Can someone tell me the difference between smoked salmon and Nova Scotia lox? I tried Googling, and got a bunch of different and contradictory answers. They're both salmon, right? How are they different in taste? Is it just the way they're prepared? Or are they two different types of salmon? Thanks for any help.
Salmon Question
- Thread starter tish
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Lox is cured, then sliced really thin for serving. It is usually premium grade salmon (think almost sushi grade) and really, really fresh. Nova is cured and cold smoked, but still not cooked to a higher degree of doneness. I look as the generic term "smoked salmon" as a cured and hot smoked product (or salmon that has started off with cold smoke, and finished with hot smoke) And I call salmon that is not cured, but smoked with flavor wood "flavor smoked salmon".
You can get by with lower grades of salmon for "smoked salmon" and "flavor smoked salmon". In fact, I prefer Atlantic farm raised salmon for my smoked salmon due to it's higher oil content. It makes for a real moist product. Here is some of my smoked salmon.
You can get by with lower grades of salmon for "smoked salmon" and "flavor smoked salmon". In fact, I prefer Atlantic farm raised salmon for my smoked salmon due to it's higher oil content. It makes for a real moist product. Here is some of my smoked salmon.
Thirdeye, that looks really good. But see, this is the same thing I got when I Googled it. Different answers. I want to be able to smoke salmon, but I also definitely would like to learn how Nova Scotia lox are made. It's the lox I've been eating with bagels and cream cheese since I was a little girl. That could be a typical Saturday morning breakfast for us back then. My parents always loved the stuff, so us kids got to love it, too. So, is the lox brined, or not? Cold smoked, or not? I think I'm back where I started from. *sigh*
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All lox is cured via a brine or a dry cure. Often the dry cures have aromatics as well, like fresh dill for example. Some lox is un-smoked, and other lox varieties are cold smoked. Nova is cold smoked. I've had lox many times, and just perfer hot smoked salmon.
No need to *sigh*, I'll tell what I'll do. I know a gal in Nova Scotia and she is a barbecuist, into curing her own bacon, making sausage etc. Let me drop her a line for a recipe.
Oh, would you?? Thank you so much, thirdeye! That would be really wonderful! Won't my parents be proud of me if I can learn how to make it?!! lol Now I can't quit grinnin'! :becky:
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Email sent. It must be midnight or later there so maybe I'll get an answer tomorrow. I'll post it here for everyone to check out. You need to promise to post pictures when you make a batch.... and I would bet you'll have to sharpen your knife to get the thin slices.
tish I don't know if this will help or confuse matters further, but my understanding differs slightly to thirdeye's.
Lox= wet brined. Only. Very salty brine.From Scandinavia and quite a fishy product, fell out of favour so linguistically nowadays it is a term commonly used when describing almost any type of cured or smoked salmon. Cold smoked
BTW it is commonly sliced thin to serve but it doesn't have to be, it is still lox if it is served another way.
Nova describes a wet brined salmon much lighter in salts, used to refer to the nova Scotia salmon but that species got fished to extinction, the term still applies to that method of curing. cold smoked too.
Scottish (Scotch) and Nordic are dry salt cured, and gravadlax is sweeter, cured with dill and sugar and juniper and spices under pressure.
I looked it up and it seems correct but language gets boxed into common patterns of understanding that may not be the original so it gets confusing.
HTH and doesn't get you shorting out a synapse!
Lox= wet brined. Only. Very salty brine.From Scandinavia and quite a fishy product, fell out of favour so linguistically nowadays it is a term commonly used when describing almost any type of cured or smoked salmon. Cold smoked
BTW it is commonly sliced thin to serve but it doesn't have to be, it is still lox if it is served another way.
Nova describes a wet brined salmon much lighter in salts, used to refer to the nova Scotia salmon but that species got fished to extinction, the term still applies to that method of curing. cold smoked too.
Scottish (Scotch) and Nordic are dry salt cured, and gravadlax is sweeter, cured with dill and sugar and juniper and spices under pressure.
I looked it up and it seems correct but language gets boxed into common patterns of understanding that may not be the original so it gets confusing.
HTH and doesn't get you shorting out a synapse!
