Decided to do a bit of an experiment because the market had some beautiful Sockey salmon that I wanted to buy and have wanted to take a stab at curing fish. Did a bit of research and thought that a bourbon cured salmon over the next 72 hours might be something cool to try. Looked at a bunch of recipes and found the common ingredients and quantities given that I like salmon, bourbon, fennel, and dill. Here is my attempt, (writing it before I try it like the hot dogs, it might be a failure).
- 1 lb-ish Best salmon you can buy (ours was $13.99/lb on sale)
- 1/4 C. American whiskey (I changed it because what I had was Tincup which isn’t technically a bourbon)
- 1 fennel bulb
- large handful dill
- 1 C. packed brown sugar
- 1 C. coarse kosher sea salt
- Handful of black peppercorns
- Zest of an orange
Lay out a couple layers of plastic wrap and lay salmon on top. In a separate bowl mix everything else together besides whiskey. Brush/dump whiskey on top of salmon and set for 10-15 minutes. Mix together all the other ingredients making sure it is super mixed up. Once whiskey has “set” for 15 minutes or so, pack in the salt/sugar mixture. Wrap up as tight as you can get. Put in a 9×13 pyrex pan because everyone says it will leak and I have a bad record with messes. Let set for 3 days. Will let you know how it works out.
Day 1: I dumped the liquid. I didn’t want to stink up the fridge.
Day 2: Dumped the liquid again, holy crap there is a lot of water coming out
Day 3: Rinsed off brine and served with blini, sour cream (with and without horseradish), and dill. It was really good and will definitely be making again.
Working Dad Cooks 