first try at lox

Que n r - I used the Cookshack Smoked Lox recipe when I made mine for New Years Eve.

Cooking guide under cookshack recipes. It was delicious, smooth, so easy to cut, and didn't fall apart too much. Everyone loved it and the whole fillet went. It was a beautiful color, not looking cooked at all, like lox should. Had a great flavor as well. The only change I made to the recipe was to set smoker to 150 instead of 100, that just got the smoker going stronger.

Thanks for the tip Vicki B- love the idea of the maple syrup on the salmon. I'll have to give that recipe a try.

U r welcome. Hope u like it.

Que'n RN - I've got some salmon that I need to move and thought of using the smoked salmon recipe from Charcuterie that you used. You said that you followed the recipe exactly. Does that include the quantity of pink salt they call for? I don't have their recipe in front of me at the moment, but as I recall, the recipe calls for 1 tsp. of pink salt for a 1.5 lb filet. To me, that seems excessive.

Just thought I would check with you before I started the cure. TIA.

DLS, I just got done reading the recipe, I have the book as well. From what I can guess, as I have never done his recipe, is that even though the pink salt calls for 1 tsp to 5 lbs of meat, they are using a dry brine. I think they r concerned with making sure the cure gets evenly distributed enough through all the salt and sugar. I remember reading somewhere that it will taste really bad and you will know if you r using too much pink salt to be dangerous. U probably already know that though. I don't think these guys have killed anyone yet I am gonna go for the exact recipe when I try it and maybe email Michael Ruhlman from his website and see what his explanation is. BTW, the recipe sounds really good.

quote:

Originally posted by Vicki B:
DLS, I am gonna go for the exact recipe when I try it and maybe email Michael Ruhlman from his website and see what his explanation is. BTW, the recipe sounds really good.

Thanks for the response Vicki. In Ruhlman's and Polcyn's book several of the recipes call for what I consider to be excessive amounts of pink salt. A little over a year ago I asked him about the pink salt quantities for one of them, and his verbatim response was

"We’re reevaluating pink salt levels for the new book so can’t answer specifically. that’s brian’s recipe. the govt recommended level of nitrite in a product is 200 parts per million. trying to research this now!"

Not much of an answer, don't you think.
.

dla and Vicki B- I did follow the recipe to the letter including the prescribed amount of pink salt. Didn't notice anything unusual in the flavor afterwards.

I remember about Easter time last year I tried a raw ham and used the Charcuterie recipe. I was chastised by several forum members that the Charcuterie book recommends way too much pink salt. I don't know enough about pink salt yet to comment.

Since this was my first attempt at lox I wanted to follow the recipe exactly. This is how I do most of my recipes. If you don't know what the original recipe tastes like, how do you know what modifications to make. If you modify the recipe right away, you don't know what the original is supposed to taste like.

I'm going to do the Cookshack recipe this weekend. Original recipe first (might modify anothe piece at the same time for a side by side comparison)

This time I intend to do pics ( I think taking and posting pics is almost as much fun as the smoking process.)

Obviously, more to come. Thanks for your input.

That answer was a very safe answer. I guess that means for now we have to calculate our own PPMs. I certainly hope they get updated calculations to everyone when they figure it out. Or it is up to us to find out if they recalculated them. I think that sucks. But we don't eat it everyday, so for now I guess we r safe. Que n r, I hope you enjoy the CS recipe. It was excellent!

Vicki B- Thanks for the mention of the Cookshack Lox recipe. Cold and rainy here today- a perfect day to cold smoke. I did the Cookshack recipe to the letter, did another with Bubbaz1's maple sugar he sent with his gift exchange package and added a butt load of dill. Used his maple syrup in the Cookshack recipe.

Just took it out of the oil a few minutes ago- of course had to try a small slice or two, or three, or seventeen. WOW, you weren't kidding.
No sense looking any further for recipes. Might touch this one up a bit- but it is, as you declared- EXCELLENT.

I'll get some pics finished this evening or tomorrow and post.

Yup, we had the.same reaction. So glad you liked it as well. I couldnt believe it came out that good. After making that I no longer feel the need to ever go store bought again!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Que'n RN:
Vicki B- Thanks for the mention of the Cookshack Lox recipe. Cold and rainy here today- a perfect day to cold smoke. I did the Cookshack recipe to the letter, did another with Bubbaz1's maple sugar he sent with his gift exchange package and added a butt load of dill. Used his maple syrup in the Cookshack recipe.

Just took it out of the oil a few minutes ago- of course had to try a small slice or two, or three, or seventeen. WOW, you weren't kidding.
No sense looking any further for recipes. Might touch this one up a bit- but it is, as you declared- EXCELLENT.

I'll get some pics finished this evening or tomorrow and post.

That sounds good, it's on my list of things to do this summer. Well maybe fall now since it was in the eighties today and it's not going to get cooler. Me and the wife went back to the market today and picked up another bottle of maple syrup. Handy stuff.

I've made Gravlax numerous times. How does the cookshack recipe compare in taste and texture?

Bubba, I don't think you need to limit yourself because it's been hot out. It will help the oven stay in the 90 degree range. Besides, you have pan of ice to use as well. Try it, I would.

I’ve been following this thread with some interest, and while I don’t want to quibble or nitpick, sometimes I can’t resist it.

