CLEVELAND, Ohio — Josh Kramer is a man not easily deterred. When his favorite fish stall at the West Side Market, Catanese Classic Seafoods, closed, cutting him off from his weekly supply of cherished cured salmon, the government relations professional at University Hospitals first tried to cajole the folks at Catanese headquarters on Merwin Road to pick up where the market stand left off and offer the cured salmon there. It wasn’t practically possible — but they were willing to share the company recipe. So, Kramer, an intrepid soul who somehow always finds a way, decided to try the cure himself. And now, after a little bit of working the learning curve, he’s turning out some very credible cured salmon on a regular basis.
At a recent party, “Josh’s Cured Salmon” was the lauded centerpiece of a very extensive buffet. The story was told, and one thing led to another, which led to another, and finally the conversation led to Dion Tsevdos, the recipe originator of the original, now legendary, Catanese cured salmon.
Tsevdos is the project manager running Cantase’s ChefCube division, handling chef-to-chef outreach with world-wide specialty products. And the Master of the Cure is a very busy man. Tsevdos also owns Urban Herbs and The Cheese Shop at the West Side Market, selling spices, herbs, rubs, and other culinary must-haves plus an exuberant array of artisan cheeses, respectively. He also makes the occasional side of superb cured salmon that is, trust me, close to the equal of any of the fabled cured fish mongers on the East Coast.
Freshness may have something to do with it. You are way ahead if you start with a piece of just-portioned Faroe Island center belly fish, as gorgeously marbled as Michaelangelo’s David, available at Catanese, as well as other quality seafood purveyors in town. Tsevdos recommends eating the fish within one or two days of curing as well. If that accounts for the lush, silky, and supple quality of his salmon, redolent of the sea with a slight citric and salt tang from the cure, then he’s on to something.
It’s so beautifully balanced in taste, that, like the best whisky, it’s seems a waste to consume it any way but straight up. And he’s pass on the recipe to us, since he isn’t making it for the public right now — though he’s putting together curing kits, complete with wrapping, rub, pans, and instructions, that will soon be available at Catanese and the market.
This is guaranteed DIY piscine curing — with some asides from his biggest fanboy and unofficial protégé, Kramer.
As beautifully marbled as if it were mined in Carrera, a side of Faroe Island cured salmon. (Photo by Beth Segal, salmon by Dion Tsevdos)
Dion Tsevdos’ Citrus-Cured Salmon,Two Ways
Ingredients
1 2-4 lb. piece of salmon, belly cut, Faroe Island (preferred) or Verlasso, as close to an even rectangle of uniform thickness as possible for best results. You may want to start with a smaller piece for your first attempt, it’s not cheap, but ultimately well worth the price.
Fish cure: 60-40% mix by weight (use a scale) of kosher or coarse sea salt and granulated sugar. The exact amount will depend on how much you need to completely cover the fish. You’ll need about 1½ lb. of cure for a 2 lb. piece of salmon.
Citrus aromatic: Either lemon zest and chopped dill or orange zest and chopped basil, start with 2 tablespoons of each, adding more depending on the size of the fish, or how intense you want the citric experience to be.
Equipment
Two nesting baking sheets that will contain the fish with some room to spare.
Baking rack that will fit inside the baking sheets.
Several lengths of cheesecloth, a large piece of old, but clean, t-shirt, or flour sack dish towel, or any piece of clean, “breathable” cloth large enough for wrapping fish several times around.
Weights, used for keeping pressure on the baking sheets during the cure. Bricks, beer cans, dumbbells, canned beans, etc.
Preparation
1. Lay out your wrap — layered cheesecloth, t-shirt, etc. — on top of the rack placed in one tray. It must be thick enough to prevent the salt/sugar cure from leaking out.
2. Pour out a ¼-inch layer of the cure on the wrap slightly larger than the dimensions of your fish. Dry fish well and place, skin-down, on the cure. Gently knead in to infuse flavors.
3. Pour cure over fish so that all surfaces are covered with ¼- to ½-inch layer on all exposed surfaces. Wrap fish tightly with cloth to make an impermeable bundle, making sure to use just enough layers to keep cure from leaking out.
4. Cover the fish with the second baking sheet and add weights to keep a medium pressure on the fish bundle.
5. Flip twice daily, removing top tray, turning fish over and replacing second tray and weights each time.
6. After 3 or 4 days, depending on the size of your fish, remove the fish. It will now be very firm to the touch. Rinse well in your kitchen sink, washing away all the cure. You can leave the aromatic layer on for aesthetics and additional flavor when slicing.
7. Dry thoroughly with paper towels and return to refrigerator, uncovered, for several hours, to allow fish to thoroughly dry and become a little tacky to the touch.
8. Slice into very thin, almost translucent pieces to maximize surface area. This is harder than it looks and will take some time to perfect. As Kramer says, “The best way to achieve the perfect slice is to apprentice at Russ and Daughters, Zabars, or Barney Greengrass (the triumverate of legendary cured fish purveyors in New York City). For those without the time for such training, I recommend watching this video where Gordon Ramsay learns a simplified “D-cut” method which is still arduous, but doable for laypeople like you and me.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmkBn25IcL0
It also helps to have a good, dedicated knife. Salmon knives can run into three figures, but if curing is going to turn into an on-going relationship, it may be worth the investment. The internet has many options. A lesser-priced Kramer-approved knife has an expensive name: Mercer Culinary MIllenia 10.3 Inch Granton Edge Salmon Slicer. Tsevdos recommends any long thin knife with a very sharp blade; cutting sides of salmon year after year already gives him a built-in edge.
Add on the usual accoutrement: bagels, pumpernickel, cream cheese, red onion, capers, dill, tomatoes, cucumber, as you will, but once you’ve got the perfect cured salmon, perhaps less is more. Try a good rye cracker and a simple spread of unsalted butter mixed with whole grain mustard, lemon zest, a bit of minced shallot, and lots of chopped dill. Enjoy!
