I attempted to smoke my own fish at home and it was a surprising success! You’ll need a 1940’s gas mask or failing that, an efficient extractor fan- I chose the later- as your kitchen soon gets a little smokey. The taste is worth the trouble though, as it infused this beautiful salmon with a subtle smoky fragrance and a moist, pillowy texture! Following Skye Gyngell’s instructions with a few tweaks here and there, this is how to go about your home smoking…..
- 45g muscovado sugar
- 60g caster sugar
- 135g tea leaves- I used Lapsang souchong which has a bonfire-like smoky taste.
- Salmon filltets
- Using foil, make 2 cups about 3cm deep and divide the above combined dry mixture into both
- Place in a deep roasting tin. Place ramekins or pudding moulds in the four corners and rest a wire rack on top of them, covering the foil cups
- Place the salmon fillets skin side up on some parchment and wrap and place on top of the wire rack. Place the tin on a medium-high heat and begin to heat. It takes about 10 minutes to begin smoking- extractor fans are essential here.
- For salmon, my timings were a bit hit and miss. I smoked it for about 5 minutes and then checked. Then leave to rest for for a few minute still wrapped but off the heat.
To let the salmon be the star of the show, I served mine simply with creamy lentils with lots of fresh chopped herbs. The only down fall to this is you don’t get the crispy skin I so love on fish. People find this is strange but it is essentially just like pork crackling! So, you can peal the skin off the salmon and fry in a hot oiled pan for a few minutes and serve as a salty shard on top for added texture and crunch!
