T Squared

[JJC]

Hi Tom,

I'm doing up some lox as I write this, using the dry salting followed by dry sugaring method you mentioned.  I noticed that from your recipe that there is no freshening step, only a rinse after the salt brine.  Is that correct?

John
Newton MA

[tsquared]

Hi John- That's right--no freshening other quickly rinsing the salted fillets off under the tap and drying with paper towel. After the sugar cure I don't even rinse them off,I just wipe the fillets off with a rum soaked cloth. Having said that, I am very particular about how much salt I use and how much time the fillets remain in the salt. If you are using a fatty species of salmon (anything other than pinks or chum)then you need longer in the salt as the fat in the fish slows salt penetration. I trim off the thinner belly flap portions and the tail portion of my fillets to try and achieve a fairly uniform thickness. (I often use these trimmings for Kummok's strips) Put 1/4 inch salt on your dish and lay your fillet on it,skin side down, scoring the skin in 3 or 4 diagonal strips if it is thicker than 1 inch. Sprinkle salt on top, up to 1/2 inch on thick areas and less on thinner ones. Be conservative in the amount of salt you use, you can always leave your fish in longer if it isn't done enough. If your fillet is 1 inch thick, leave in about 12 hours, up to 24 hours for a 2 inch thick piece. If you have a piece that thick (2" or more) you should think about injecting it with brine, as the salt will have difficulty penetrating that deep. Oh the problems of catching monster king salmon![:D] The most important(and easiest) test to see if your fish is dry salted enough is using your finger to see how firm the fillet is. If it feels firm and springs back when you poke it, it's done. If it is firm on top but still feels squishy in the middle, you need more time. Once you get the hang of it, using dry salt is quite versatile and delivers a pleasing product. One of these days you will have to travel out here to the Island and we can reduce the king salmon population before that Alaskan highliner Kummok catches them all.[;)]
Tom

[JJC]

Thanks, Tom!  Got the info just in time.  Maybe I should plan on bringing some of the lox out there sometime so you can verify that I made it correctly . . . [;)]

John
Newton MA

[tsquared]

Just bring some single malt, lox we got plenty of.
Let me know how your lox turns out.
Tom

[JJC]

Cold-smoking as we speak.  Did some your way and Spyguy's way (though I did substitute my own wet brine recipe).  I'll have the difficult job of deciding which one I prefer later today . . .[:D]  Thanks again for the help!

John
Newton MA