I really like Tom Colicchio's recipe for curing salmon in "Think Like a Chef". 1/3 c sugar, 1 c kosher salt, 1 1/2 c mixed herbs (I like to include Vietnamese coriander http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persicaria_odorata) and a few fruits worth of citrus zest.
I don't actually buy salmon here (all farmed stuff from Chile, mostly), but we do get some good quality locally-farmed trout and it works beautifully with that. I like to cure it a bit longer than he suggests (he says 36 hours, I usually shoot for 48) and I also like to leave it in the fridge, uncovered, for another 24 hours to dry out a bit.
Smoked salmon for certain! If you smoke at home, and the neighbors are close by, its always best to also share with them (on a plate with creamed cheese, capers, and lemon zest :))
Being a fisherman who catches salmon and steelhead 9 om. out of the year I like to enjoy salmon and steelhead many different ways. The same way fresh always gets a little boring. So I understand the If the man who caught the fish wants to do something other than "the purist preperation",
Freshly caught salmon deserves the purest preparation. You want to taste the salmon at its best. Drizzle with some good olive oil, sprinkle with some Kosher salt and, if you want, pepper or lemon pepper. We use a cast iron grill pan and just sear the salmon skin-side down. It then goes into a low oven, 275, 300, 325 (depends on your oven and your patience). Let it slowly cook till you see the little white beads appear through the flaky top. We like fresh salmon on the rare side. I really have a problem with cooking something too long. It's already dead. I don't want to kill the taste/flavor/juiciness. That being said, cook it, taste it, if it's not done to your liking, put it back in the oven. The other way doesn't work. If you've dried it out, you're stuck with that,
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I don't actually buy salmon here (all farmed stuff from Chile, mostly), but we do get some good quality locally-farmed trout and it works beautifully with that. I like to cure it a bit longer than he suggests (he says 36 hours, I usually shoot for 48) and I also like to leave it in the fridge, uncovered, for another 24 hours to dry out a bit.