One Day Citrus Cured Salmon Recipes

CITRUS-CURED SALMON

Steps:

• Combine salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Spread half of curing mix in the center of a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet roughly the same size as the fish. Place fish, skin side down, on curing mixture. Spread lemon zest, lime zest, and orange zest evenly over fish; cover with remaining curing mixture. Bring edges of foil up and over salmon and crimp to enclose. Place another baking sheet on top of salmon and weigh down with several large cans or a heavy pot. Chill, unwrapping and flipping fish halfway through, 24 hours.
• Rinse fish and pat dry; place, skin side down, on a cutting board. Using your longest, sharpest knife and wiping down blade with a moist towel between slices, cut on a diagonal 1/8"-1/4" thick, leaving skin behind.
• Do Ahead
• Salmon can be cured 3 days ahead. Cover tightly and chill.

CITRUS-CURED SALMON

Steps:

• In a small bowl, stir salt and sugar to combine. In another small bowl, combine orange, lemon and lime zest; set aside.
• Place a sheet of parchment paper-lined aluminum foil, large enough to extend beyond the length of the salmon, on work surface. Spread one-third the salt mixture in center of parchment-lined foil; place salmon skin-side down on salt bed. Sprinkle zest mixture evenly over salmon and top with remaining salt mixture; salmon should be completely covered.
• Fold foil up to contain salt; place a second sheet of parchment paper-lined aluminum foil over salmon and firmly crimp sheets together to form a tight package in which salt mixture is in contact with all surfaces of salmon. Transfer salmon packet to a baking sheet. Set a pan or large dish on top of salmon; top with cans or bricks to weight down. Transfer to refrigerator; refrigerate for 24 hours.
• Unwrap salmon and remove it from salt mixture. Rinse salmon and pat dry using paper towels. Set salmon on a rack or paper towel-lined tray and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours more.

VODKA AND CITRUS CURED SALMON

Steps:

• Remove any tiny pin bones from the salmon with a pair of needle nose pliers or tweezers. Rinse the salmon under cold running water and pat dry. Place salmon, skin side down, on several large sheets of plastic wrap.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine salt, sugar, dill, vodka and lemon, lime and orange zests. Spread the sugar/salt/citrus mixture evenly over the fleshy side of the fish, pressing it into the flesh. Wrap the salmon tightly in the plastic wrap and place skin side down n a large baking dish. Place a flat glass or ceramic dish on top of the salmon and weight the dish with several heavy cans or a brick and refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 48 hours.
• Unwrap the salmon and rinse all of the cure off under cold, running water. Pat dry and slice diagonally into paper-thin slices.

CITRUS-CURED SALMON

Steps:

• Wash and blot dry the salmon fillet, removing pin bones. Fillets can have skin either on or off, as the skin can be removed later.
• Because lots of fluid will be drawn off the fish while curing, using a deep platter or baking dish (large enough to accommodate the salmon fillet) is essential. Line the platter/baking dish horizontally and vertically with two pieces of plastic wrap, long enough for wrapping the salmon and overlapping the edges.
• Thoroughly combine citrus zests with salt and sugar.
• Place salmon skin side down atop the plastic wrap in the serving platter.
• Thoroughly massage the citrus/salt/sugar cure into fleshy side of fish.
• Bringing sides of plastic up, tightly seal the salmon in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2--3 days. (Usually two days is enough) Due to the large amount of fluid drawn out of the fish, it will become very firm. Some recipes advise weighting it down, but I have not done so.
• Once removed from the plastic wrap, thoroughly rinse cure from salmon and using a sharp knife, remove the skin.
• Wrap in plastic film again and place in freezer for 12 hours.
• Remove from freezer, unwrap from plastic film and slice thinly by holding a sharp knife almost parallel to counter, slicing on the diagonal of the fillet, almost shaving.
• Enjoy in your favorite recipe using lox-style salmon. Toss with pasta in a cream sauce, top a pizza crust and add goat cheese, dill, and scallion. Serve in hearty scooped out cucumber cups with cream cream cheese and dill. Or just enjoy plain with brown bread, butter or mayo, slivered red onion, sliced tomato, and capers.

CITRUSY ROASTED SALMON AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, combine the olive oil, clementine or mandarin juice, lime juice, cilantro, shallot and garlic; set aside citrus sauce.
• Scrub the potatoes and slice them into ¼-inch-thick rounds. In a large (12-inch) cast-iron skillet (or similar oven-safe pan), fan out the potato rounds, overlapping them a little, to cover the surface of the skillet. Season well with salt (about 1 to 1½ teaspoons) and black pepper to taste. Sprinkle on a few red-pepper flakes. Stir the oil and citrus juice mixture to combine again, and spoon half of the sauce over the potatoes. Place the skillet in the oven and roast for 20 minutes, until the edges start to turn golden.
• Remove the skillet from the oven, season the salmon well with salt (about 1½ teaspoons) and pepper to taste and place the salmon on top of the potatoes, skin side down. Sprinkle with a few more red-pepper flakes. Spoon the rest of the citrus sauce over the salmon and top the fish with the citrus slices. Place the skillet back in the oven and roast until the salmon is cooked through to your liking, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon.