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Southjetty Chef
Local Cuisine with an emphasis on Wild-Caught Fish & Seafood

Salmon Candy Canapés: Lox, Ikura & Cream Cheese on Buckwheat Blinis

1/2/2017

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One of our first orders of business upon arriving in Chignik Lake in late summer was to stock our freezers with enough salmon to see us through the coming months. Fortunately, catching plenty of Reds and Silvers was no problem as hundreds of thousands of wild salmon ascend the Chignik River from summer through fall. Although the Sockeye (Red Salmon) roe is somewhat smaller than that of other species, it nonetheless cures into a beautifully translucent ikura that tastes as good as it looks. Coho fillets (Silver Salmon) are our favorites for making lox. Separated by a slice of cream cheese, garnished with a wisp of nori and arranged on a savory buckwheat blini, these appetizers are perfect as Super Bowl party snacks or as pre-dinner hors d’œuvres complimented with champagne or fine sake (酒).
For Great Recipes that have been tested by many thousands of readers, see: ​
A Great Brine & Smoke for Salmon, Trout and Other Fish
​Alaska Lox or Gravlax

Ikura: Curing Salmon Eggs
Buckwheat Blini
Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup buckwheat flour
  • 2/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • generous pinch salt
  • 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 2 eggs, whisked
  • 1 tbsp butter, melted
  • additional butter for griddle
​Directions
  1. Whisk together flours, baking powder and salt.
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, eggs and melted butter.
  3. Whisk wet ingredients into dry.
  4. Heat griddle and coat lightly with butter.
  5. Drop a tablespoon of batter onto griddle. Repeat with additional tablespoons.
  6. Cook for about 2 minutes, small bubbles will form on top of blini, like pancakes.
  7. Flip blini and cook an additional minute on flipped side.
  8. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Rustic Char: Celebrate the Fall

10/3/2016

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A great pleasure in life is obtaining seasonally fresh ingredients to take back to the kitchen. With Dolly Varden char at their fattest in fall and entering local streams, now is the time to go out and get them. Brookies and small lake trout shine equally well in this simple, exceptionally satisfying dish, as do Arctic char which are sustainably farmed and available in markets.

Char generally have a flavor that is richer than trout but lighter than most salmon. The keys to this dish are hearty vegetables, fresh charr, thyme, butter or quality olive oil and a good white wine. Add a spritz of lemon juice and a dash of salt and pepper. Don’t get hung up on specific ingredients; this is camp-style fare at its finest. And by all means, if you live where fresh herbs are available, substitute them for the dried herbs we use here in Chignik Lake.
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This dish can easily be made in one pan. Simply hold the fish in reserve and add to the vegetables during the last half of cooking. Otherwise, prepare in two pans as follows.

The vegetables:
Ingredients
  • 3 or 4 cups hearty vegetables such parsnips, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin, etc. chopped coarse
  • sweet onion, chopped coarse
  • approximately 8 to 10 garlic cloves, cut in half
  • 1/2 tbsp thyme (dry)
  • 1/4 tbsp rosemary (dry)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Directions
  1. Add butter and olive oil to pan and heat over medium-high heat.
  2. Add vegetables and seasonings, turning to ensure everything is well coated and seasoned.
  3. Add wine, stir and cover pan. Reduce heat. Stir occasionally. When done, a fork will easily pass through vegetables.
The fish:
Ingredients
  • 1 fresh char of about 2 lbs, gutted, head and tail removed, rinsed and patted dry
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 tbsp thyme
  • 1/2 tbsp tarragon (optional)
  • 1/2 tbsp marjoram (optional)
  • lemon juice
  • splash or two of white wine
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • additional olive oil or butter for prepping fish
Directions
  1. Sprinkle lemon juice inside and outside of fish.
  2. Use fingers or a brush to cover fish inside and out with a light coating of butter or olive oil. Gently rub thyme and other herbs (if used) inside cavity and outside. Cut fish into three or four pieces and set aside.
  3. Place butter and olive oil in a pan and heat over medium-high heat.
  4. When oil/butter are hot enough to sizzle, add fish pieces. Add salt, pepper and a splash of white wine. Cover and lower heat to medium-low. Cook for six minutes.
  5. Gently turn fish. Sprinkle salt and pepper and add a splash of white wine. Cook for six minutes.
  6. Fish is done when flesh is opaque inside the cavity.
  7. Arrange vegetables on plates or serving platter, top with fish and serve piping hot with a favorite Chardonnay, Viognier or dry Riesling.

