Let's Talk Gravlax

[Suzanne]

Mmmmm, gravlax. I'll have to look up the thread we had on it some years ago; there were lots of good suggestions there, too.

The one thing I remember from that other thread, because I tried it, was using other fish. I used trout, but because it's a freshwater fish, after curing it I cooked it by poaching very gently in oil. So it had the flavor of gravad but the texture of hot-smoked.

Zukerig, I'm curious: have you compared gravlax made from FAS salmon to that made from never-frozen fish? Since even sushi salmon gets frozen first, I wonder why you couldn't use really top-quality frozen wild salmon. (I think that most farm-raised is not to be used for anything, least of all a preparation where flavor and texture matter as much as gravlax.)

[Zukerig]

[draft]..........

[Suzanne]

I found the thread on "Ideas for Curing Salmon" -- Splish splash here.

Zukerig: Oh, I'm fully aware of the story of farmed salmon. If you want to read some interesting propaganda, check out Salmon of the Americas, an organization which would have us believe that farmed salmon is the greatest thing since, um, Wonderbread.

At the annual conference of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs three years ago, I attended a seminar run by Chefs Collaborative on "Seafood Solutions." Part of the seminar was a tasting of four salmons: FAS (frozen at sea) wild Alaskan salmon; FAS white salmon; fresh wild-caught coho; and Atlantic farmed. The preferred salmon of the participants (all of us restaurant professionals) was the FAS Alaskan salmon, with the FAS white coming next, the fresh coho third, and of course the Atlantic farmed last. What was generally liked about the FAS salmons was the firm texture and clear flavor. That's why I asked your opinion of FAS.

[kuan]

Us humans are weird. First we kill it, then we cure it.

[Mezzaluna]

Cape Chef, thanks for the information. I can always count on you!