Why it works: Salmon and sugar work together. They rank in the top 35% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 931 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Smoked Salmon
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fish
Cut the fish along the back.
Clean and scale the fish.
Remove the roe without washing it.
Carefully remove the bone from the fish.
Cure
Rub the fish inside and out with a mixture of salt, sugar, and saltpetre.
Cover the fish with a board.
Place weights on top to press it down for two days and two nights.
Drain the fish from the salt.
Wipe it dry.
Smoke and serve
Stretch it open, fastening it with pieces of stick.
Hang the fish up.
Smoke it over a wood fire for five to six days.
Cut off slices.
Soak them in lukewarm water.
Broil for breakfast.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Salmon + sugartop 35% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together931 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Salmon
- Forms the main body of the dish and carries the cured, smoked flavour and texture.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws moisture out of the fish and firms its flesh during curing.
- Fine sugar
- Balances the saltiness and adds a mild sweetness to the cure.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the fish's colour and inhibits spoilage during the long cure.
The step that matters
Drain and dry after curing. Salt and sugar draw water out of the fish, and any moisture left on the surface can slow drying and encourage spoilage during smoking. Wiping the fish dry before hanging helps it form a proper surface for smoke.
“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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