If you arenât eating smoked salmon, it may be time to add it to your diet. Lots of vitamins, minerals, and omega-3 fatty acids are found in smoked salmon. These will improve your health and lower your risk of cancer, heart disease, and memory loss.
Smoked salmon is a delicious and popular delicacy enjoyed around the world. With its characteristic smoky, salty flavor and silky texture, it’s a treat on bagels, in salads, scrambled with eggs, or enjoyed on its own. But a question many people have is, does smoked salmon have to be cured before smoking or can you smoke raw salmon? The short answer is yes, curing is a key step in the smoked salmon process. Keep reading to understand exactly why curing is necessary and how it impacts the final product.
Why Curing is Crucial
Curing is the process of preserving and flavoring the raw salmon before smoking it There are two main reasons it’s an essential first step
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For food safety – Curing reduces bacteria on the raw fish that could cause spoilage or foodborne illness. The salt and sometimes sugar or other ingredients in a cure draw moisture out of the salmon making it difficult for bacteria to thrive.
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For taste and texture: Curing adds seasoning to the meat and makes it firmer, which makes the finished smoked salmon taste better and have a silky but chewy texture. Without curing, smoked salmon would be bland and mushy.
So for these reasons, raw salmon absolutely must be cured before smoking in order to create safe, delicious smoked salmon. Simply smoking untreated raw fish would be risky from a food safety perspective and would not deliver good flavor or texture.
Common Curing Methods
There are two main techniques used to cure salmon before smoking: dry curing and wet brining.
Dry Curing
This involves rubbing or packing the salmon with a dry mixture of salt, sugar, and sometimes spices and letting it cure in the refrigerator for several hours. The dry mixture draws moisture out of the fish to preserve and firm up the flesh. Dry curing typically takes 5-12 hours.
Wet Brining
Wet brining entails submerging salmon in a salty, aqueous solution for several hours. The brine also adds flavor to the fish and sets the proteins, giving the dish a dense, creamy texture. Wet brines for salmon often contain brown sugar and spices too. Wet brining requires similar curing times of 5-12 hours.
So in short, smoked salmon depends on proper dry curing or wet brining before any smoking occurs. These processes are indispensable.
The Smoking Process
The salmon is rinsed briefly to get rid of extra salt after it has been cured. It is then left to dry in the air so a sticky “pellicle” forms on the top. This tacky layer helps the smoke adhere to the fish.
Finally, the cured salmon goes into a smoker or grill to absorb smoky flavoring for about an hour at low heat (under 275°F). The smoking cooks the fish while adding that distinctive smoky flavor.
And that’s how curing, drying, and smoking work together to create incredible smoked salmon!
What is Lox?
Since we’re on the topic of smoked fish, you may be wondering how lox fits into the picture. Lox is a type of cured salmon, but it’s not smoked. To make lox, salmon fillets are cured in a wet brine, typically just salt and water. It cures for longer than salmon that will be smoked – usually 24 hours or more. This extended cure gives lox a firmer texture and intensely salty flavor. The brined salmon is then thinly sliced and usually served raw on bagels and in other dishes, no smoking needed.
- Smoked salmon is cured and then smoked
- Lox is only cured, not smoked
Both are delicious in their own right! Curing remains integral to making both special salmon delicacies safely and tastily.
Tips for Making Smoked Salmon at Home
Want to try your hand at smoking salmon? Here are a few tips:
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Start with sushi-grade salmon – It’s safer and tastes best. Wild-caught is ideal.
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Dry cure – It’s easier and less messy than wet brining for home smokers.
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Use brown sugar – For balanced sweet and salty flavor.
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Allow a 5-12 hour cure – This ensures seasoned and firmed flesh.
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Rinse well after curing – To remove excess salt before smoking.
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Let salmon dry thoroughly – Form that sticky pellicle to hold smoke.
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Use a smoker or grill – Maintain even 225-275°F heat.
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Add wood chips or chunks – For signature smoky flavor.
Follow these tips and your homemade smoked salmon will be a big success! The curing step is non-negotiable for getting the safety, texture, and taste just right.
Cooked Salmon as an Alternative
To get the health benefits of smoked salmon without these risks, try cooked salmon. It has all the omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals of smoked salmon with much less sodium. Itâs also a good way to avoid listeriosis.
Pros of Smoked Salmon
Smoked salmonâs health benefits include:
- Lower risk of cardiovascular disease
- Better brain health
- Lower risk of cognitive decline
- Less anxiety
- Help keep a healthy weight
- Fight inflammation
Among foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, smoked salmon stands out as a great choice. These acids can reduce inflammation, protect brain function and structure, and lower triglycerides.
Omega-3 fatty acids can also help prevent heart disease by balancing out omega-6 fatty acids in your blood.
Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are both good for you, but too much omega-6 fatty acid can make you more likely to get inflammatory diseases and inflammation. By eating smoked salmon, you can keep a healthier ratio of fatty acids.
Smoked salmon also has:
- Vitamin B12. This helps nerves work better, DNA get made, and red blood cells get made.
- Vitamins A and E. These are antioxidants that can fight off free radicals, which can damage cells and cause disease.
- Astaxanthin. This is an antioxidant that raises HDL (the “good” cholesterol) and lowers LDL (the “bad” cholesterol). This lowers the risk of heart disease.
Smoked salmon is low in calories and high in protein, which can help you feel full for longer. It may also boost your metabolism, making it easier to shed extra pounds.
One study found that kids with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease lost more fat in their liver and belly after getting more omega-3 fatty acids.
Inflammation is what leads to many long-term diseases, like cancer, ulcerative colitis, diabetes, and heart disease. Smoked salmon can help reduce inflammation. Â.
Women between the ages of 35 and 70 who ate 80 grams of salmon and other fatty fish every day were able to lower the levels of inflammatory markers in their bodies.
How to Cure and Smoke Salmon | Mad Scientist BBQ
FAQ
Do you need to cure salmon before smoking?
Is smoked salmon cooked or cured?
Can you eat raw smoked salmon?
Is smoked salmon cured meat?
Can you make smoked salmon with cured salmon?
There are limitless combinations. Smoked Salmon: To turn cured salmon into a classic smoked salmon, follow the exact same recipe and leave the salmon sit for about 16-20 hours wrapped and refrigerated in the salt and sugar mixture.
Is smoked salmon good for you?
Salmon is a source of high-quality protein, magnesium, and selenium. In addition, it provides healthy fatty acids for the body. It contains large amounts of omega 3, which prevents cardiovascular diseases, has anti-inflammatory properties, and prevents certain types of Cancer.
Can you smoke salmon?
Smoking salmon can be a slow-moving process, but it’s well worth the effort. Smoked salmon is one of the most amazing seafood preparations on the planet, but, if you’ve never tackled this project, it can be intimidating. Relax, you’ve got this. Here’s your step-by-step guide for how to smoke salmon, the super-delicious, omega-3-rich fish.
What is cured salmon?
Salmon is the star of any PNW meal, and this cured version is bound to impress. Cured salmon, or gravlax, translates as salmon grave. In the Middle Ages salmon was lightly salted and then buried in the sand by the sea for a few days. This was a way of preserving the fish. There are many different ways of approaching cured salmon.