Love-Hate relationship with smoked salmon

[AlaMoi]

for clarity:  this is concerning the customary supermarket varieties of "smoked salmon" that is pre-sliced in vacuum packs.
(as opposed to smoked whole pieces....)

 

we like thin sliced smoked salmon as an accent for various dishes/salads/etc - along with the neo-classical eggs Benedict with salmon vs. Canadian bacon....

the preference is for a "Nova" style - cured with a light smoke.  not so fond of heavy smoked stuff.  
"traditional" lox - cured, no smoke,,,, is not out of the question.
seems Nova style has divorced itself from its "Nova Scotia" roots and is done with all the Pacific/Atlantic/Nordic/Scottish/farmed/wild caught salmon family now....
we also do gravlox but that more for oeuvres.

 

but anyway - here's the issue:
getting those vacuum packed yummy thin slices apart!!
any tips/ideas/tricks . . . ?

 

tried cold, tried allowed to warm a bit.  
used dull side of a knife/buter knife, metal offset spatula, fingers, fork&fingers . . .
the thin slices tear apart - which...buried under an egg,, an assembly of little pieces is not an issue.
for other purposes something more pretty would be nice....

 

prepping for two, DIY slicing from a whole side is more salmon than we will consume prior to fossilization...
considered it; I can get super fresh beady eyed pink gilled "whole salmon" from a local fish monger . .

perhaps cure/smoke half, freeze the other half for salmon dinner?

 

any supply of unsliced 3-4 ounce chunks?

[Darienne]

Love smoked salmon and I am so lacking in sophisticated taste buds that I seem to enjoy it all.  Ed doesn't care for it.   He buys me one of those Costco Norwegian brands and I eat slowly and by myself.  Sometimes it's good not to be a connoisseur.  

 

Also I like making my own Gravlax, which while it isn't smoked salmon, is still delicious salmon.  

 

As for the separation of slices...sorry, I can't help you.  

[kayb]

3 hours ago, AlaMoi said:

for clarity:  this is concerning the customary supermarket varieties of "smoked salmon" that is pre-sliced in vacuum packs.
(as opposed to smoked whole pieces....)

 

we like thin sliced smoked salmon as an accent for various dishes/salads/etc - along with the neo-classical eggs Benedict with salmon vs. Canadian bacon....

the preference is for a "Nova" style - cured with a light smoke.  not so fond of heavy smoked stuff.  
"traditional" lox - cured, no smoke,,,, is not out of the question.
seems Nova style has divorced itself from its "Nova Scotia" roots and is done with all the Pacific/Atlantic/Nordic/Scottish/farmed/wild caught salmon family now....
we also do gravlox but that more for oeuvres.

 

but anyway - here's the issue:
getting those vacuum packed yummy thin slices apart!!
any tips/ideas/tricks . . . ?

 

tried cold, tried allowed to warm a bit.  
used dull side of a knife/buter knife, metal offset spatula, fingers, fork&fingers . . .
the thin slices tear apart - which...buried under an egg,, an assembly of little pieces is not an issue.
for other purposes something more pretty would be nice....

 

prepping for two, DIY slicing from a whole side is more salmon than we will consume prior to fossilization...
considered it; I can get super fresh beady eyed pink gilled "whole salmon" from a local fish monger . .

perhaps cure/smoke half, freeze the other half for salmon dinner?

 

any supply of unsliced 3-4 ounce chunks?

Re : separating slices. Don’t worry about it. Just shred/chop it and go on.

 

Re: 3-4 ounce chunks. The local Community Foundation does a smoked salmon fundraiser every fall. I always get a couple of slabs, cut into chunks about that size, vac-seal and freeze. 

[AlaMoi]

"Just shred/chop it and go on."

oh . . . I got that part down pat . . .

[BeeZee]

Fundamentally, those pieces of salmon get mushed when they are vacuum-packed, so most of them won't peel apart cleanly. I think I usually look for the cleanest/driest edge and try to slide a thin blade under to work a slice free. I think slightly tempered from fridge temp, since that lets the oil/fat be less congealed/sticky (sounds appetizing, huh? but IDK how else to describe). If the fish is too warm, it gets softer, so it's a fine line.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Some years ago two friends of mine were getting married.  Among other things I treated them to smoked salmon for the reception.  I treated myself to a Wusthof salmon slicing knife.  Turns out the salmon was pre-sliced.

 

[AlaMoi]

next go-round I'll try more time on the counter . . maybe in 10 minute intervals to see if there's a "magic spot" . . .

[heidih]

May sound goofy but you may have one lurking in an offkce drawer    https://www.amazon.com/Swingline-54032-Rubber-Finger-Medium-Large/

Edited February 13, 2023 by heidih (log)

[chromedome]

14 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Some years ago two friends of mine were getting married.  Among other things I treated them to smoked salmon for the reception.  I treated myself to a Wusthof salmon slicing knife.  Turns out the salmon was pre-sliced.

