Our neighbor shared some homemade lox with us last year and when I expressed interest in learning how to make our own from freshly caught fish, he volunteered to teach me this year. The first step is having an excellent salmon and he generously provided an Alaskan Sockeye. With a deft hand and a sharp knife he had it quickly filleted and ready to be cured.
Then we spread the cure of salt, sugar, crushed peppercorns across the bottom fillet
Tom had told me last summer to freeze fresh dill from my garden just for this purpose. Here the dill is placed between the two fillets.
The two fillets ready to be wrapped and cured in the refrigerator for five days.
Wrapped and ready. It needed to be turned every twelve hours. By the end of the five days, it was a sticky mess.
The finished product, cold smoked and ready to eat!
I served it with cream cheese and capers and red onions on thinly sliced bread