Author Notes
We all love and are familiar with smoked or cured salmon but I was curios how will taste another type of fish. When I went to the store, a beautiful and very fresh looking Red Snapper caught my eye. It was a pretty good size fish but when the fish-manger cleaned and filleted it, the two fillets weighed only 1 pound. I decided to adjust my recipe for cured salmon, which usually weighs 3.5 to 4 pounds, shorten the time of curing and then marinade the fillets in citrus juices. As a last step I also added some extra-virgin olive oil to give the Red Snapper some fattiness.
Here is the recipe, which in my opinion is worth trying. The Red Snapper came out very tasty, soft and mild in salt.
—Kukla
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Ingredients
- For the curing and marinade
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• 1 pound (2 fillets) fresh Red Snapper, skinless, boneless
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• 1/2 cup sea or kosher salt
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• 1/2 cup organic sugar
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• Peel of 1 lemon or lime
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• Peel of 3/4 orange, tangerine or Minneola
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• 1/4 cup lime juice
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• 1/4 cup grapefruit juice
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• 1/2 cup orange juice
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• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- For the salad: serves 6
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• 1 cup cured fillet, cut in small cubes
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• 3-4 medium tomatoes, sliced or diced
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• 1/2 medium red onion, diced
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• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions or chives
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• Juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime
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• 2 tablespoons of fresh dill, cilantro or parsley
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• Freshly ground black pepper and a little more salt (if needed)
Directions
- For the curing and marinade
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In a small bowl, mix well salt and sugar. Using a sharp vegetable peeler, take of the peel of the lemon and orange; then with a small sharp knife remove all leftover white pith until the peel is translucent.
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Spread the bottom of a nonreactive shallow dish 1/4 of the salt and sugar mixture. Place one fillet of the fish on top; evenly spread another 1/4 of the salt and sugar mixture. Alternately press-in the citrus peels. I also added a few thyme sprigs but this is optional.
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Place the second fillet on top like a sandwich; evenly spread the remaining salt and sugar mixture and then press-in the remaining citrus. Cover tightly with a smaller lid, top with something heavy and transfer to refrigerator for 6 hours, turning ones.
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Remove from the refrigerator; rinse under cold water and dry with paper towels to remove excess moisture. Rinse and dry the same dish where you cured the fillets and combine all juices.
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Place the fillets in one layer, making sure that each of them is covered with juice. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours, agitating occasionally to keep fillets moist.
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Remove the fillets from the citrus bath and discard the liquid. Drizzle with the oil and set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.
- For the salad: serves 6
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In a mixing bowl combine all the salad ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.
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