Mamaleh’s Home-Cured Lox
Why settle for pricey store-bought lox when you can get a terrific, more economical result by making it at home?
Mamaleh’s Home-Cured Lox
Photo Credit : Michael Piazza | Styling by Catrine KeltyStore-bought lox can be quite pricey, and you can get a terrific, more economical result by making it at home. Just be sure to buy high-quality salmon from a vendor you trust.
From “Long Live the Deli,” March/April 2022
Yield:
6 to 8 servingsIngredients
2 pounds high-quality skin-on, boneless salmon filet
¾ cup kosher salt
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup chopped fresh dill
Zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Instructions
Clean salmon filet and pat dry. In a medium bowl, stir together the salt, sugar, dill, zest, coriander, and pepper. Line a small sheet pan with plastic wrap and sprinkle with a thin layer of the salt mixture in the same shape as the salmon filet. Lay the salmon, skin side down, on top of the salt mixture. Cover salmon with the remaining salt mixture and wrap tightly in plastic. Cover with a plate and weigh the plate down with something that weighs about two pounds (cans of tomato puree are good here). Transfer the pan to the refrigerator and let it cure for 3 to 4 days, opening up the package each day to baste the filet in the accumulated juices.
When the flesh begins to look opaque, rinse off the salt mixture and pat dry. Lay the filet on a wire rack and set in the sheet pan. Refrigerate the salmon, uncovered, overnight to let the flesh dry. Slice thinly on the bias to serve. Lox will keep for up to a week.
