Norwegian-Style Smoked Salmon With Dill A Holiday Recipe From Chef Eric
Awaken your taste buds: This holiday recipe is not your typical American hors d’oeuvre.
Norwegian-style (aka cold-smoked) salmon brings French flair to the holiday table. It’s an unexpected, elevated appetizer or a delightfully elegant main meal. The texture is silky and smooth. The flavor is salty and mildly smoky. The dill, delightfully fresh. And its presentation? Simple yet scene-stealing.
Just ask French-born Eric Francy, executive chef at AKB in Archer Hotel Austin. Before moving to Texas, chef Eric spent much of his career in salmon country — the Greater Seattle area.
“During my 30 years in the great Pacific Northwest where fresh salmon is abundant, smoked salmon became my tradition at home,” Eric said. “Sophisticated preparations of fish are a French tradition for both Christmas and New Year’s Eve. This smoked salmon brings a touch of luxury to any holiday table, no matter the season.”
We’d love to host you at AKB Austin for the holidays. If you’re inspired to make the feast yourself, why not include this smoked salmon recipe for your guests? It just may become your favorite new tradition.
Norwegian-Style Smoked Salmon With Dill
1 ¾ cups kosher salt
½ cup sugar
Zest of 1 ½ lemons
Zest of 1 orange
8 bay leaves
2 ounces dill
4 ounces Pernod
1 boneless side of salmon
- To a bowl, add first 6 ingredients and blend.
- Spread a generous amount of the cure on the bottom of a dish; place salmon skin down in the dish and brush the top with the remaining cure.
- Cover with plastic wrap; weigh down the salmon (place a baking sheet and weight, such as cans or a Dutch oven, on top of the salmon) for 72 hours.
- Rinse off the cure, pat-dry the salmon and place it on a sheet tray.
- Air-dry for 2 days, brushing each side with Pernod each day.
- Smoke at 85˚ F with no fan for 10 – 12 minutes.
- Let the salmon rest in the fridge until cold. From the tail up, cut thin, diagonal slices.