Thank you, thirdeye! I'll have to take a crash course on knife sharpening. All my carving knives are reminiscent of butter knives, right now. lol But I promise, when I make my first batch of Nova Scotia lox, I will post pron. :-D
The general appeal of Nova salmon to lox is that the Nova salmon is not as salty. Think, shorter time on the cure or less salt. I'm afraid the answers you'll get are both regional and cultural. I generally distinguish between hard and soft cures and cold and warm smoking. I think the best thing to do is experiment. I'll be waiting on the recipe thirdeye. I lived two years in Halifax and visit every year and BBQ was a foreign concept to just about everyone I met (except for hot dogs and hamburgers). I know there are a few on this site though! :thumb:
Yes, I can see that region makes a difference. And if a particular fish is all fished out, well yeah, that would throw a monkey wrench in the terminology, too. But I think I get it, for the most part. And as you say, I'll just have to experiment and see what I get. I'll start with the recipe from thirdeye's friend, and see where that takes me. :wink:
thull
Knows what a fatty is.
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I did a side of farm-raised salmon a week ago. Pretty simple dry cure (5 parts sugar, I use turbinado, and 3 parts kosher salt) with cracked pepper as the only spice. I put the pepper on each side of the filet and maybe 3/4 c of the mix total. Couple tablespoons rye whiskey. All in a big zipper bag.
Then pressed and cured for 48 hr.s, turning occassionally. Next rinsed and put on a rack over sheet pan in fridge to dry and form a pellicle.
I only smoked it for 2 hours (it was in the 50's temperature wise) with pecan and a little apple, mainly b/c it was a school night and I didn't want to stay up too late. I'll do longer next time.
Back in the fridge uncovered for 24 hours to let the smoke dissipate a little, then wrapped in plastic (and partially eaten, the rest gets consumed tomorrow).
Not exactly Nova but very tasty.
Then pressed and cured for 48 hr.s, turning occassionally. Next rinsed and put on a rack over sheet pan in fridge to dry and form a pellicle.
I only smoked it for 2 hours (it was in the 50's temperature wise) with pecan and a little apple, mainly b/c it was a school night and I didn't want to stay up too late. I'll do longer next time.
Back in the fridge uncovered for 24 hours to let the smoke dissipate a little, then wrapped in plastic (and partially eaten, the rest gets consumed tomorrow).
Not exactly Nova but very tasty.
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Here are the results from my overnight requests. My friend in Nova Scotia does not make it, but she will ask around and let me know what she comes up with. Lynne did however have a recipe from the UK, so it's listed below.
The next one is a method my friend from Maine uses. The version he has is cured only, but he has gone one step further and did a light smoke on it as well and likes that a little better.
So.... both of these are dry cured (and by definition we're getting some internet feedback that Nova lox is wet cured (brined)). And the new addition to this thread from thull adds yet another variety. ~thirdeye~
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I do have this recipe that friend in the UK sent me. She used trout, I have not tried thisI will still ask around for a local variety. Lynne.
Gravad Lax
2 fillets of trout from 2 to 3 lbs fish
2 bunches fresh dill weed, stalks removed and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons white peppercorns
65g sea salt
40g caster sugar
3 allspice berries
3 tablespoons vodka
Crush the peppercorns and allspice and stir into the sugar and salt. Sprinkle half the dill in a glass dish and put a fillet of trout on top, skin side down. Press half the salt mixture firmly on the flesh side of each fillet. Sprinkle over half the remaining dill and the vodka onto the fillet in the dish. Put the other fillet on top, flesh side down with its thin side on the thick side of the other. Sprinkle over the remaining dill and put a board with some weights on top. Put in fridge for 2 to 3 days turning twice a day and pouring off the brine that forms. Enjoy
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Here is one from BBQinMaineiac, he is unsure of the source other than the name “Suzanne”. BBQiM makes his home in Maine. Additional cooks notes follow Suzanne’s recipe.
Gravlox
SUBMITTED BY: Suzanne
"Gravlox is a popular item in Scandinavian Cuisine. Some, like this one, are made with vodka."
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds salmon fillet, bones removed
4 tablespoons coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon pepper
1 bunch fresh dill, chopped
3 tablespoons vodka
DIRECTIONS
1. Drape plastic wrap over a glass baking dish. Cut salmon in half lengthwise, and place one half in dish, skin side down. Mix together salt, brown sugar and pepper. Sprinkle half of mixture over salmon in the dish, cover with the chopped dill, and pour the vodka over the whole mixture.
2. Sprinkle the remaining salt mixture over the remaining half of salmon. Place over the salmon in the dish, skin side up. Fold the plastic wrap snuggly over the entire salmon. Place a board over the fish and weigh it down with a heavy object.
3. Refrigerate fish for 24 to 36 hours, turning every 12 hours. To serve, separate the filets, and carefully brush off the salt, sugar and dill. Cut into very thin slices with a sharp knife.
