Make Lox Your Way In Your Kitchen

I love lox. Who doesn't like lox and bagels for breakfast? Served with a salad and you have a delicious, healthy lunch or light dinner.

Sold in vacuum packed packages, lox is readily available in the refrigerated section of most markets or sold hand-sliced paper thin at specialty deli counters, like New York City's Zabar's or Russ and Daughters.

 

Lox is an easy to enjoy dish. Thin sliced, on a bagel or a slice of toast, with cream cheese, capers, tomato and red onions, lox is a delicious treat in the morning or any time  of the day.

Lox is also surprisingly easy to prepare at home at a fraction of the cost.

The technique I have developed works for any kind of salmon, but my preference is to always use wild caught salmon, not farmed because the flesh has better texture and flavor. 

If you are lucky enough to return from a fishing trip with pounds of salmon that were frozen on board the ship, thaw a piece to make delicious cured salmon.

You can use any part of the salmon, the area close to the tail or the fat mid-section. To ensure even curing, cut the salmon so that the filet is the same thickness through out. If you use the fat mid-section, cut off the thin part of the filet. You can use the thicker part of the mid-section for a sautéed salmon dish and use the thin part to make cured salmon. Or, visa versa

The thicker the filet you use, the longer you will want to leave the salmon to cure. A thin part will cure in a week. The thick part will cure in two-three weeks.

When buying salmon, look for flesh that has a good color. The flesh should be smooth, without fissures. 

Your lox is only as good as the ingredients, so use salt that has not been treated with chemicals. I prefer Diamond Cyrstal Kosher Salt.

Home Cured Lox

You can use any part of the salmon, the area close to the tail or the fat mid-section. To ensure even curing, cut the salmon so that the filet is the same thickness through out. 

If you use the fat mid-section, cut off the thin part of the filet. You can use the thicker part of the mid-section for a sautéed salmon dish and use the thin part to make cured salmon. Or visa versa.

The thicker the filet you use, the longer you will want to cure the salmon. A thin filet will cure in a week. The thicker part will cure in two-three weeks.

Add flavor with dried aromatics. Dill works very well. If you enjoy a bit of heat, use dried pepper flakes or Korean pepper powder.

Ingredients

1/2 pound fresh salmon, washed and pat dried

1/2 cup Diamond Cyrstal Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon dried aromatic like dill weed

1/4 teaspoon dried pepper powder (optional)

Directions

Use tweezers to remove all the pin bones, those very thin bones that are located in the middle of the filet. Discard.

Many people do not like the darker flesh close to the skin. Using a sharp knife, cut the dark parts of the flesh and the skin. Remove and reserve to thinly slice and deep fry for a delicious treat to serve on steamed rice.

On the kitchen counter, lay a sheet of plastic wrap 5" larger than the filet. Sprinkle the kosher salt onto the plastic wrap. Place the deboned filet on top of the kosher salt. Add the dry aromatic flavoring and (optional) pepper powder on top of the filet. Sprinkle the remaining kosher salt on the filet.

Pull up the edges of the plastic wrap and seal the filet. If needed, use a second sheet of plastic wrap so that the filet is completely sealed in the plastic wrap.

Place the sealed and seasoned filet into an air tight container that is larger than the filet so it can lie flat.

Refrigerate.

Every 24 hours, turn the container over so the filet cures evenly.

You will notice that very quickly the dry seasonings become a slurry as the salt pulls moisture out of the salmon. 

Continue turning over the container every 24 hours. One week for thin filets. Two weeks for thicker filets. As you perfect your technique, you may choose to cure the salmon filets longer, depending on your taste.

The filets will not spoil for up to a month.

Serving

Remove the filet from the container and the plastic wrap. Rinse thoroughly in clean, running water. Pat dry. Use a sharp knife and cut the filet into paper thin slices. You don't need to eat all of the filet at one time. Use as much as you want. Rewrap in plastic wrap any unused portions, place into an air tight container and refrigerate for up to a month. 

To make a bento-box style treat, cut bread into 2" square pieces, toast and add cream cheese, capers and a slice of your homemade lox. If desired, sprinkle with sea salt and top with a thin slice of tomato.

The Freshest, Coolest Salad You Can Make for Summer or Anytime

Our Fourth of July pot-luck picnic was lovely. Friends gathered in a park opposite the local high school to share a meal and then watch fireworks. Everyone made delicious dishes. One friend liked a chopped salad I made and asked for the recipe. 

Adapted from a classic Persian salad, usually made with roughly chopped tomatoes, Persian cucumbers, Italian parsley and (often) feta, mine is made with a few more ingredients and the bits are cut smaller, so the flavors combine more easily. For a vegan version, omit the feta.

