serves
5-6
prep
25 minutes
cook
45 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
5-6
people
preparation
25
minutes
cooking
45
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
Curing Mix
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 1 black peppercorn
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 clove
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 250 g (9 oz) salt
- 250 g (9 oz) sugar
- finely grated zest of 1 orange
Smoked Salmon
- 2 cups smoking woodchips, soaked in water for 30 minutes
- 1.5 kg salmon fillet, skin on
Salad
- 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 cucumber, cut into 1 cm (½ inch) dice
- 2 baby cos (romaine) lettuces
- 3 avocados, chopped
- 1 bunch mint, leaves picked
- 1 bunch parsley, leaves picked
- 6 lemon wedges
Soaking time: 30 min
Instructions
Preheat oven to 175°C (340°F).
To make the curing mix, place the spices onto a baking tray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, until toasted and fragrant. Use a mortar and pestle or food processor to grind the spices to a coarse mixture. Combine the spice mixture with the salt, sugar and orange zest.
To hot-smoke the salmon, drain the soaked woodchips and place them in the base of a smoker. Spread 1 cup of the curing mix over the skinless side of the salmon, and place skin side down on the rack above the woodchips.
Heat the smoker on high heat for about 5 minutes, until it begins to smoke. Reduce the heat to low and smoke the salmon for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and rest the salmon for 3–5 minutes before eating. For the salad, mix the vinegar and honey in a bowl.
Add the cucumber and leave for 10 minutes, to pickle. Separate the lettuce into whole leaves to use as cups and place onto a serving board with the avocado, herbs and lemon wedges. Serve whole salmon on a board or still in smoking tray. Pull off chunks of salmon and serve in lettuce cups with cucumber, herbs, avocado and lemon.
Note:
• Store the curing mix, without the orange zest, in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