Additional comments from BBQiM: I halved the recipe and the half Atlantic Salmon filet fit beautifully in a 1 gallon zipper bag. It has been brought to my attention that the fish should be washed and soaked for 45 minutes, then smoked. The recipes I have don't do either of these, and when I've seen it done on TV (at least 3 times) that wasn't done either, but I want to make sure folks know that it's an option. Next time, since I like the product, I plan on smoking it since that's what I buy locally. (in Maine)
Definitely try smoking it. The Gravlox isn't salty enough IMHO to require soaking before smoking though. My plan is going to be to rinse off the undissolved salt then cold smoke for maybe an hour or 2 at most. Using a sweet smoke, cherry or apple or another sweet smoke.
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The next one is a method my friend from Maine uses. The version he has is cured only, but he has gone one step further and did a light smoke on it as well and likes that a little better.
So.... both of these are dry cured (and by definition we're getting some internet feedback that Nova lox is wet cured (brined)). And the new addition to this thread from thull adds yet another variety. ~thirdeye~
*******************************
I do have this recipe that friend in the UK sent me. She used trout, I have not tried thisI will still ask around for a local variety. Lynne.
Gravad Lax
2 fillets of trout from 2 to 3 lbs fish
2 bunches fresh dill weed, stalks removed and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons white peppercorns
65g sea salt
40g caster sugar
3 allspice berries
3 tablespoons vodka
Crush the peppercorns and allspice and stir into the sugar and salt. Sprinkle half the dill in a glass dish and put a fillet of trout on top, skin side down. Press half the salt mixture firmly on the flesh side of each fillet. Sprinkle over half the remaining dill and the vodka onto the fillet in the dish. Put the other fillet on top, flesh side down with its thin side on the thick side of the other. Sprinkle over the remaining dill and put a board with some weights on top. Put in fridge for 2 to 3 days turning twice a day and pouring off the brine that forms. Enjoy
***********************************
Here is one from BBQinMaineiac, he is unsure of the source other than the name “Suzanne”. BBQiM makes his home in Maine. Additional cooks notes follow Suzanne’s recipe.
Gravlox
SUBMITTED BY: Suzanne
"Gravlox is a popular item in Scandinavian Cuisine. Some, like this one, are made with vodka."
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds salmon fillet, bones removed
4 tablespoons coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon pepper
1 bunch fresh dill, chopped
3 tablespoons vodka
DIRECTIONS
1. Drape plastic wrap over a glass baking dish. Cut salmon in half lengthwise, and place one half in dish, skin side down. Mix together salt, brown sugar and pepper. Sprinkle half of mixture over salmon in the dish, cover with the chopped dill, and pour the vodka over the whole mixture.
2. Sprinkle the remaining salt mixture over the remaining half of salmon. Place over the salmon in the dish, skin side up. Fold the plastic wrap snuggly over the entire salmon. Place a board over the fish and weigh it down with a heavy object.
3. Refrigerate fish for 24 to 36 hours, turning every 12 hours. To serve, separate the filets, and carefully brush off the salt, sugar and dill. Cut into very thin slices with a sharp knife.
Additional comments from BBQiM: I halved the recipe and the half Atlantic Salmon filet fit beautifully in a 1 gallon zipper bag. It has been brought to my attention that the fish should be washed and soaked for 45 minutes, then smoked. The recipes I have don't do either of these, and when I've seen it done on TV (at least 3 times) that wasn't done either, but I want to make sure folks know that it's an option. Next time, since I like the product, I plan on smoking it since that's what I buy locally. (in Maine)
Definitely try smoking it. The Gravlox isn't salty enough IMHO to require soaking before smoking though. My plan is going to be to rinse off the undissolved salt then cold smoke for maybe an hour or 2 at most. Using a sweet smoke, cherry or apple or another sweet smoke.
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Thank you so much for all your responses, Bucc, thirdeye, Gore, and thull. I do believe I understand this a little better now, and am anxious to try my hand at it after I get a few more cooks under my belt. You guys are the best! :thumb:
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I've been looking around and asking as many folks that I could about Nova Lox. The first problem I found was that everyone has a different definition of Lox. To some it’s cured, to others it’s cured and smoked. Some cures are a dry “salting” style of cure, other cures are a salt water “brine” cure. Some methods involve both a dry cure and a brine. The best thing about investigating lox, is that I will be able to broaden my smoked salmon (and trout) horizion, which up until now consisted of dry cured and hot smoked products.
