Lower East Side Lox Recipes

LOX CHOWDER

Lox Chowder image

There is a recipe for lox chowder in Mark Russ Federman's charming memoir of his family's appetizing business on the Lower East Side of Manhattan: "Russ & Daughters: Reflections and Recipes From the House That Herring Built." I put a version of it into The Times in 2013. The soup tastes best made with the store's smoked salmon trimmings, which offer a lot of fatty, flavorful bits from up around the fish's collar (and cheap, too!), but a number of test runs using supermarket smoked salmon offered evidence that the soup is still terrific when made outside the five boroughs of New York City, with a fantastic smokiness tempered by the sweet flavors of potato and leek.

Provided by Sam Sifton

Categories dinner, weekday, main course

Time 1h10m

Yield 4 to 6 servings

Number Of Ingredients 17

Ingredients

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium leek, cleaned, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1 rib celery, trimmed and diced
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 large, starchy potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, either homemade or low-sodium
1 bay leaf
2 cups whole milk
4 ounces smoked salmon, flaked
3/4 cup heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Fresh chives, minced, for garnish

Steps:

Melt the butter with the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat. Add leek, carrot and celery, and cook until the vegetables have softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, potato and thyme, and cook until the garlic is fragrant, an additional 2 or 3 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour over the vegetable mixture and stir to combine, then cook, stirring often, for approximately 5 minutes, making sure not to scorch the bottom of the pan.
Add the wine, chicken stock and bay leaf, and bring mixture to a simmer. After 10 minutes or so, stir in the milk, and return to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender, approximately 25 minutes. Add the salmon and stir gently, allowing the fish to warm but making sure that the mixture does not boil.
Remove the bay leaf and discard. Add the cream, then stir to combine and heat through. Season to taste with pepper. Garnish with minced chives.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 312, UnsaturatedFat 8 grams, Carbohydrate 22 grams, Fat 20 grams, Fiber 2 grams, Protein 10 grams, SaturatedFat 10 grams, Sodium 278 milligrams, Sugar 8 grams, TransFat 0 grams

HOMEMADE LOX

Homemade Lox image

You can make your own lox at home. It takes some time, but the investment is well worth it. I prefer my lox without the smoke flavor. Try it once and see if you agree.

Provided by Wacky Noodles

Categories 100+ Breakfast and Brunch Recipes Meat and Seafood Seafood

Time P2DT1h50m

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 4

Ingredients

1 pound salmon fillet, bones removed
½ cup kosher salt
½ cup white sugar
9 drops liquid smoke flavoring

Steps:

Rinse salmon with water; pat dry with paper towels.
Mix salt and sugar together in a bowl. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap. Pour half of the salt mixture onto the plastic wrap; lay salmon on top. Cover salmon with remaining salt mixture.
Fold plastic wrap around salmon until secure; wrap a second layer of plastic wrap around salmon. Transfer to a 9x9-inch baking pan; cover with an 8x8-inch baking pan. Place a heavy object onto the smaller baking pan to weigh salmon down. Cure in the refrigerator until salmon's surface becomes silky, about 48 hours.
Combine water and ice in a bowl. Mix water and 3 drops liquid smoke together in a bowl. Place salmon into liquid smoke mixture to rinse. Submerge into ice bath for 30 minutes. Repeat rinsing and submerging 2 more times, adding 3 drops of liquid smoke to the rinse water each time.
Dry salmon with paper towels. Cut with a sharp knife staring from the thin edge of the salmon and cutting toward the thick edge.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 119.9 calories, Carbohydrate 12.5 g, Cholesterol 24.3 mg, Fat 3 g, Protein 10.4 g, SaturatedFat 0.6 g, Sodium 5718.8 mg, Sugar 12.5 g