Hot smoking salmon at home is so much easier than you’d think, and a hundred times better than the overcooked stuff in the supermarket. No fancy kit either.
The smoke: Brine the salmon with sea salt and brown sugar for an hour in the fridge. Make a stovetop smoker by double-lining a roasting tin with foil, scattering smoking chips (almost like sawdust) across the bottom, and sitting a foil-covered rack on top. Salmon goes on the rack. Cover tightly with foil, leaving one little corner open, and put it over a medium-high heat. When smoke starts escaping, seal the corner (oven gloves!), turn the heat to low and give it 10 minutes. It’ll still be a touch pink in the middle and will carry on cooking.
Then four ways to eat it:
- Jamie Oliver’s five-ingredient pasta with angel hair, ribboned asparagus, lemon zest and a splash of cream
- A quick pâté with crème fraîche, lemon, chives, dill, a little tarragon and a whisper of Dijon
- A warm mustard cream sauce over new potatoes and asparagus tips
- A salmon and Gruyère tart. Let it cool until just warm for the best flavour
And yes, I forgot to switch my microphone on. Again. Old lady brain.