REC: Cured, pan-smoked salmon (no special equip. necessary)
I never EVER thought I'd share a salmon recipe, because I don't like salmon! UNLESS...it's cooked this way! I don't have the heat regulated quite right on this yet (2 different times), so I finish it in the broiler, just 'til done. It's wonderful...fresh and left over on a salad.
CURED, PAN-SMOKED SALMON
From Scott Paul Wines
Quite simply, this is the very best salmon preparation we've ever had - anywhere. This is one of those rare recipes that is incredibly simple yet yields results so impressive that you'll want to serve it to guests. And they will ask for the recipe.
You'll start by fashioning a cast iron skillet into a smoker. To do that, line a 10 inch skillet with foil, tearing a 1 ½" hole in the center. This is where you'll place the wood chips (mesquite, alder, etc. Incidentally, grapevines work well). You'll need a round wire cake rack with 1" feet. If you don't have one with feet, improvise by balling up 4 small pieces of tin foil and placing them underneath the outer edges of the rack so the rack is balanced. Lastly, line your skillet lid with foil. That's it. You've done the hard part. Now, on with the recipe.
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1 ¼ pound center-cut salmon fillet, with skin, in 1 piece
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ tablespoon wood chips
In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper and sugar. Place the fish on a platter and rub the seasoning mix all over. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Prepare your skillet as described above (don't put the chips or cake rack in yet) and place over high heat until very hot, about 5 minutes. Pat the salmon dry with paper towels and lightly brush both sides with oil. Add wood chips to the center of the skillet and then position the cake rack on top. When the chips begin to smoke, place the fish on the rack, skin side down and cover tightly with the foil-lined lid. Reduce heat to moderately low and
smoke the salmon for about 10 minutes or until a fork inserted into the
fillet meets with no resistance. Serve hot or chilled, but hot is our
preference.
.
Serves 4