Food Encyclopedia

smoked salmon

Fresh salmon that has undergone a smoking process, usually by one of two methods — hot-smoking or cold-smoking. Hot-smoking is a process by which the fish is smoked from six to 12 hours at temperatures ranging from 120°F to 180°F. The time and temperature depend on the size of the fish, how close it is to the source of smoke and the degree of flavor desired. In cold-smoking, a temperature of 70°F to 90°F is maintained and the fish might remain in the smokehouse for anywhere from one day to three weeks. There are many types of smoked salmon. Indian-cure salmon is brined fish that has been cold-smoked for up to two weeks, which results in a form of salmon jerky. Kippered salmon — U.S. style — is a chunk, steak or fillet that has been soaked in a mild brine and hot-smoked. It's usually made from chinook salmon that has been dyed red. European kippered salmon differs in that it's a whole salmon that has been split before being brined and cold-smoked. Lox is brine-cured cold-smoked salmon, much of which is slightly saltier than other smoked salmon. Some lox, however, has had sugar added to the brine, which produces a less salty product. Lox is a favorite in American-Jewish cuisine, particularly when served with bagels and cream cheese. Nova or Nova Scotia salmon is an idiom used in the eastern United States that broadly describes cold-smoked salmon. Scotch-smoked, Danish-smoked and Irish-smoked salmon are all geographical references to cold-smoked Atlantic salmon (whereas the Pacific species — usually coho or chinook — treated in this manner is generally simply labeled smoked salmon). Squaw candy consists of thin strips of salmon that has been cured in a salt-sugar brine before being hot-smoked. Other fish such as trout and haddock can also be smoked.