I remember in my childhood back in the 70′s and early 80′s when Dad used to make sausages from scratch and hang them from a rod suspended in his little smoke-house out in the backyard. He still does. He used to fill an old hub cap with saw dust, light it and let it smoulder for days to allow the sausages to dry out and smoke away. There’s nothing like freshly smoked anything, I reckon.
It all sounds like a laborious task that’s fiddly and time-consuming and just not worth it, right? This can’t be further from the truth. Having a smokehouse in my back courtyard would not only look pretty ugly but it would hardly ever get used. That’s what is so great about this method of smoking in a wok, outside on the barbeque where you won’t set the smoke alarms off. It’s so easy! If you don’t have a wok just use a large saucepan with lid. I’ve used the salmon in this quick and easy salad.
green tea & osmanthus smoked salmon
ingredients
- 500 g piece fresh salmon, skin on (or any fish you desire)
- 1 cup rice
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup green tea leaves
- ½ cup osmanthus*
- Sea salt flakes
- Olive oil
- Cracked black pepper
method
- Combine the rice, brown sugar, tea and osmanthus in a bowl. Set aside.
- Pin bone the salmon, rub with a little olive oil and then season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Shape a piece of foil into a 16cm round and shallow bowl. Put in about 1 cup of the green tea mixture and place into the bottom of a wok. The remaining mixture can be kept in an air-tight container for another time.
- Place a rack over the green tea and lay the salmon, skin-side down onto the rack. Cover with a lid.
- Put the wok over a low flame and allow to smoke for 30-40 minutes.
- When the salmon is done remove from heat and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes.
* Osmanthus is a flower that is dried and used in tea. It can be found in asian grocers in the tea section.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s amazing John, the salmon looks so smokey! I need to find a cheap wok and follow your instructions to smoke out of everything!
That looked amazing !!
Monica recently posted..Little Cupcakes- Melbourne CBD
This is so beautiful and looks incredibly tender and tasty. Can’t wait for summer when I can get outside and do this on my BBQ!
Sarah at For the Love of Food recently posted..When is a diet not really a diet
WOW This looks great John! I’m surprised pieces of wood aren’t use as I’ve previously seen recipes calling for it. I haven’t attempted smoking things yet but this looks dead easy. So giving it a go.
Phuoc’n Delicious recently posted..Behind the scenes- Sharon Wee’s cupcakes for GFWS
I’ve been wanting to try this technique for months now, but unfortunately I don’t have the equipment nor the balcony (or induction fan) to keep the smoke alarm from going off…The salmon looks really flavoursome!
Maria recently posted..Sydney Good Food & Wine Show 2010
Wow, green tea and salmon.. the pics looks great.
That looks absolutely brilliant John. The osmanthus gives it such a gorgeous look too. At first I thought it was an Earl Grey tea mix!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella recently posted..Molten- Mount Eden- New Zealand
You’ve inspired us to try the smoking method now! I know Ryan has been constantly yacking on about giving it ago but we just never seem to get around to it, and recently seeing it on masterchef and then reading your post it will be on our list to do real soon.
angie recently posted..White Jaffa Cupcakes – Putting my Planet Cake skills to use!
Osmanthus is my favourite addition to tea – so delicious and subtle. Are they blue corn flower petals though?
Forager @ The Gourmet Forager recently posted..Discovering Indian at Aki’s- Woolloomooloo
No they’re not from the blue cornflower. The petals come from a shrub that has many varieties
I am pretty sure that the salmon fillet is full of flavours!