Miso Cured Salmon Fillet
One of the most enjoyable parts of being an instructor at the CIA was opportunity for learning. There is an abundance of experience and expertise at the institute and I was very fortunate to learn so many things about our craft from instructors, visiting chefs, CMC’s and especially from the amazing students. I’ve always been a student at heart.
I taught garde manger for many years and this is one of my favorite recipes from class. I actually developed this recipe with one of my students, inspired by a recipe he had learned on externship. I actually adopted this recipe for a cured and smoked trout appetizer I prepared while competing at the Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, East Germany with the CIA Olympic team.
Asian - style Cured Salmon Fillet
1 ea salmon fillet
2 lbs kosher salt
1 lb sugar
2 lb brown miso
2 Tbsp fresh ginger root, minced
4 Tbsp onion powder
4 cups green onion, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine
Mix all of the curing ingredients together in a mortar or bowl.
Make shallow slits in the skin of the salmon; lay a sheet of plastic wrap or cheesecloth on a flat surface. Place 1/2 of the cure onto the plastic (in a long row to rest the salmon fillet onto). Cover the salmon fillet with the remaining 1/2 of the cure and wrap with the plastic or cheesecloth. Place onto a 1/2 sheet pan and press with a very light weigh.
Cure in the refrigerator for 3 days, inverting daily.
Wash off the cure and slice very thinly-enjoy… it’s delicous! I liked to slice the miso salmon at buffets and serve on fried, lotus root chips or in Malaysian Pie Tee ‘cups’ with pickled vegetables. (Pie Tee cups are on the right)
Cured & Smoked Trout fillet, Olympic style
One of my favorite plates of our CIA Olympic team table. I had to learn to poach a salmon and scallop mousseline in a teardrop shape, wrapped in cured trout fillet. Ultimately I learned to hot smoke the terrine over a small pot of smoking wood chips in a bamboo steamer. And yes, during the dozens of times I prepared this the bamboo steamer did catch on fire a few times…. absolutely delicious with lemon and horseradish vinaigrette. Special thanks to Master Chef Victor Gielisse-I believe this dish was his vision!
