LOX..

[Snarlingiron]

I'm with C.A. On this one. Made it many times, never used cure. Not one single person has died, or even gotten sick. i love making this because it is so easy... and folks are just amazed. "You made Lox? no way!" Yep, it's a dark art... I could tell ya how, but I would have to kill ya.

[muncie21]

I've made lox this way for years, turns out well with just sugar and salt + seasoning.

Wanted to add an additional layer of flavor, so I have a small smoker on order. Going to cold smoke the for a few hours to get the added flavor depth.

BTW, this notion of smoking lox, is what brought me to this site. As an unabashed carnivore, I saw a lot of 'future projects' while browsing the forums.

[jwbtulsa]

I've made lox this way for years, turns out well with just sugar and salt + seasoning.

Wanted to add an additional layer of flavor, so I have a small smoker on order. Going to cold smoke the for a few hours to get the added flavor depth.

BTW, this notion of smoking lox, is what brought me to this site. As an unabashed carnivore, I saw a lot of 'future projects' while browsing the forums.

Good folks around this forum. Really easy to ask questions and throw out ideas before you ruin a shitload of food. As always, everything on the internet is the truth

I don't eat everything the way everybody cooks but I appreciate the regional cuisine and I bring what I want to the table.
like a porn star:
:Just start small and work your way up to the big stuff.:

[scotth]

Here's CA's thorough thread on cold smoking salmon. And the debate on cure that I started.

I still don't really understand why you don't need cure in this instance, but I make it without as well. Given that it's winter, I should make one, much easier to keep the smoker temp low.

[devo]

Here is a recipe I have done for a lot of years. It does take a bit longer and a little more attention but it is well worth it in the end. It is from the Bradely forum and I just put on Microsoft Word for storage.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ctV...ew?usp=sharing

[The Old Fat Guy]

I have been thinking about trying lox. Thanks for this info! Point!

[curious aardvark]

as far as smoking goes I run a full load in the smokevark - approx 16-18 hours, depending on whether or not I add stuff to the sawdust. Pistachio shells increase time to 18 hours, s do fresh bayleaves.

This year, after curing I left the salmon in a bag in the fridge for about 4 days.
Not deliberately, just wanted it to stop raining so i could smoke the bloody things :-)
went well.

Okay why you don't need to add cure.
salt and sugar are both preservatives. They lower the active water content of the salmon. This is done both by removing some water from the fish and leaving what's left with too much sugar and salt content for anything to access it.
Also unrefined salt (I use seasalt) contains nitrates.
Not much, but enough to have a beneficial amount.
I have cured pork to ham using nothing but seasalt. Thread on here somewhere.

But mainly it's all about reducing the available/active water.
Without available water bugs can't grow.

Properly cured and smoked (smoke also helps towards the curing, the smoke contains curing agents) salmon will last for several weeks in the fridge. I usually vacpack and freeze mine. But all the stuff in the shops over here is just kept in the cool cabinets.

[devo]

From reading all the posts and also agreeing cure is not needed in this I was wondering if anyone has actually tried cure and what the difference might be. Taste, texture?

[Snarlingiron]

Last fall I made a batch and with Rich's admonitions in mind, I added the correct amount of instacure #1 by weight. kept everything else the same, salt, turbinado, black pepper and juniper berries. I could tell no difference in the final product.