Wok-Smoked Salmon Fillets Paired with a Crisp Apple-Dressed Salad

Info

• Prep time: 15 minutes
• Cooking: 30 minutes
• Full time including brining: 24 hours 45 minutes
• Yield: 2

Ingredients

Salmon (smoked at home)

• 3 cups hot water
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup white sugar
• 4 tablespoons coarse or kosher salt
• A pinch of grated lemon zest
• 2 skin-on salmon fillets, 4 ounces each
• 1 to 2 cups hickory or alder wood chips, for smoking
• 1/2 cup water
• Olive oil, to finish

Apple Vinaigrette

• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Freshly ground black pepper
• A pinch of coarse or kosher salt
• A dash of apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons canola oil

Green Salad

• 4 to 6 sprigs frisee lettuce
• 2 large radishes, sliced thin
• 1 small yellow beet, peeled and sliced thin
• A handful of baby green beans, blanched
• A handful of baby arugula leaves
• A handful of fresh celery leaves
• 1/3 cup croutons, toasted and lightly crushed
• Zest of 1/2 lemon, to finish

Instructions

Brining and drying the salmon

1. Stir the hot water, brown sugar, white sugar, salt and lemon zest together in a medium bowl or container. Lay the salmon in the brine skin side up and press it under the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Lift the fillets out and pour off the brine. Give them a quick rinse under cold running water to wash away excess salt. Set the salmon skin side down on a rack and leave it until the surface feels dry, roughly 1 hour. Do not blot it with paper towels.
3. To set up a wok smoker, line the bottom of the wok with two layers of foil if you want to keep the pan from charring. Drop in two handfuls of wood chips, set the wok over high heat, and pour in the 1/2 cup water.
4. Set a bamboo steamer on top of the chips and arrange the salmon fillets inside it.
5. Put a lid or foil over the wok and smoke the salmon for about 20 to 30 minutes — long enough that the flesh feels firm and the edges turn brown, crusty and caramelized.
6. Take the salmon out of the steamer onto a plate. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve with the salad.

Making the vinaigrette

7. Bring the apple juice to a boil in a small pot and reduce it by half.
8. Put the mustard in a bowl and grind black pepper over it.
9. Add a generous pinch of coarse salt and a dash of cider vinegar, then whisk in the reduced apple juice and the canola oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Assembling the salad

10. In a bowl, toss the frisee, radishes, beets, green beans, arugula and celery leaves with just enough vinaigrette to barely coat the leaves.
11. To partly crush the croutons, place them in a bowl and press them with the base of a second bowl, then scatter them over the vegetables.
12. Grate a little lemon zest over the top, grind on some black pepper, toss once more and plate.