Cured and smoked salmon with oyster emulsion and pickled fennel
by
- Starter
- medium
- 4
- 1 hour 15 minutes, plus 4 days curing
PT1H15M
PT
Robin Gill's Norwegian salmon recipe involves curing and smoking the salmon at home – a process which is a little time consuming but is actually very easy to do. The result is wonderfully flavoured salmon which really makes it the hero of the dish, with subtle spices and smokiness permeating the flesh. Served with a simple oyster mayonnaise and quickly-pickled fennel, this makes a delicious seafood starter.
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Cured and smoked salmon
- 250g of skinless Norwegian salmon, pin-boned
- 400g of salt
- 70g of caster sugar
- 70g of Demerara sugar
- 140g of soft brown sugar
- 1 lemon, zested
- 5g of fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- 3g of black peppercorns, lightly crushed
- 3g of juniper berries, lightly crushed
- 2 sheets of nori seaweed, lightly crushed or crumbled
- 100g of wood chips, ideally apple wood, for smoking
- 300g of unsalted butter
Oyster emulsion
- 130g of rock oysters, shucked reserving the juices
- 100g of shallots, sliced
- 200ml of dry white wine
- 150g of grapeseed oil
- 5 sorrel leaves
Pickled fennel
- 1 fennel bulb, thickly sliced
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 star anise
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 5 pink peppercorns
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 1 pinch of salt
- 250ml of apple juice
- 250ml of white wine vinegar
Fried wakame
- 50g of dried wakame
- 200ml of vegetable oil, for frying
To serve
- sorrel leaves
- fronds of fresh dill
- fennel fronds
Equipment
- Blender
- Thermometer
Method
1
Begin by curing the salmon. Mix together the salt, sugars, lemon zest, spices and nori in a bowl. Lay a double layer of cling film on a work surface about 4 times wider than the salmon
- 400g of salt
- 70g of caster sugar
- 70g of Demerara sugar
- 140g of soft brown sugar
- 1 lemon, zested
- 5g of fennel seeds, lightly crushed
- 3g of black peppercorns, lightly crushed
- 3g of juniper berries, lightly crushed
- 2 sheets of nori seaweed, lightly crushed or crumbled
2
Spread half of the cure mixture onto the middle of the cling film and place the salmon on top. Cover with the remaining cure and wrap the cling film tightly around the salmon to seal. Place on a tray and cure in the fridge for 4 days, turning the salmon every 24 hours
- 250g of skinless Norwegian salmon, pin-boned
3
To make the oyster emulsion, place the sliced shallots in a small pan and cover with the wine. Place over a medium heat, bring to the boil then simmer until the wine has completely evaporated. Set aside to cool completely
- 100g of shallots, sliced
- 200ml of dry white wine
4
Once cool, place the shallots and oysters in a blender and blitz until smooth. Gradually pour in the oil while continuing to blend, until the mixture emulsifies into a mayonnaise consistency
- 130g of rock oysters, shucked reserving the juices
- 150g of grapeseed oil
5
Once thickened, add the sorrel leaves and blitz briefly to combine. Decant into a bowl and stir through just enough of the reserved oyster juices to loosen to a spoonable consistency. Reserve in the fridge until ready to serve
6
To pickle the fennel, place all of the spices and seasonings in a pan with the apple juice and vinegar. Bring to the boil over a medium heat then leave to cool very slightly
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 star anise
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 5 pink peppercorns
- 1/2 garlic clove
- 1 pinch of salt
- 250ml of apple juice
- 250ml of white wine vinegar
7
While still hot, pour the pickling liquor over the sliced fennel in a bowl and leave to pickle for 30 minutes
- 1 fennel bulb, thickly sliced
8
Before serving, unwrap the salmon, rinse off the cure with cold water then pat dry on kitchen paper. Place the wood chips in a deep tray or wok and warm through over a medium heat on the hob until they start to smoke (make sure you do this in a very well-ventilated room)
- 100g of wood chips, ideally apple wood, for smoking
9
Place the salmon on a vented tray and position over the smoking wood chips. Cover completely with cling film or foil and leave to gently smoke for 7 minutes. Remove from the smoke and cut the salmon into 4 portions
10
Place the butter in a pan and heat through gently until it starts to foam. Allow the butter to become lightly golden in colour with a nutty aroma then take off the heat to stop it burning. Allow to cool slightly
- 300g of unsalted butter
11
Transfer the butter to a wide pan and warm up to 46°C using a thermometer. Add the salmon pieces and cook very gently for 12 minutes, turning in the butter as they cook
12
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fryer or deep pan to 160°C. Fry the dried wakame for 90 seconds until crisp then drain any excess oil on kitchen paper
- 200ml of vegetable oil, for frying
- 50g of dried wakame
13
To serve, spoon some of the oyster emulsion over each serving dish. Drain the salmon from the butter and flake into large pieces before adding to each dish. Drain the fennel from the pickling liquid and add a few slices to each dish before garnishing with the fried wakame and fresh herbs
- sorrel leaves
- fronds of fresh dill
- fennel fronds
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Cured and smoked salmon with oyster emulsion and pickled fennel
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