Inspiration: Creating some recipes for the upcoming Maple Syrup Season in Quebec – Le temps des sucres.
Serve with a little hot red pepper jelly for colour and balance |
I have always been a little intimidated by smoking food indoors but his stovetop smoking was incredibly easy and painless. You will need a large pot with a tight fitting lid, a metal steamer basket or round rack to sit the fish on and some wood chips/shavings. Be aware that some smoke will escape and you should have a strong vent system to pull the smoke out (I just left mine on high and cracked the window open during the process).
Time: Marinating Salmon: 8 to 12 hours – Smoking salmon: 35 minutes – Rillettes prep: 10 minutes
Stovetop Smoking for Maple Smoked Salmon Rillettes:
Makes 1 cup of rillettes – enough for 6 – 8 people as an appetizer.
- 1 filet of organic or wild salmon (300 g – 2/3 lb)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) of sea salt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) of water
- 1/2 cup (120ml) of maple syrup
- 15 black peppercorns
- 2 -3 pods of green cardamon, gently crushed open with the back of your knife
How to smoke the salmon:
Shake the bag gently to help dilute the salt. Add the salmon filet, fold the bag to extract as much air as possible and seal. Place on a flat surface in the refrigerator overnight to marinate in the brine, turning over at least once.
Add 2 generous tablespoons of wood chips/shavings (I used hickory).
Add another square of aluminum foil to cover the wood chips and place the metal steamer basket or round rack on top.
How to make the rillettes: Makes 1 cup
- 1/4 cup (60ml) of Hellman’s mayonnaise
- 1.5t of maple syrup
- 1 medium (2T) shallot, finely diced
- 1 medium (2T) celery heart rib, finely diced
- zest of 1 lemon (1t)
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 300g – 2/3lb of hot smoked salmon, cooled
- freshly ground pepper
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