· James Torr · Personal · 1 min read

Salmon on offer as is often the case in the winter, so I picked up a couple, cured and smoked them.
Salmon on offer as is often the case in the winter, so I picked up a couple, cured and smoked them. Beech, cherry and hickory smoke for 12hrs. We ate one for NYE and the rest will go in the freezer.
I made cream cheese and some crackers (not pictured) to go with them. Once I’d stripped the rest of the flesh after filleting them, the head and bones were roasted (12 mins air fryer max) and made into stock with a slice of konbu for some extra umami. The roasting takes away some of the intensity and oiliness of the salmon, and turns it into a very tasty, mild fish stock. I got about a litre per fish.
I’ll save and then fry or roast the skins when I have a few.
We ate the stock blended half and half with some ichiban (primary) dashi with some rice noodles, salmon, Chinese cabbage and leek. Mild and subtle, the Japanese way. Seasoned with just salt and some MSG for a bit more umami.



