Pickled Salmon

Sharon Clark, mother of Marx Foods food photographer extraordinaire, Ryan Clark, shares her recipe for pickled salmon. It is tasty. Mmmm … mmm … mmm. Thanks, Sharon!

Homemade Pickled Salmon Recipe

The below recipe can be adapted for any quantity of salmon.  I used three whole salmon fillets.

Curing the Salmon:
1. Fillet and cut pieces of fish into about six inch squares.
2. Put a thin layer of rock salt or pickling salt in a crock, porcelain, or stainless, deep pan.  Layer the salmon pieces skin side up with additional salt, making sure the fish is completely covered. Important Note: do NOT use aluminum pans for pickling salmon.
3. Cover and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 10 days. (Do not be surprised if the salt becomes partially liquid after 10 days.)
4. After 10 days, rinse off the excess salt and drain the fillets.
5. Soak the fillets of salmon in milk for at least 12 hours  or overnight.
6. Rinse the fillets thoroughly until the rinsing water is clear of all traces of milk.  The milk will remove most of the salt from the salmon fillets.

Making the Pickling Brine:
Ingredients:
For each quart of White Vinegar, add:
2 cups White Sugar
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. your preferred Pickling Spice Blend, cloves omitted/removed

The amount of pickling solution you need depends on the amount of salmon you are pickling…I usually use three quarts.

Directions:
1. Optional: place the pickling spices in a cloth bag or wrap them in cheesecloth for easy extraction.
2. Combine all ingredients in a pot on the stove, and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for five minutes.
4. Remove from the heat, and let cool completely.
5. Remove the pickling spices (either by simply pulling out the bag/parcel, or straining the liquid).

Pickling the Salmon:
1. Remove the skin from the cured fillets (how to remove fish skin) and trim away any visible fat (often grey in color).
2. Slice the fish into desired bite size pieces and layer in jars with thin slices of lemon and onions.
3. Fill the jars with the cooled pickling solution and “age” for at least 8 days before using.

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How to Brine Meat & Poultry

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