Cool fish, eh? These are curing salmon, strung from a snowy porch in the coastal town of Murakami, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Click here to find out more about the process: warning, it’s in Japanese. Here’s how my sister, who has lived in Japan for close to 2o years and who took the pictures, translates:
◆鮭の内臓とエラを取り除いて洗い、良くヌメリをとります。
Remove the insides and gills, wash, and wash off the slimy parts
(doesn’t mention about the scales, just says “the sliminess”).
◆一本一本丁寧に塩をすり込み、1週間ほど塩漬にします。
Rub each fish with salt, and “marinate” (cure) for about one week.
◆その後、水出し、塩抜きをして丁度良い塩加減に調整します。
Wash off the salt so that there is “just the right amount” of saltiness.
◆皮まで磨きあげ、日本海の寒風に一週間陰干しにしてようやく完成します。
actually says, “in the cold windy air of the Japan Sea”) for about a
week.
Sadly, I have not yet had the opportunity to try this method; I doubt that the Santa Anas would be much of a substitute for the recommended Japan Sea breezes. So here’s my favorite recipe for cured salmon. No wind required.
GRAVLAX
1/4 cup black peppercorns
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 (1-pound) skin-on salmon fillets (the tail section)
1/3 cup aquavit
1. Crush the peppercorns by hammering them with a hammer or a thick-bottomed pan. In a medium bowl, mix the salt, sugar and crushed peppercorns and set aside.
2. Place one of the salmon fillets, skin-side down, in the middle of a piece of cheesecloth big enough to wrap securely around the fish fillets. Sprinkle half of the salt-sugar mixture on top of the fish, being sure to cover all of the salmon. Drizzle half of the aquavit over this, then cover with the rest of the salt-sugar mixture.
3. Place the second salmon fillet, skin-side up, on top of the covered first fillet, making sure that the two fillets align. Drizzle the rest of the aquavit over the top layer and tightly wrap the cheesecloth over the fillets. Cover with plastic wrap. Place a small cutting board on top of the wrapped fish and put the entire thing into the refrigerator. Weight with heavy items from your refrigerator and allow to sit for 24 hours.
4. After 24 hours, remove from the refrigerator and turn over the wrapped fish. Pour a little of the accumulated brine over the top of the fish, replace the weights and return to the refrigerator. (If there is a lot of brine in the bottom of the pan, pour it off; you don’t want the bottom of the fish to touch it.) Allow the gravlax to sit for another 24 hours.
5. After a total of 48 hours in the refrigerator, remove the fish, unwrap, and scrape off the pepper mixture. With a very sharp knife, slice the fillets, one at a time, very thinly on a diagonal.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
In my dotage, it’s such a trip to have two such fantastic daughters. When I am willing to listen, I can and have learned a lot; i.e., getting a laptop computer,walking to work once in a while to lose weight, et al.
I have even been successfully tempted to eat fried crickets at a Santa Monica restaurant by one and introduced to the wonders of Japan by the other.
I love peppercorns (ground pepper), by the way. This salmon sounds good.
Arrigato go saimus (’Thank you’ in Japanese – excuse the Romanji spelling )