Tequila Cured Salmon Recipes

Steps:

• Combine salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Spread half of curing mix in the center of a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet roughly the same size as the fish. Place fish, skin side down, on curing mixture. Spread lemon zest, lime zest, and orange zest evenly over fish; cover with remaining curing mixture. Bring edges of foil up and over salmon and crimp to enclose. Place another baking sheet on top of salmon and weigh down with several large cans or a heavy pot. Chill, unwrapping and flipping fish halfway through, 24 hours.
• Rinse fish and pat dry; place, skin side down, on a cutting board. Using your longest, sharpest knife and wiping down blade with a moist towel between slices, cut on a diagonal 1/8"-1/4" thick, leaving skin behind.
• Do Ahead
• Salmon can be cured 3 days ahead. Cover tightly and chill.

Steps:

• Put the peppercorns in a spice mill and crush to a coarse grind. In a bowl combine the pepper, sugar and salt and blend well together.
• Place the bunches of cilantro, dill, and scallions together in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely chopped.
• Rinse some cheese cloth under cold running water. Unfold the cheese cloth and lay a large piece out on your work surface. The cloth will have to be large enough to wrap completely around the salmon several times.
• Choose the freshest salmon possible for this dish as this is a cured but not cooked dish and fresh really counts. Cut the fish fillet into two equal pieces and lay it, skin side down, in the center of the cheesecloth. Spread the sugar, salt, and pepper mixture evenly over the salmon flesh. Spread the chopped herbs in the same manner and then sprinkle the tequila over the herbs. The flesh of the salmon should be totally coated in this curing seasoning.
• Once all the tequila has been absorbed, sandwich the two fillets together, fleshtoflesh and skinsidesout. Position the fillet "sandwich" in the center of the cloth and wrap as you would a gift, pulling the cloth as tightly as possible around the fillets. Lay the package on a cake cooling rack set over a cookie sheet. The rack allows air to circulate for more efficient drying, while the cookie sheet will catch the liquid extracted during the threeday curing period. Put the weight in a second, smaller cake pan and place it on top of the fish. The weight must be properly and
• evenly distributed so as to press out the unwanted water.
• Place the entire curing setup in the bottom, the coldest area, of your refrigerator and begin the 3 day curing process. Remove the weight and flip the fish package over every 24 hours, replacing the weight each time. Drain off and discard any liquid that collects in the pan when you do this. At the end of the 72 hours the fish must be cleaned. Remove the cheesecloth and discard it. Drain any accumulated liquid, scrape off all of the used herbs and salt and pepper. Rinse the fish under cold running water and pat the fish totally dry.
• The salmon is now fully cured and as entirely edible as smoked salmon but must be kept refrigerated.
• To serve, finely chop one cup of fresh cilantro and cover the flesh side of the fish. Using a very sharp knife, slice the salmon as thinly as possible, at a 45 degree angle. Your first slices may look a bit rough, but be patient. With a little practice you'll soon be turning out elegant greenedged red ribbons of gravlax.
• Mix the mustard and confectioner's sugar and serve with pumpernickel and wedges of lime.
• Weight for weighing down the salmon as it cures, such as unopened plastic bags of dried beans, or gallon jugs of cooking oil .

Steps:

• Take the Lime and cut it in half.
• Take one half and squeeze the lime in a bowl.
• Mix in 1/8 cup or more Tequila.
• Chop up some fresh dill and add it to the mixture.
• Take your salmon steak and baste it with the mixture.
• Then take the Mixture and pour it in a piece of foil with the edges folded up.
• Take your salmon steak and put it over the mixture.
• Then take the other half of the lime and slice it into small slices and lay them on top of the Salmon.
• Take some spriggs of dill and lay them on top of the lime.
• Wrap the salmon up in the foil.
• Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Steps:

• Grate peel from limes & place in a bowl.
• Squeeze out 1/2 cup juice from limes.
• Add to bowl along with tequila & oil.
• Finely chop peppers and stir into lime mixture along with sugar, chili powder & salt.
• Place salmon into large resealable plastic bag.
• To support the bag, place in a large bowl.
• Pour marinade over fish and seal bag.
• Let marinade for at least an hour--but preferably 4 hours.
• Lightly oil grill and turn BBQ to medium.
• Remove salmon from marinade & place directly on hot grill.
• BBQ, with lid closed, for about 7- 8 minutes per side or until a knife point inserted into the center of the salmon feels warm.
• While salmon is grilling, pour remaining marinade into a saucepan.
• Boil vigorously, uncovered, stirring often, until sauce is reduced by half--about 3 minutes.
• If you want a thicker sauce, add butter & whisk constantly for about another minute.