Ever wondered how to cure or smoke your own salmon. I did! I did my research on the internet and thought – It has to be simpler than what’s online.

So I came up with my own recipe on how to first cure some salmon fillets.

What you need:

Salmon fillet : about 200g (about 7oz), skin on

salt : 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoon (preferrably sea salt)

sugar : 1 tablespoon (fine)

olive oil

assorted herbs of choice (suggestions : tarragon, parsley, dill)

Method:

1. Remove any bones on the fillet and scales from the skin, if any.
2. Place fillet skin side down on a flat dish.
3. Combine sugar & salt together and sprinkle over the fillet. rub some on the sides of the fillet as well.
4. Add some fresh (or dried) herbs of choice on top of the fillet. In this batch, I just threw some tea leaves on top.
5. Pour some olive oil over the top.
6. Use cling wrap to wrap the fillet onto the dish. Wrap as tightly as you are able to.
7. Use a weight to put on top of the covered dish, like a can of soup or beans. I used another same size rectangle dish and rubber banded them together.
8. Keep in the fridge for 3-5 days.

You are done! After 5 days, the end result I had is in the photo above. Smooth and beautifully coloured and melts in the mouth. Of course, once you remove the fillet, you do have to remove the skin from the salmon and slice to the thickness you want.

If you intend to smoke the salmon, this is what you need to do.

What you need:

Cured salmon fillet with skin on

Smoking vessel – a pot that the salmon on a plate/dish can fit into.

A wire trivet (a pair of wooden chopsticks will do if you are using a wok. Yes, even those disposable chopsticks work!)

Dried tea leaves – about a cup

Method:

1. Place salmon with skin side down on the dish. No cling wrap.
2. Place trivet in pot or wok.
3. Add dried tea leaves into pot or wok.
4. Place dish on top of trivet.
5. Cover the pot or wok with lid. You can use aluminium foil to cover if you don’t have a big enough cover. Just make sure it covers tightly.
6. Turn on the heat and let it smoke over a low flame for 15-30 minutes.

Ta-da!!!!! Smoked Salmon is done!