Smoked Salmon

Ingredients:
5 pounds salmon (trout or char)
Birch or maple syrup for basting

BRINE
1 quart cool water
1/3 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt (about 2 ounces of any kosher salt)
1 cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. Mix together the brine ingredients and place your fish in a non-reactive container (plastic or glass), cover, and put in the refrigerator. This curing process eliminates some of the moisture from the inside of the fish while at the same time infusing it with salt, which will help preserve the salmon.

2. You will need to cure your salmon for at least 4 hours, even for thin fillets from trout or pink salmon. In my experience, large trout or char, as well as pink, sockeye, and silver salmon, need 8 hours. A really thick piece of king salmon might need as much as 36 hours in the brine. Never go more than 48 hours, however, or your fish will be too salty. Double the brine if it's not enough to cover the fish.

3. Take your fish out of the brine, rinse it briefly under cold running water, and pat it dry. Set the fillets on your cooling rack, skin side down. Ideally, you'd do this right under a ceiling fan set on high, or outside in a cool, breezy place. By "cool", I mean 60°F or cooler. Let the fish dry for 2 to 4 hours (or up to overnight in the fridge). You want the surface of the fish to develop a shiny skin called a pellicle. 

This is one step many beginning smokers fail to do, but drying your cured, brined fish in a cool, breezy place is vital to properly smoking it. The pellicle, which is a thin, lacquer-like layer on top of the fish, seals it and offers a sticky surface for the smoke to adhere to. Don't worry, the salt in the brine will protect your fish from spoilage. Once you have your pellicle, you can refrigerate your fish for a few hours and smoke it later if you'd like.

4. Start by slicking the skin of your fish with some oil, so it won't stick to the smoker rack. Know that even though this is hot smoking, you still do not want high temperatures. Start with a small fire and work your way up as you go. It is important to bring the temperature up gradually, or you will get that white albumin "bleed" on the meat. I can control my heat with my smoker, so I start the process between 140°F and 150°F for up to an hour, then finish at 175°F for a final hour or two. 

NOTE: What my smoker is set at is not necessarily what the actual temperature is. Smoking is an art, not a science. To keep temperatures mild, always put water in your drip pan to keep the temperature down. If your smoker is very hot, like a Traeger can get, put ice in the tray.

5. After an hour in the smoker, baste the fish with birch or maple syrup, or honey; do this every hour. This is a good way to brush away any albumin that might form. In most cases, you will get a little. You just don't want a ton of it. Even if you can't control your temperature this precisely, you get the general idea. Your goal should be an internal temperature of about 130°F to 140°F. (Incidentally, yes, I keep the smoke on the whole time. I don't find this to be too much smoke, but if you want a lighter smoke, finish the salmon without smoke or in a 200°F oven.)

6. You must be careful about your heat. Aside from failing to dry your salmon long enough, the single biggest problem in smoking salmon is using too high a heat. If you've ever seen salmon "bleed" a white, creamy substance, that's a protein called albumin. If you see lots of it, you've screwed up; a little is normal. 

Here's what happens: If you cook a piece of salmon at too high a heat, the muscle fibers in the meat contract so violently that they extrude albumin, which immediately congeals on the surface of the fish. It's ugly, and it also means your salmon will be drier than it could have been. You prevent this with a solidly formed pellicle, and by keeping your heat gentle. 

If you let your heat get away from you and you do get a white mess on your salmon, all is not lost. Just flake it out and make salmon salad with it: The mayonnaise in the salad will mask any dryness.

7. Once your fish is smoked, let it rest on the cooling rack for an hour before you put it in the fridge. Once refrigerated and wrapped in plastic, smoked fish will keep for 10 days. If you vacuum-seal it, the fish will keep for up to 3 weeks. Or freeze your fish for up to a year.

Notes:

One last piece of advice: Try to fill up your smoker with fish. This process takes a while to do, and your smoker doesn't care if it's full or half-empty, so you might as well make a big batch.

And keep in mind, this recipe is for basic smoked salmon. Other options are smoked salmon candy, a great snack, and, once you have your smoked salmon, you can use it in smoked salmon dip on crackers.

Solomillo de Cerdo Curado (Cured Pork Tenderloin)

Ingredients:

2 pork tenderloin tips
500 grams of coarse salt
200 grams of brown sugar
175 grams of white sugar

The ingredients for the marinade are:
2 tablespoons of oregano
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of onion powder
2 tablespoons of smoked paprika
1 tablespoon of rosemary
1 tablespoon of thyme
1 tablespoon of pepper
2 teaspoons of cumin
2 teaspoons of cilantro powder 

Directions:

Clean the meat to remove any excess fat or gristle.

Mix sugar and salt, layering some at the bottom of a container, placing the meat on top, and covering it with the remaining mixture.

Refrigerating the meat for 24 hours.

After refrigeration, rinse and dry the meat with paper towels.

Coat it with spices, and tightly wrap it in a kitchen towel or cheesecloth.

Let the tender loin rest in the refrigerator for three weeks to allow the herbs to infuse their flavors. After the fourth day, the food is ready to eat, but the longer it sits, the more cured it becomes.

Butter Vodka Pie Crust

Flakiest pie crust ever!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour ((325 grams))

1 teaspoon table salt

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices ((2 sticks, 16 tablespoons))

1/4 cup ice water

1/4 cup cold vodka

Directions:

1. Place half of the flour (1 1/4 cups) in a food processor, along with the salt and granulated sugar. Pulse a couple of times to mix.

2. Add the cold butter slices and pulse about 15 times, using one-second pulses, until small chunks form. Scrape down the sides, then add the remaining flour. Pulse 5-6 times.

3. Transfer the dough to a medium bowl. Drizzle the water and the vodka across the surface of the dough, then use a rubber spatula to fold and press the liquids into butter and flour. The dough will be shaggy. Press the crumbs into the dough. If they stick together then you do not need additional liquid.

4. Split the dough into two balls and flatten each into a round disk. Wrap each disk individually in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

5. Remove the pie crust from the refrigerator set the disk on a well-floured surface. Use a rolling pin to create a circle of dough that is 1/8-inch thick. Use additional flour, if needed, to keep the dough from sticking to your rolling pin.

6. Transfer the dough to your pie plate and fold the excess dough under to create a rim around the edge of the pie plate. Crimp using your preferred style. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking.

7. Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 15 minutes with pie weights, then reduce the temperature to 350°F (180°C) and remove the pie weight. To blind-bake (par-bake) the crust, continue to bake it for an additional 5 minutes. For a fully baked crust, bake for 15 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown.

Note: This is not my original recipe, but it is the best I have ever made. Credit https://stateofdinner.com/vodka-pie-crust/