Salmon Crudo
Oh. My. Goodness. This is one of those dishes that you make once, thinking you’re all fancy, and then wonder why you haven’t been preparing salmon this way all your life. This Salmon Crudo is a restaurant quality dish that is fire! Sorry, my kids have recently been home for a month and their lingo is infiltrating my speech at just about the time when I will be told that “no one says ‘fire’ anymore!”
I found this recipe for Salmon Crudo on the Instagram account @the_chefs_wife and decided to prepare it on New Year’s Eve. On our way home, proudly at 12:20am, Gary told me that he could eat that salmon for dinner every night. While we may not go that far, Salmon Crudo will make the move from entertaining to dinner for two and it’s especially perfect for diet-January.
The most important part of this recipe is buying your salmon from a trusted source. If you are in the Potomac area, may I suggest The Market at River Falls. To be extra safe, whenever I plan to serve my fish raw, I am sure to mention that to the fishmonger. I guess I figure “the more you know…”
As far as the actual recipe, there is a curing step that instructs you to sprinkle a combination of salt and sugar on the salmon and letting it sit in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before preparing. I’m not sure what the combination does (I’m sure that google does, I just haven’t bothered to look) but the salmon was “more plump” for lack of a better description, after the process. And finally, I doubled the recipe when serving it to a crowd and would likely do the same when making it for dinner but the recipe below is based on one typical 6-8oz salmon filet.
Don’t be intimidated. If you enjoy sushi, this one’s for you. Enjoy!
Salmon Crudo
Ingredients
For Curing
- kosher salt
- granulated sugar
- 1 6-8oz filet sushi-grade salmon skinless
For Dressing
- 1 Tbls chopped scallion
- 1 Tbls toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 lime, zested
- 1 Tbls fresh lime juice
- 1 Tbls mirin
- dash soy sauce
- 1 tsp minced Thai red chili plus extra slices, optional garnish
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
- dash honey
- 1 clove garlic, minced I omitted because I don't like raw garlic
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Garnish
- good quality olive oil for serving
- thinly sliced shallots for serving, optional
- fresh cilantro for serving, optional
- thinly sliced radish
Instructions
For Curing
- Sprinkle equal amounts of salt and sugar over the salmon (all sides) and place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Take out, rinse and pat dry.
To Serve
- Slice salmon into thin pieces and place in a shallow bowl or platter.
- Combine all of the dressing ingredients and pour over the salmon before serving.
- Drizzle with good quality olive oil.
- If desired, top with some thinly sliced shallots, roughly torn cilantro, thinly sliced radish and additional sliced pepper, if you like the heat.