mefixbones

I have been eating and making Lox for years. Works great with salmon, but is also excellent with a nice orange Laker. My uncle, Bert Korhonen, actually got My Grandpas recipe published in the Grand Rapids Press many years ago. I will write up the old Finn recipe, and then will let you know how I have modified it for modern times. Place one fillet, skin down, in a glass container. Using a mix of 50/50 sugar to salt, cover the fillet like a thin layer of snow (White, but not thick. (Perhaps 1/3 to 1/2 cup salt/sugar mix for a big fillet) Do the same for the second half. For flavor feel free to place fresh or dried dill on the lower fillet. Take the second fillet and place it skin side up on the one in the pan. Cover with saran wrap. Using a smaller dish/pan, place a weight (brick, bag of sugar in a bag), in the dish and place it on top of the two fillets. Play this in the refrigerator. The salt and weight will draw out water and firm up the flesh. For two to three days keep in the fridge and daily remove the liquid the accumulates around the fillets. At this point the fish is cured. Cut thin slices from the tail towards the head. Removing pin bones before curing is easier than after it has cured. I personally cannot stand using sugar to try and combat too much salt. Therefore I make Lox with no sugar. Modern way: Food safety is critical. Food safety requires at least 3% salinity minimum to kill and inhibit bacterial growth. By my reading, parasites are not killed by curing. Fish must be frozen for a week to kill parasites and eggs. I make my Lox and freeze it in convenient size portions. I pull it out of the freezer, and after being out 30-60 minutes, slice it perfectly while still partially frozen. Normal fish flesh is .9% salinity (Just like us). I personally like my fish at about 3.4% salinity by weight. I fillet the fish and remove the skin. Remove pin bones. Cut into 3-4 inch wide portions. Take all the final prepared portions and weigh it in grams. Total gms fish X 2.5% (3.4-.9)= 25 grams salt for each 1000 gms of fish. Place the fish in a glass dish. Take the salt, sprinkle it over all sides of the fish equally. You can stack pieces on top of each other. Cover and place in the refrigerator. Each day for 2-3 days, turn and move pieces. Salt will equalize throughout the pieces. The thicker the pieces, the longer it will take to equalize. Once done, wrap each piece in saran wrap and place in freezer. After a week, pieces can be removed and sliced thin. Next time you make it, if not salty enough or too salty, modify the percentage. Enjoy.

Great posts. I wanted to be there myself but home duties took priority.