3 ways with smoked salmon

Smoked Salmon Vermicelli
This elegant pasta has only a few ingredients, but together they make an incredibly satisfying supper. The dish requires nothing more than a big green salad as accompaniment. If you want to truly gild the lily, spoon fat pearls of salmon caviar or tiny, crunchy tobiko (flying-fish roe) onto each serving.

Salmon Rillettes
Rillettes are coarse, pâté-like French spreads typically made from duck, pork, or rabbit. Our salmon version is a lighter take on the traditional dish. It’s good with toasted baguette slices or sturdy crackers, and a nice cold flute of dry sparkling rosé wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Won Ton Cups with Hot-Smoked Salmon and Avocado
Ideal for cocktail parties, the little won ton cups contain a rich filling of smoked salmon and avocado, brightened with lime.

SMOKED SALMON: THE ONE-MINUTE GUIDE

More than any other fish, salmon lends itself to being smoked. Superb smoked salmon comes from Canada, Ireland, Norway, Scotland, and the United States ― and it all falls into two basic categories.

Cold-smoked The salmon is cured in brine or with sugar, salt, and spices, then smoked over wood chips at a low temperature (usually 70° to 90°) for anywhere from a day to three weeks. The smoke doesn’t actually cook the fish, so it stays silky and has a mild smoke flavor. Nova salmon is cured in a mild brine solution. Scottish-style uses a dry rub that is rinsed off before smoking. Indian-cure salmon is first brined and then smoked for up to two weeks, until it has the texture of jerky. Lox, the bagel’s best friend, is brined and sometimes (but not always) lightly smoked, and tends to be on the salty side. Scandinavian gravlax is not smoked at all, just dry-cured with salt, sugar, and dill.

Hot-smoked As with cold-smoked, hot-smoked ― or kippered ― salmon is cured first. Then it’s smoked at a higher temperature (generally 120° to 180°) for a shorter period, typically no more than 12 hours. The result: a flaky, cooked texture and a deep, smoky flavor.

More ways with salmon at MyRecipes.com »