HOME-CURED LOX (CURED SALMON)
Serves: 6
■ 1 lb (500 g) skin-on, centre-cut salmon fillet
■ 1/4 cup (60 ml or 50 g) granulated sugar
■ 1/4 cup (60 ml or 32 g) kosher salt
1. Place a long sheet of aluminum foil on a clean work surface and cover it with a long sheet of plastic wrap. Set the salmon skin side down on the plastic wrap. Inspect the salmon for any pin bones and use a pair of tweezers to remove them.
2. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and salt. Press the mixture into the flesh side of the salmon. Use the plastic wrap to snugly enclose the fillet, then double-wrap it with the foil.
3. Place the packet flat in a shallow glass or ceramic dish. Place another dish on top of the wrapped fish and add cans of tomatoes, jars of pickles or whatever weight will balance securely in the refrigerator and provide significant heft. (I keep a foil-wrapped masonry brick in the pantry and use it only for this purpose.)
4. After 24 hours, dispose of any juices that may have gathered in the bottom of the dish. Flip the fish packet over and reapply the weight, and return it to the fridge.
5. Unwrap and check the fish after 48 hours; it should be firm all the way through. Press with your fingertips to check the thickest part of the fish to see if the texture has changed from tender to firm, raw to cured; there should be some resistance and the colour will deepen.
6. If it seems to need more time, rewrap it, flip it over, and replace the weight. Check again in 12 hours, and again 12 hours later, if needed. The fish will never take more than 72 hours to cure.
7. Unwrap the fish and brush away the salt-sugar mixture. The fish should be firm and deeply pink. Pat the fish with a paper towel to remove any remaining cure. Slice off a little of the lox to taste, because you earned it.
8. Serve, thinly sliced, at room temperature or very slightly cold.
9. Lox will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator. I often slice and portion the fish, wrapping it tightly and freezing it in 2-oz (55-g) portions, just enough for a bagel. Defrost the lox in the refrigerator overnight and be rewarded at breakfast. Lox will keep for 3 months in the freezer.