In a Pickle

There is so much controversy in cooking these days.  Should I buy Atlantic farmed salmon?  Wild salmon?  Pacific?  Organic?  Irish farmed and properly fed?  Questions abound.  The truth is, it does help to know (and remember) the best type of salmon to purchase as it will make you and the world healthier vessels.  So, why not Atlantic wild or Atlantic farmed?  Because it is poorly fed and pesticide/toxin laced, as opposed to organic farmed Atlantic or Irish farm fed from certain bays in Ireland (details to follow in a few days, thanks to Harriet Sugar Miller) which both eat the healthy food and thus are healthy food.  Pacific wild from the northern waters were highly respected but may now be affected by the recent nuclear disasters in Japan.  Realistically, the cost may be exorbitant  and it takes more effort to even think about the cleaner choice but the benefits speak for themselves.  We all gotta make choices, so if you have the time, energy, inclination and surplus dough, it's a no brainer.

All that being said...there are so many great, easy ways to cook salmon at home that it is beyond me how it can be selected on a restaurant menu.  Salmon is my first choice of what to cook when I entertain because it is almost impossible to screw up.  My favorite ways include poached and served with sauce verte, cedar plank BBQed, slathered with dijon mustard and maple syrup before roasting  and pickled.  Today is the day for pickled.

My good friend Lorraine Levy, real estate agent extraordinaire, decoded the Moishe's Steakhouse taste-alike recipe.  If you want to "Eat to Beat Cancer"  as Harriet Sugar Miller would advise in her upcoming web book of said name, then you can substitute agave syrup for the sugar.  Aha - sugar - more controversy.  Don't go looking for sugary sweets amongst my entries.  I may enjoy them from time to time, even enormously, but I don't go out of my way to include them in my diet.

Pickled Salmon

4 lbs Salmon
1c sugar or 2/3 c agave syrup
1 c white vinegar
750 ml Heinz Chili Sauce
4 T Pickling spice
2 large thinly sliced Spanish onions

If you have a poacher then you can wrap the salmon in cheesecloth to make it easier to remove.

Simmer the salmon for about 8 minutes until the colour goes from bright to pale in water, salt and 1 tablespoon of pickling spice.  You can use steaks, filets, whole sides or pieces of salmon and any shaped pot, as long as you don't overcook the fish.  After 6 minutes you can lift it gently out of the water, replacing it as needed.  If it is on the brink of cookedness, you can lay it on a tray and spoon the hot liquid over the fish to complete the cooking process.

Combine the sugar, vinegar and chili sauce in a medium sized bowl.

Layer the onions and pickling spices under and over the fish in a large flat pyrex dish or a glass bowl.

Pour the sauce over the fish, cover, refrigerate at least 1 day before serving and voila!  You are done.


 Most amazing of all is that this tasty dish will last for 2 WEEKS in your fridge.

So, you can prolong the enjoyment over time, or you can prepare in advance for a holiday feast.  

Makes an excellent appetizer or light meal.

hb