Wild Smoked Salmon Bagels |
Wild Smoked Salmon Bagel
Smoked Salmon, and cream cheese compliment each other so well it's not funny. It's a comfort food that can be enjoyed on any occasion. And its a grate way to swing non salmon lovers by subduing the intensity of the salmon flavor with cream cheese. Other greens can be added to this dish but be careful not to add anything too flavor full. I like the two main ingredients by them selves; But avocado is added here to compliment the cream cheese and capers to aid the salmon.
Serves: 2
Ingredients
2 Freshly toasted Bagels
Cream Cheese
175g Smoked Salmon Slices
Avocado
Capers
Method
Cut bagels and toast till desired. Smear the lower half of the bagels with cream cheese. Place 3-4 slices of Smoked Salmon Slices on each bagel. Add a couple of slices of avocado and a few capers. Place the other half of the bagel on top. A squeeze of lemon juice will never go astray.
Can be served with a side salad. If presentation is important let the salmon and cream cheese do the talking by letting them protrude from the bagel slightly. The soft tones of color suit the visual pallet well.
If you like this combination try the alaska smoked salmon and cream cheese paste. Works well for snack food , canapes, and orderves. Again a few capers can really help. Top with a tinny sprig of fennel for a splash of green.
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Know You Salmon
Early humans ate animals that ate grass, which gave those animals a higher Omega-3 profile than today's grain-fed animals. Now, the most widely available source of EPA and DHA is cold water oily fish such as salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies and sardines. Oils from these fish have a profile of around seven times as much Omega−3 as Omega−6. Other oily fish such as tuna also contain Omega−3 in somewhat lesser amounts. Consumers of oily fish should be aware of the potential presence of heavy metals and fat-soluble pollutants like PCBs and dioxins which may accumulate up the food chain. Some supplement manufacturers remove heavy metals and other contaminants from the oil through various means, such as molecular distillation, which increases purity, potency and safety.
Cold smoking
Most smoked salmon is cold smoked, typically at 30C (approx 80F). The cold smoking does not cook the fish, resulting in a delicate texture. Some smokehouses go for a deliberately 'oaky' style with prolonged exposure to smoke from oak chips, industrial production favours less exposure to smoke and a blander style, using cheaper woods.
Scottish and Irish smoked salmon is considered a delicacy, even with increased availability since the advent of fish farming from the 1970s. Smoked wild salmon is still available, but is very rare and very expensive and usually only available from specialist dealers. It is prized for its 'meaty' flavour and 'naturalness' compared to the 'flabby' texture of farmed salmon. There has been much overfishing of wild stocks and organisations such as the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization have tried to have all commercial fishing stopped; on the other hand there are concerns about the effects of salmon farms on the environment and on wild stocks, and about some of the chemicals and feeds that they use.
Cold smoked salmon is sometimes known in Canada and the United States as lox, particularly on the East Coast, the word being borrowed from German (lachs, G. for Salmon) or Yiddish.
Hot smoking
Normally used for trout, hot smoking 'cooks' the salmon making it less moist, and firmer, with a less delicate taste. It may be eaten like cold smoked salmon, or mixed with salads or pasta. Alaska Smoked Salmon.
Labeling Smoked Salmon
In the UK, under Food Labelling Laws, only Smoked Salmon produced totally in Scotland (from fishing or farming to packaging) can be called 'Scottish Smoked Salmon' . If salmon is sourced from elsewhere, then subsequently smoked in Scotland, it cannot be labelled as such, but may be labelled 'Salmon smoked in Scotland' . Alternatively, Scottish sourced salmon that is then smoked elsewhere, may be termed 'Smoked Scottish salmon' .
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