Growing up in a Jewish home, Sunday brunch was a big affair. My father would take me along to do the shopping. We’d stop at the old Jewish deli for hand-sliced Nova Scotia lox, pickled herring, and smoked sablefish. Then we’d head to the greengrocer for leaf lettuce, tomatoes, and red onion. We’d pick up coffee cake at the bakery and our final stop was at Bageland for justbaked bagels and a cream cheese smear. In the meantime, my mother would set the table and have platters waiting. I came to understand that my father’s efficient shopping scheme was devised so that the bagels were still warm when we sat down to eat. My love for smoked and pickled fish led me to explore pickling salmon for this book. It’s a new favorite, and I would have loved it as a child had I tasted it then. Sockeye salmon or the thinner tail section of a chinook, coho, or even pink salmon are my preferences for pickling.
Serves 8 as part of a brunch
4 cups [960 ml] water
11/2 cups [375 ml] unseasoned rice vinegar
1/2 cup [100 g] sugar
11/2 Tbsp fine sea salt
4 bay leaves, crushed
2 whole cloves
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
1 Tbsp dill seeds
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seeds
11/2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp whole allspice
One 2-lb [910-g] salmon fillet, skin and pin bones removed, cut into 11/2-in [4-cm] squares
1 white onion, halved and thinly sliced
1In a medium saucepan, combine the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar and salt. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
2Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the bay leaves, cloves, coriander seeds, dill seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns, and allspice and mix well. Set aside.
3In a ceramic crock or glass container with a tight-fitting lid, arrange a single layer of salmon, sprinkle some of the spice mixture on top, and then add a layer of onion. Continue to add layers in this order until you have used up all the salmon, spice mixture, and onion, ending with the onion. Pour the cooled brine mixture over the top. Press down on the contents of the container so all the solids are immersed in the brine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 days, or up to 10 days.
4Serve the salmon along with the pickled onions.