I discovered that the term “lox” most likely came from the word “lachs”, the German word for salmon. In the old days Europeans smoked Atlantic salmon, and in fact a favorite method was a mild cure followed by a gentle smoking. Enterprising fish merchants looked at the Pacific salmon industry in the US and Canada, and began to import salt cured fish to Europe….. however, the stronger “hard curing”, was not popular to the European tastes. So the processors were convinced to use a milder cure, and in some cases the end buyer would use additional de-salting method(s) prior to smoking the salmon. About the same time that Pacific salmon was being exported, European immigrants in the United States and Canada were demanding a milder form of smoked salmon. Once refrigeration came about, the heavy and mild cures yielded to even lighter cures, and more seasonings and aromatics came into play. Basically, people still wanted the cured texture, color, and in some cases smoky flavor…. But they wanted a less salty and more flavorful product.
This led to the next problem, old recipes and modern recipes. In general the older the recipe…. the harder the cure and saltier the product. The techniques and methods for preparing / curing / smoking have not changed, the amount of salt used has. However some newly published recipes are using old recipes as a guide and are heavy handed when it comes to salting. Some other modern recipes are just a brine and smoke kind of thing..... I'm thinking these lost some of the tradition.
A couple of the Nova lox methods I think are promising involve a dry cure, followed by a brine, followed by a soak-out, followed by cold smoking. These are old methods and I feel they need lightening up on the salt. I am going to list the original version along with some modern day recommendations I’m using for my starting point.
I may be wrong, but I just can't believe all the salt in the "traditional" recipe is necessary...... and likewise I might be light on my changes. I wanted to experiment with brine curing, but since I'm very satisified with dry curing, I selected this traditional recipe because it was a combination of both. My verision is untried as of now, but it meets the minimum requirements for Gravlox I've seen, just takes another strep in the cold smoke direction.
I discovered that the term “lox” most likely came from the word “lachs”, the German word for salmon. In the old days Europeans smoked Atlantic salmon, and in fact a favorite method was a mild cure followed by a gentle smoking. Enterprising fish merchants looked at the Pacific salmon industry in the US and Canada, and began to import salt cured fish to Europe….. however, the stronger “hard curing”, was not popular to the European tastes. So the processors were convinced to use a milder cure, and in some cases the end buyer would use additional de-salting method(s) prior to smoking the salmon. About the same time that Pacific salmon was being exported, European immigrants in the United States and Canada were demanding a milder form of smoked salmon. Once refrigeration came about, the heavy and mild cures yielded to even lighter cures, and more seasonings and aromatics came into play. Basically, people still wanted the cured texture, color, and in some cases smoky flavor…. But they wanted a less salty and more flavorful product.
This led to the next problem, old recipes and modern recipes. In general the older the recipe…. the harder the cure and saltier the product. The techniques and methods for preparing / curing / smoking have not changed, the amount of salt used has. However some newly published recipes are using old recipes as a guide and are heavy handed when it comes to salting. Some other modern recipes are just a brine and smoke kind of thing..... I'm thinking these lost some of the tradition.
A couple of the Nova lox methods I think are promising involve a dry cure, followed by a brine, followed by a soak-out, followed by cold smoking. These are old methods and I feel they need lightening up on the salt. I am going to list the original version along with some modern day recommendations I’m using for my starting point.
I may be wrong, but I just can't believe all the salt in the "traditional" recipe is necessary...... and likewise I might be light on my changes. I wanted to experiment with brine curing, but since I'm very satisified with dry curing, I selected this traditional recipe because it was a combination of both. My verision is untried as of now, but it meets the minimum requirements for Gravlox I've seen, just takes another strep in the cold smoke direction.
Last edited:
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I edited my post so folks will know my version has not been field tested, however in looking at many gravlox methods (including one on Food Network just today) the minimum cure is salt and sugar overnight, and it's served without smoking. So, the Nova lox recipe above gets a double cure, plus some smoke, so compared to gravlox I'm guessing is should be only a hair drier, maybe a hair firmer, but still be an uncooked product as well.
Just curious.... how salty was the lox you remember?
It was slightly salty, but certainly not overpowering in any way. I was a small child the first time I tasted it, and have never been a real salt hound. I think if it was very salty, I never would have kept on eating it. I'm not even all that big on things like potato chips. Gotta really be in the mood for it. I like the Nova on a pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese, and it's just salty enough to offset that. Very tasty!! :thumb:
