Fiddler's Favorite Recipes Episode 19: Olga Kaler's Lox

May 9, 2020, 12:28 PM · What could be better for a Mother’s Day brunch than Olga Dubossarskay Kaler's perfectly cured Lox ?

Olga, mother to a most talented cellist, Daniel Kaler (who was chief video editor) and Ariel, brings us today’s episode of Fiddler’s Favorites.

Olga has toured three continents as a soloist, chamber musician and artist- teacher, balancing performing and teaching careers with equal success. She joined the violin faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music in 2018, following her 15-year tenure as violin professor at DePaul University School of Music in Chicago. Kaler is highly sought out as an artist-teacher and guest clinician. Her students regularly win competitions throughout the United States and abroad.

I had the great pleasure of collaborating with both Olga and her husband Ilya Kaler during their time in Chicago. Let's give a special shout-out to Olga and Ilya who just celebrated their 23rd wedding Anniversary... and to all the mothers out there, a very Happy Mother’s Day !

OLGA'S LOX

Ingredients:

Fresh Atlantic Salmon, skinless- about 2 lbs
Coarse salt - 1/3-1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Vodka - 1 oz
1/2 lemon, skin on
Ginger - 1-2 oz
Garlic - 4-8 cloves
Cilantro - 1/2 bunch
Rosemary - 1 sprig
Basil - 2-3 sprigs

Utensils:

Deep Rectangular Glass dish
Cutting board slightly smaller than the glass dish
Bowl
Spoon
Measuring cup
Food processor
1-gallon of water (optional)

Instructions:

Line in the bottom of the deep glass dish with plastic wrap. Leave long ends on both sides.
In the food processor, combine lemon, garlic, peeled ginger root, basil, rosemary, and cilantro. Blend thoroughly.
Spoon the mixture into a bowl, add salt, sugar, and vodka.
Spread half the marinade inside the glass dish lines with plastic.
Please skinless salmon fillet inside the dish, cover with the rest of the marinade.
Find a cutting board to fit inside the glass dish to cover the fish.
Place the dish with salmon in the fridge and place 2-4 lbs weight on top of it. Leave for 24 hours.
Remove the fish from the marinade, wash thoroughly with cold water. If the fish tastes excessively salty, leave it in cold water for an hour or two.
Slice the fish angling the knife flat against it, slice against the grain horizontally.
Serve with slices of lemon and / or capers. Enjoy!

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Replies

Diana Skinner

May 10, 2020 at 12:21 AM · This looks delicious and much easier than I would have thought! I intend to try this recipe. Thank you, Olga!

Paul Deck

May 10, 2020 at 03:34 AM · Okay I'm trying this. They have sockeye at Kroger. Recipe calls for a 2-4 pound weight or a gallon of water. A gallon of water (or milk) weighs 8 pounds. A standard house brick weighs about 4-5 pounds.

Edit: 5/10/2020 it's in the fridge. I used Atlantic salmon after all. And a brick.

Edit: 5/12/2020 I removed the salmon from the fridge. Tastes like cured good -- can't really taste the herbs though. I decided the thicker piece didn't really have the firmness that I was looking for so I prepared another salt/sugar/vodka/lemon cure for it and placed it into the fridge for another 24 hour soak, this time in a ziploc bag (not sealed, still pressed by my brick). The problem with the plastic wrap is that all your curing liquid leaks out of it.

Edit 5/14/20: The product is pretty good. Honestly not as good as store-bought lox, but certainly much less expensive per ounce.

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