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Brine It, Smoke It, Love It: A Terrific Brine for Salmon, Trout and Beyond

1/6/2016

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Canned, as with these Copper River Sockeye salmon (below), or packaged for the fridge or freezer, this smoking recipe - one of the most popular on the web - earns rave reviews.
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If you’ve ever looked at those electric smokers sold in sporting goods stores and wondered if they did the job, the short answer is, “They do.” Our favorites are the Big Chief, Little Chief and Mini Chief models made by Smokehouse in Hood River Valley, Oregon. Inexpensive, easy to use, easy to store and efficient, these smokers come with complete directions and a useful booklet that details the how-to of smoking.
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Above: a double batch of brined Sockeye loaded into the smokers and ready to go.

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To obtain the best smoked fish, start with high-quality fish. Fresh fillets from bright fish make for a far better product than poorly cared for fillets from a badly handled fish. Also – and this is important - the method I use is not designed to kill parasites. Yes, salmon do sometimes have parasites - even ocean-fresh salmon, and I've known several people who have wished they were dead for about 48 hours - who ignored this advice. I freeze fillets in a cold freezer for at least 24 hours before smoking them in order to ensure that they are parasite-free.
For salmon, trout, sturgeon and similar fish with fairly firm meat, I marinate fillets in a wet brine for roughly six to 10 hours depending on the size and thickness of the fish or fillets. The fish can be brined in non-reactive glass, plastic or stainless steel (not aluminum) containers in the refrigerator or in a bucket or cooler with a couple of sealed Ziplock bags of ice thrown in to keep the mixture cool. Following are the step-by-step instructions I use for whole small trout and the fillets of salmon and other fish. The recipe can easily be modified to add other flavors or to finish the smoked fish with a sesame seed glaze. I use a version of this brine when roasting whole chicken for a finished bird guests can't get enough of.
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Above: After eight hours, the salmon is rested in a cool place with freely circulating air. On this particularly day in Seward, Alaska, outdoor temperatures and cloud cover were perfect, but a kitchen table works equally well. 
Brine
Ingredients: For eight pounds of salmon, trout, sturgeon or other fish
  • 8 to 10 pounds fillets, skin on, rinsed, patted dry, cut into small pieces. A good size is about 3″ x 6″, but smaller or slightly larger is fine. Small trout can be cleaned and smoked whole.
  • 8 cups water
  • 2 cups soy sauce (Kikkoman is my favorite)
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup coarse sea salt or kosher salt (Do not use iodized salt. It will impart an unpleasant flavor. If you use a fine-grain salt, add slightly less.)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp granulated garlic
  • 1 tbsp powdered ginger

Directions:
  1. Mix brining ingredients together in a large bowl.
  2. Pour mixture over fillets, making sure they are covered, or until they float.
  3. Cover containers and marinate for about 8 hours in the refrigerator, turning the once. 
  4. Remove fillets from brine. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels, and arrange on racks to dry for about an hour – until a glaze forms on the surface of the fish.
  5. Smoke fish according to your smoker’s directions with alder wood, mesquite, fruit tree or hickory chips. Check occasionally, keeping in mind that air temperature will influence smoking time. Typical smoking times range from 6 to 12 hours. A slightly wet product is best suited for many of the recipes we enjoy and for canning. For straight snacking, a drier product may be preferred.

For additional tips on smoking with this recipe, see my blog post at http://cutterlight.com/2013/07/07/a-great-brine-and-smoke-soy-sauce-brown-sugar-and-seasonings-for-salmon-trout-and-other-fish/

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