Suspend the fish by the tail in a barrel of clean cold water for 12 hours.
Hang the fish to drip for 6 hours.
Insert three sticks into the back of the fish and ensure the scales and fins are dry.
Smoke and serve
Hang the fish in a chimney with a moderate heat for 2 hours.
Apply strong smoke to the fish for 24 to 30 hours, or until it turns dark red.
Cool the fish for 12 hours before slicing it obliquely.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Labrador salmon
- Forms the main body of the dish, carrying the smoky flavor and firm flesh.
- Soft cold water
- Draws out salt and blood during soaking and rinses the fish before smoking.
The step that matters
Drying the fish before smoking. Smoke adheres and colors poorly to a wet surface. Ensuring the scales and fins are dry lets the smoke deposit evenly and form a good surface color.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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