The salad goes well with roast chicken, grilled sausages, charred steak or sautéed tofu or by itself with avocado slices.

For the tomatoes, I prefer cherry tomatoes, but any kind of ripe tomato will do. Only use Persian cucumbers ("cukes"). To build out the flavors and textures, I add cooked corn kernels, chopped green olives and ripe avocado. For the dressing, I prefer Japanese rice wine because it is less harsh than other salad vinegars mixed with extra virgin olive oil.

For seasoning, I keep it simple. Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. For a hint of heat, I sprinkle a small amount of Korean pepper flakes but Italian pepper flakes will be as good. And, with a nod to the time I spent in Morocco where I learned to make pickles, I sprinkle on a few flakes of dried oregano.

Chopped Cherry Tomato-Italian Parsley-Persian Cukes and Feta Salad

Serves 4

Time to prepare: 10 minutes

Ingredients 

1 large basket cherry tomatoes, washed, dried, stems removed, quartered

2 medium sized Persian cukes, washed, peeled, cut into small pieces, the size of the quartered cherry tomatoes 

1 bunch Italian parsley, washed, dried, leaves only finely chopped, stems discarded or saved to make vegetable stock

1-2 tablespoons feta, crumbled, preferably Bulgarian which is creamy and less salty than other fetas

1/4 cup olives, pitted, roughly chopped

1/4 cup charred or boiled corn kernels

1/2-1 ripe avocado, washed, peeled, pit removed, cut into pieces the size of the quartered cherry tomatoes (if serving with slices of avocado, omit in the salad)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (possibly more, to taste)

1 teaspoon Japanese rice vinegar (not seasoned)

Sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

Korean pepper powder or Italian pepper flakes, sprinkled, to taste

Directions

Combine all of the above in a salad bowl. Toss well to coat ingredients with the dressing and seasonings. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve cold with a protein or sliced avocado and ice-cold beers or glasses of chilled white wine.

To Make a Sweeter Balsamic Vinegar, Heat and Reduce

Transform ordinary balsamic vinegar into thicker, slightly sweet reduced balsamic to make a best-ever salad dressing. 

Reduction is a simple and effective way to increase flavor by reducing the water content of a liquid using heat or evaporation.

Reduction transforms inexpensive balsamic vinegar into an extraordinary sauce. At a restaurant supply store like Smart and Final, 5 liters of Italian balsamic vinegar sells for under $20.00. 5 liters will make 40 ounces of reduced balsamic, enough for a hundred servings.

Reduced Balsamic Vinegar

Like vinegar in general, reduced balsamic does not need refrigeration and will last indefinitely.

To make an oil and vinegar salad dressing, combine 1 teaspoon of reduced balsamic with 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil. Mix well and drizzle over tossed lettuce, tomatoes and burrata or chopped Italian parsley and feta.

Time to prepare: 10-15 minutes or 10-15 hours depending on the amount of vinegar being reduced

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Italian balsamic vinegar to make a single serving or 1 large 5 liter bottle to make 40 ounces

Directions:

For an individual serving, pour 1/4 cup of vinegar into a small saucepan and heat over a slow flame. That will take 10-15 minutes and make about a tablespoon. Let cool and mix with olive oil to use as a salad dressing to serve 4. 

To make a larger quantity, pour the 5 liters of balsamic vinegar into a large pot. Open the kitchen windows and heat the vinegar. Be careful to keep the flame on low.  A gentle simmer is good.

As the volume of vinegar reduces, adjust the flame to avoid boiling, which creates an unpleasant flavor.

5 liters of vinegar will take 8-10 hours to reduce to 20% of the original volume.  Use a small spoon to taste the vinegar. When thickened, the balsamic has a slightly sweet flavor. Roughly speaking, 5 liters will make 40 ounces of reduced balsamic.

If the balsamic reduces too much and is too syrupy, add a cup of water, stir well and heat. Add more water until you have the consistency you enjoy.

Use a funnel to fill plastic squeeze bottles. I prefer a 4 ounce bottle for easy handling. 5 liters of balsamic vinegar will make nine to ten 4 ounce bottles.

As the balsamic reduces, sometimes, a film or solids might develop. If so, wet a piece of cheese cloth and put it inside a funnel placed into a squeeze bottle. Pour the reduced balsamic through the cheese cloth and fill the squeeze bottles. When all the bottles are filled, squeeze the cheese cloth so you capture all of the balsamic. Rinse clean and dry the cheese cloth.