Homemade smoked salmon with fennel, pistachios and oranges.

Homemade smoked salmon with fennel, pistachios and oranges.

Can smoked salmon only be bought at the supermarket? Well, no.

It takes some time because it is a long process but you can do it at home (or better in an open space).

You can also buy the appropriate smoking kits and follow the instructions, if you want it to be even easier.

Ingredients:

A few slices of homemade smoked salmon

1 fennel

2 oranges

Whole sweet pistachios

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Let’s start with homemade smoked salmon first. How you do it?

– Take your salmon fillets -remember, previously shock frozen- and clean them from grease and bones.

– Leave the skin on one of the two sides. Rinse and dry them very well. Keep in the refrigerator for 24/48 hours.

– After about one or two days, prepare a solution with 400g of salt and 400g of sugar for each liter of water used (according to the size of the fillets).

– Mix well and dive the salmon. Leave in the refrigerator for about two days.

– Then take them out of the fridge, rinse them under water and dry them again carefully.

– Take a very high metal container and put a grill on top. On the bottom put some vegetable carbon and a few pieces of aromatic wood like chestnut, apple or maple. The more you vary, the more the taste will benefit.

– Turn on the fire (not indoor but in an open space). I recommend, the grill will not have to be hot, do not exceed 30c of temperature otherwise the fish will cook.

– Let the flame quench. You will see the smoke rise.

– Brush the salmon with a little oil and place them on the grill for two or three hours.

– Compose your salad by cleaning the fennel and cutting it with a mandoline. Put the slices in a bowl, add a few peeled slices of orange and season with oil, salt, pepper and a few drops of lemon to taste.

– Use it as a base in the dish and place a few slices of smoked salmon on it.

– Finish with the whole pistachios.