There are, no doubt, thousands upon thousands of ways to prepare (cure/brine/etc.) and smoke salmon, but Lox isn’t one of them. Lox is never smoked. In its purest form, Lox is simply a combination of salmon, salt, and time, and originally was used as a method of preservation. Some simpler versions call for the addition of minor amounts of brown and/or white sugar, but salt is still the primary ingredient in the cure. Cream cheese, long used as a favored condiment with Lox, helps in cutting the salinity. To the uninitiated, traditional Lox (aka Belly Lox/Salty Lox/True Lox) can be pretty strong, and for the most part, is difficult to find anymore.

Gravlax, a cousin of Lox, follows the same method, but adds juniper berries and dill to the cure.

Mae Culpa, Mae Culpa DLS- you are certainly right- and I stand corrected. I should have been referring to my project as Nova Lox (I believe that is one term for lox that has been smoked. Or is it gravlox that has been smoked.
Oh, I'm sooo confused- bottom line- tastes great.

Well, from now on I know my Lox from my, well, what ever we call it....I plan on eating a lot of it. Now I hope you can set the next person straight.when they call a kabob a shis and it not made with lamb

I hope u know its all in fun. Of course I.would get yelled at if I was in Katzs' deli in NY and ordered Lox and asked for that smoked stuff. They would probably give me Whiting....

quote:

Originally posted by Que'n RN:
Mae Culpa, Mae Culpa DLS- you are certainly right- and I stand corrected. I should have been referring to my project as Nova Lox (I believe that is one term for lox that has been smoked. Or is it gravlox that has been smoked.
Oh, I'm sooo confused- bottom line- tastes great.

Que'n RN - No Mea Culpas necessary. And yes, it can be confusing. For openers, the hard core folks in Loxland consider the term "Nova Lox" an oxymoron and heresy. What most people consider to be lox is really just mildly cured and cold smoked (80F-85F) salmon. True lox is salmon that’s packed in more salt than you can imagine, and left to cure for weeks, or even months. Then comes a series of long soakings followed by an extensive drying process. Not something that you want to try at home. Even the best purveyors that prepare most of their product on premises leave the preparation of true lox to outside specialists.

Additional confusion arises from the use of the term "Nova Salmon," which originally referred to the salmon that was sourced from the coastal waters of Nova Scotia. Today, most of what ultimately becomes "Nova" are fish that are sourced from salmon farms in North America and elsewhere around the globe. The limited amount of wild salmon used in the process come from the waters off of the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec, and a lesser known variety (here comes another oxymoron), "Western Nova", is sourced off of the Western shores of Canada.

No, true Gravlax is not smoked.

Okay, Mr Purist (and yes, keep us straight). Labeling and terminology are important, so set us straight

What is cold smoked salmon?

What is hot smoked salmon?

I'm not the seafood expert, but I know what I like. Coming from a land locked state, I don't always get the best seafood. I'm lucky to get wild salmon once or twice a year.

quote:

Originally posted by SmokinOkie:
Okay, Mr Purist (and yes, keep us straight). Labeling and terminology are important, so set us straight

What is cold smoked salmon?

What is hot smoked salmon?

I'm not the seafood expert, but I know what I like. Coming from a land locked state, I don't always get the best seafood. I'm lucky to get wild salmon once or twice a year.

Not wanting too sound sarcastic but, in a very general sense, cold smoked salmon and hot smoked salmon can be anything that you want them to be. Find any national, regional, local, or ethnic recipe that appeals to you and smoke the salmon as called for (cold or hot). For cold smoked I keep the smoke temp at 80F-85F. For hot smoked I go 150F-160F.

More specifically, stores such as Jewish smoked fish houses typically carry the following:

*Cold smoked salmon-Nova, Gaspe, Western, Baltic, Irish, Scottish, Norwegian, Danish, and Pastrami-Style.
*Hot smoked salmon-Kippered

For local sourcing of wild salmon, I think I read somewhere on the forum that Whole Foods recently opened in OKC. They should have a supply. If you get lucky, Copper River season just started, and they may have some.

If you can't find anything locally, Pike Place Market in Seattle is a good source for ordering online or by phone.

quote:

Originally posted by Vicki B:
Well, from now on I know my Lox from my, well, what ever we call it....I plan on eating a lot of it. Now I hope you can set the next person straight.when they call a kabob a shis and it not made with lamb

I hope u know its all in fun. Of course I.would get yelled at if I was in Katzs' deli in NY and ordered Lox and asked for that smoked stuff. They would probably give me Whiting....

Vicki - Get your pastrami at Katz then take a short walk about a block down East Houston St. to one of the best smoked fish stores in NYC, Russ and Daughters.

Well, now I don't have a clue what I made, but here's a picture, as promised. Thank you dls for all your comments- I kind of enjoy food history. Vicki B- how's it look to you?

I think u forgot something???

Nah... It's a pic of the one that got away.

CRAP- did it again (or didn't do it as the case may be) so anxious to post I lost my mind.

That looks nice, very nice. Congrats.

quote:

Originally posted by Que'n RN:
CRAP- did it again (or didn't do it as the case may be) so anxious to post I lost my mind.

If that taste as good as it looks you got er made. Looks like heaven.

Beautiful. I hope mine looks that good next time. what kind of salmon did u use?

Sockeye- thinking about trying it with copper river salmon when it hits our market, but at $20.00 per pound plus- I want to know I've got a good recipe to start (I do!) Thanks Cookshack!