Food of the Gods ~ Breakfast!

OK, OK, it has taken me three days, but, I finally have a supply of my wild smoked salmon for breakfast again. I get kindah anxious when my stash gets low. (You will recall ~ I am a repeat eater.)

My colleague, Ramses, is happy as well. We have an agreement. He gets the salmon skin and the last bite of each half. A nice way to start the day ~ everyone happy.

Day 9 Everyday Grateful ~ a lovely warm sunny morning, my favourite breakfast with my favourite hound. Heaven!

Food of the Gods ~ Wild Salmon Part Deux

The wild salmon has marinated covered in my refrigerator for about 36 hours. In preparation to the next step, I covered my maple butcher block counter with cut-up kraft grocery bags.

Then, I put the grates from my smoker on the counter just before I took the large enameled roaster out of the refrigerator. It's a good idea to spray the grates with oil (I don't always remember which is one of the reasons I smoke my wild salmon with the skins on.)

Once I have the marinated pieces placed on the grates, I turn on the fan.

There are several keys to successful smoked fish. First is fish worth smoking ~ fresh, fresh, fresh and wild, wild, wild. Next is your marinade. I've posted a link below for a site I used at the beginning of my wild smoked salmon journey. The final next step before putting the fish in the smoker ~ form the pellicle. This glaze or film helps the smoke adhere to the fish.

Don't make the rookie mistake and smoke your fish without this step. There are several ways to form the pellicle. I usually put the salmon pieces on the racks and turn the fan on them for at least 2 hours. You can go longer. Don't worry, the salt protects the fish. Doing it in the house means fewer opportunities for flying insects. But, I must remain vigilant. Ramses can surf the counters without even raising his head.

You can also allow them to dry outside on a breezy day. When I do that, I cover the fish on the grates with cheese cloth from my giant cheese cloth roll I have that I have no idea when or why it arrived in my studio. Now, I use it when I smoke my fish.

While the pellicle is forming, I start soaking the wood chips.

Now, into the smoker. I have three racks. I've rigged two additional smaller racks to hang under the top two racks. I really had a lot of fish this time. I was a little worried about adding the extra racks so I called Byron. He assured me the smoke would get to all the fish and I could make use of the space between the factory installed grates. I'll let you know.

The key is to put the thinner pieces on the top rack. In about an hour, I'll start checking the fish on the remaining racks for doneness (is that a word?) It's OK to remove fish from the top rack if it is done and leave the lower racks which have thicker fish on them. Do keep checking them often. It's easy to overcook. They will still be delicious, just not as moist as you might want them.



Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

My client called to ask about some handmade tile. I asked her to come by for dinner since she was coming from so far. Let's mange, OK. With that decided, it's off to the store for fresh romaine and other salady things. Mmmm, maybe some risotto to go with the Smoked Salmon Caesar. Back on a flash!

OMG ~ almost done.

Oh, yeah! We have lift-off! Meet you in the kitchen.

The dinner party that started out with one, ended up with six! The picture is less than to be hoped for but the Smoked Salmon Caesar salad? Divine! You know it is good when people offer to help empty the smoker. Then, they crowd around as you bring out each layer and take a piece to munch on as they go back to the kitchen. Oh, that makes me feel so good!

Wild Salmon is a clean and elegant food. Smoked Wild Salmon really is the food of the Gods.

Here is another capital "T" truth ~

If you care about the future, protect wild salmon. Everything our children need, wild salmon need ~ clean air, clean water, abundant food and a healthy place to live.

For more information ~ www.greatwildsalmonrun.org

Hank Shaw has excellent step-by-step instructions. Between he and my friend, Byron, I  gained the confidence to try this amazing process. The truth is ~ it really is easy. Sure, it's time consuming, but . . . oh, the results! Heavenly

http://fishcooking.about.com/od/smokebrine/ss/smokingfish.htm

Day 8+ Everyday Grateful ~ friends over for dinner and eating freshly smoked wild salmon. Oh, dear ~ how wonderful is that!

Food of the Gods ~ Wild Smoked Salmon

For about fifteen years, I've been a vegetarian. Well, there is the whole "I do eat fish" thing, but, meat? Not so much. In fact, almost never. In the olden days, I really, really craved steak. Steers feared me. When I stopped eating beef, chicken, and pork, etc., I thought I would really miss it, but, I didn't. Quite the little surprise.

Several years ago, my friend, Barb the gourmand, called me to say she had read an article about the four or five types of eaters. Going over the list together, it was clear ~ I'm a repeat eater. I like knowing what my breakfast is, what it's going to taste like. It feels like a calm start to the day. Over time, I found I prefer savory to sweet and because I live in Seattle (I suppose) ~ fresh ground dark roast coffee prepared using a French press with whole milk. I like it best when the resulting colour matches, say, the "Moroccan Sand" paint chip I might have hanging around. Delicious and no surprises.

I started having smoked salmon with my fresh bagel, sliced tomato, capers and cream cheese many, many years ago. I used to buy Jensen's smoked salmon literally by the case at my local market. Their smoked wild salmon was delicious, well-priced and I liked supporting a local company. Then, they had a falling out with my market and I was left fending for myself.

While searching for a replacement, I found out there is some very bad smoked salmon on the market. Sheesh!

Now, here are the two capital "T" truths about smoked salmon: First, it must be wild caught. Farmed salmon is filthy and very, very bad for the environment. Second, no preservatives. The smoking process is the preservative. If the smoked salmon you buy has any of these two no-no's, don't buy it.

My own smoked wild salmon journey stated innocently enough.

Last spring, I was having a meeting with one of the members of my board at his home on Capitol Hill in Seattle. We sat at a small round table in his fully restored 100 year old kitchen and had fresh coffee and a small plate of smoked salmon. OMG ~ it was utterly delicious. When I asked him where he bought it, he said he smoked it himself. "It's not hard to do, you know."

Thus began my quest for perfect smoked salmon. Gawd, I'm such a little over-achiever! Researching ~ reading ~ talking with experts. After gathering all the information I could, I jumped in the deep end of all things wild salmon, but since, times are, in fact, tough, I started out with a used smoker on Craigslist. $40.



Four months later, a vacuum sealer from Craigslist. In the next few months, I'll get a small chest freezer for the garage. But, as I gather all my equipment, I keep smoking salmon. Batch after batch, I work on perfecting my marinade. Trial and error.

Last Christmas, I smoked eight wild salmon and gave smoked wild salmon for presents.

Today, I bought four wild Sockeye and brought them home. They averaged around 7# ~ bigger than I've been buying. So, I'm up to my eyes in marinating wild salmon. On Wednesday morning, I'll put them in the smoker. (It makes my mouth water just thinking about it.)

This year, I'm looking forward to buying directly from the tribes. My friend, Byron, buys 100# at a time, smokes it, seals it and has it for months from the freezer. He's going to take me to his special location to buy it directly. Can't wait. I'll keep you posted.

I'll post pictures of the salmon in the smoker so you can see how wonderful it is.

Day 6 Everyday Grateful ~ being confident, capable, resourceful ~ acquiring new skills, trying new things

If you care about the future, protect wild salmon. Everything our children need, wild salmon need ~ clean air, clean water, abundant food and a healthy place to live.

For more information ~ www.greatwildsalmonrun.org