 

I have the Victorinox equivalent. I used to cure my own gravlax at my restaurant, and it was used pretty frequently at the time. Not so much these days, but I have it should I ever need it.

 

[weinoo]

Order from Russ & Daughters.

[Kim Shook]

I have a similar problem with packages of sliced prosciutto.  I agree that finding the temperature "sweet spot" is the partial solution.  I have better luck using my fingers rather than a knife - YMMV.  I also agree that the packaging (sucked and smushed) makes it almost impossible to get nice looking slices.  🤪

[Rickbern]

23 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

I have a similar problem with packages of sliced prosciutto.  I agree that finding the temperature "sweet spot" is the partial solution.  I have better luck using my fingers rather than a knife - YMMV.  I also agree that the packaging (sucked and smushed) makes it almost impossible to get nice looking slices.  🤪

Im in Sevilla for a month, the butchers sell hand carved acorn fed iberico in vacuum packed sealed plastic. Same problem here, happily though, the ham is worth the effort 

[heidih]

52 minutes ago, Rickbern said:

Im in Sevilla for a month, the butchers sell hand carved acorn fed iberico in vacuum packed sealed plastic. Same problem here, happily though, the ham is worth the effort 

So the vac pack method seems to be causing the glues together phenomenon?

[weinoo]

On 2/13/2023 at 5:33 PM, Kim Shook said:

I agree that finding the temperature "sweet spot" is the partial solution.  I have better luck using my fingers rather than a knife - YMMV.  I also agree that the packaging (sucked and smushed) makes it almost impossible to get nice looking slices.

 

Just let the stuff come to room temp, and it should separate easily.

[gulfporter]

The mouth taste (read: sliminess) of the cold smoked salmon is a major turn-off.  

 

I only like hot-smoked salmon.  We are lucky we have a Canadian expat here who smokes and sells it.  

 

Hot-smoked hold up better in dishes such as fettucine alfredo and our personal favorite: hot-smoked salmon with local goat cheese in grilled quesadillas with some chipotle.  

[rotuts]

peeling off individual slices of vac'd cured salmon

 

is indeed a bit of a challenge .

 

my current source is TJ's

 

varios versions 

 

all the vac'd salmon @ Tj's is packaged 

 

w the first full slice on the bottom of the package 

 

not the top

 

so , slice open the pack from the bottom.

 

I use a very sharp utility knife to run along the bottom

 

right at the ' cardboard ' bottom , along the cardboard 

 

( call it what you will 

 

then up the sides  peeling back the heavy plastic from the fish.

 

I either use my fingers  or a knife edge to free a bit of the slice up

 

starting at the bottom , towards the side.

 

once started , I generally have no trouble freeing single slices .

 

but it takes patience .   if Im really hungry , the results 

 

at times are not as ' clean ' as when Im paying more attention 

 

to the slice.   I peel at refrigerator temps.

 

@ Tj's  , their Nova is quite different from their cold smoked salmon

 

coverings .  to me , cold smoked salmon 

 

' drapes '  in a very different way than Nova.

 

similar thickness .   bot are delicious , but in different ways.

 

quality smoked salmon can't be beat for its nuances 

 

nova  have less nuance , and more salt 

 

to my tongue at least .

[liuzhou]

I don't recall ever having a problem separating smoked salmon slices and I've been eating a lot of it regularly for over 60 years.

Edited February 19, 2023 by liuzhou (log)

[AlaMoi]

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

I don't recall ever having a problem separating smoked salmon slices and I've been eating a lot of it regularly for over 60 years.

 

can you share your technique, please?

are you dealing with the vacuum packed slices on a foil board, or something 'freshly sliced?'

 

a upper-end supermarket has a super-deli where I go when I want 'the good stuff' - they thin slice stuff like speck and prosciutto/Spanish jamon "live to order" and use plastic sheets between layers - so there is no such thing as problem separating . . .

[liuzhou]

8 minutes ago, AlaMoi said:

can you share your technique, please?

 

I don't really have a technique. If it's frozen, then defrost to room temperature is it.

That said, when I was still in the UK , it was seldom frozen.

[Katie Meadow]

You get what you pay for, no? I never knew lox came in plastic wrapped packets until I left NY. I'm just grateful that I have a source for pretty good packaged lox and decent bagels and cream cheese. If you buy your lox at Zabar's or Russ and Daughters you pay for beautiful slices, and experienced cuts and no sticking from compression packaging. And you get your choice of various types. But those of us who no longer have a great local deli have to put up with a few inconveniences. To this day my breakfast or lunch guests have never complained that my plate of sliced lox isn't picture perfect. Which it isn't. But then, who whips out their phone when they are dining at a friend's house?

Edited February 20, 2023 by Katie Meadow (log)