Smoked Salmon

Let's talk about Smoked Salmon, and let's be honest about what it really is. It's salmon that sat in a salt brine first, then took its time in smoke until it picked up color and aroma. Press it with your finger: it should give gently, like it still remembers being alive. Good Smoked Salmon feels silky, not wet, not dry.

Choose it by smell first — clean, smoky, a little sweet, never sour or sharp like ammonia. Look at the surface: it should look glossy, not slick with pooled liquid. Cut it thin and hold a slice up to the light; it should look almost translucent at the edges.

Some people say Smoked Salmon is just another cured meat, so it can sit out on the counter like a good sausage. No! A cook who has worked with it knows better: it wants to be kept cold, always. Leave it out too long and your senses will tell you — the surface turns dull and sticky instead of glossy, and the smell loses that clean edge and turns sour. That's your cue to stop, not to taste and see. Keep it cold, keep it wrapped, and eat it soon.