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.

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.

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/