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| Posted: Fri Aug 6th, 2010 03:07 pm |
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1st Post |
Vargr
Vargr
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Most home-smoked salmon recipes include brining with a salt solution, or salted rubs and marinades. And every store-bought brand wuff has tried included lots of sodium on the label. So what is one to do if someone is on a restricted salt diet, but still loves a piece of smoked salmon now and then?
These are wuffy's attempt to come up with some variations that delivery flavorful variations without a bit of salt in the preparation. Of course, those who aren't on a restricted diet could add a bit of salt to the preparation, that's their choice.
A note: These are "experimental"; wuffy hasn't prepped any of these before. They are Vargr's variations on some traditional salted recipes, with substitutions to "up" the flavor while cutting out the salt. We'll be testing these at Boojum's house this weekend, so an update on the results will follow.
Salt-Free Smoked Salmon Recipe Ideas
Lemon-Dill
Marinade:
Lemon Juice - 1/3 – 1/2 Cup
Dill – at least 1 Tablespoon
Pepper – 1/2 Tbs
A little sugar to offset the lemon slightly. (1 Tbs?)
Mix all together until sugar dissolves. May need to add a bit of water to increase volume. Put one fillet in zip-top bag and fill with mixture. Allow to rest in refrigerator for a few hours, or overnight.
Smoke:
Remove fish and pat dry. Sprinkle with more dill, a dash of sweet paprika, and a good coating of lemon-pepper seasoning. (Perhaps a sprinkle of dried basil or finely chopped fresh basil.) Smoke at low temperature until done. Spritz with lemon water, if desired, to retain moisture.
NOTE! Be careful in your choice of lemon-pepper seasoning! Mrs. Dash has no salt / sodium in their mix, but nearly every other brand had quite a bit. For salt-free diets, make sure your seasoning mixes don't have salt. Check, even if the lable doesn't mention it, the ingrediants will.
Sweet and Savory (dry rub).
“Dry Marinadeâ€
Brown Sugar – About 1/2 C
Granulated Garlic – 1 Tbs
Rubbed sage – 1 teaspoon
Fennel seed – 1 teaspoon
Black Pepper – 1/2 Tbs
Chipotle chili powder – 1/2 Tbs
Mix all together and pat thickly all over surface of fish, rubbing in well. Wrap fish in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or over night.
Smoke
Remove fish and add another coating of the rub. “Paint†over the top with fresh maple syrup, using pastry brush. Smoke, basting occasionally with the maple syrup, until done.
Citrus Rosemary Special.
Marinade
Orange Juice – 1 C
Orange Zest – from 1 large orance
Lime Juice – from 2-3 fresh limes
Lime Zest – from 2-3 limes
Lemon Juice – 2 Tbs
1 Tbs rosemary
1/2 Tbs garlic
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
Dash of corriandar
Dash of Anise seeds
Mix all together. Put fish (2 lb or more) fillet in zip-top bag and add marinade. Allow to rest in refrigerator for a couple hours or over night.
Smoke
Remove fish and pat dry. Boil down marinade, adding a pat or two of butter, until reduced by half and brush over the fish (may need to add a bit of corn starch slurry to thicken). Sprinkle with fresh rosemary, finely chopped, orange zest, and lime zest. If you like a shot of heat, sprinkle on a scant bit of red pepper (cayenne). Smoke, basting occasionally with the reduced marinade, until done.
Last edited on Fri Aug 6th, 2010 08:07 pm by Vargr
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We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
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| Posted: Sat Aug 7th, 2010 11:10 pm |
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2nd Post |
Vargr
Vargr
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Alrighty then! We made up the 3 types of salmon in the smoker, and also one made using a bottled marinade called "Wayrurat" by Suka (the makers of Pinakurat). The later is a "spiced natural coconut vinegar", with "fermented coconut nectar, garlic, onion, ginger, sweet peppers, and salt. Picked this up at the "Philippine Fish Market" near "KK Cafe" on White street, next to Booj's part of town.
After lightly smoking (very little smoked flavor, because we used cherry wood instead of our normal oak & cherry mix), we sampled all 4 versions. Here's wuff's conclusions:
General - there's a reason why most all recipes include either salt or brining the fish first as part of their prep. A touch of salt really improved all of these, but we sampled them "as is" first to see how the "no-salt" variation worked. All had lots of flavor, but a touch of salt still improved them further, to our tastes. Though, if a person has been "low salt" for a while, they might find this otherwise.
Lemon - Dill.
Delightful! Savory, and really compliments the fish well. Lets more of the salmon flavor through than the other 2 recipes in the post above. Probably the best "eat it straight off the plate" version of the three. Wouldn't change anything on this one.
Sweet and Savory (dry rub)
The weakest of the three posted recipes. Definitely a bit too sweet, though the mix of other flavors was very good. However, the brown sugar overpowered it all. However, was probably the best looking of the three pieces of fish, with a lovely caramel color. Cutting the brown sugar by at least half would probably improve this one considerably, but it probably needs some salt to balance the sweetness even more. Has a nice warm "finish". With a bit of "fine tuning", this would be a winner too.
Citrus Rosemary Special
Another "winner", but a bit lacking in rosemary and other flavors. However, a wonderful orange-y citrus flavor! And the best one on saltines of the three. A good one for folks who aren't "salmon fans", as it is strong enough to somewhat over-ride the fish. Wonderful mix of flavors and definitely a 'summery" orange-lemon-lime combo. The marinade, when reducing at a boil on the stove, had a fantastic aroma. Would likely be a very nice sauce on it's own, spooned sparingly over some fish served on herbed and lightly salted rice. I might kick up the rosemary and other ingrediants a bit, next time I try this one. But it is certainly a "keeper" just as it is!
The "Wayrurat"
Excellent! Savory, complex, not overpowering. A wonderful marinade done overnight and then basted on the smoking fish a couple of times. Excellent straight off the plate, or on crackers. Simplest prep of all - just pour the bottle over the fish in a zip-top bag, rest in the fridge, remove and smoke. No "heat" so would be perfect for folks who don't like peppery foods. Doesn't overpower the fish, but compliments it very well. Another keeper!
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We grow not old, so long as we continue to chase our dreams.
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