While enjoying perfectly smoked salmon, have you ever wondered how can you freeze smoked salmon so that you can use it later? Well, I like eating smoked salmon every now and then, but I cannot finish up the entire fish in one go. This is when I look at the salmon and think whether it is possible to freeze salmon or should I throw it away.
My curiosity leads me to look for an answer and today I would love to share what I have found. If you are too curious to know, “can you freeze hot smoked salmon?” well read on!!
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Experimenting with Food
I am a food lover at heart and throwing away food seems to be a wasteful activity to me. I love experimenting with food and for my leftovers, I look for a solution to increase their shelf life. While a majority of food stuff can be frozen, does the same apply to smoked salmon? Well, the answer is yes, you can easily freeze smoked salmon and use it on later dates.
Smoked salmon always make up for a tasty treat and while people argue that it tastes its best when fresh, it still tastes pretty good when thawed.
When preparing smoked salmon, I use 2 slices salmon, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, 1 tablespoons olive oil, and 3 limes. I further use 1-quart water and 2 ½ tablespoons salt for brine, I heat my barbeque and smoke my brined fish skinned side down and cook it until the desired degree of doneness.
Can You Freeze Smoked Salmon?
Yes, it is possible to freeze smoked salmon to improve its longevity. Freezing the fish also offers you a great way to preserve the taste, texture and overall quality of the fish.The following steps can be followed to freeze the smoked salmon correctly.
Preparing the Fish for Freezer
When freezing smoked salmon, you have the option to freeze the fish as a whole or cut it into small pieces. However, it is easier to cut the fish into small pieces to match the services size you will probably eat in a day or two. Cutting fish into smaller pieces also makes it easy to wrap and store it.
Unwrap the store bought smoked salmon from its original packing and cut it into small pieces. It must be remembered that you cannot freeze the fish again once it is thawed therefore pack it separately in the right amount that you can easily finish.
Wrapping the Salmon
It is important to properly wrap the salmon to preserve its flavor. Moreover in addition to retain the flavor, you can brush the sides of the fish with olive oil before packing or wrapping it.
To avoid freezer burns, you can use a freezer wrap and wrap the fish tightly while securing its edges. You can also choose to use a vacuum sealer to squeeze out the air before sealing it properly.
Storing the Salmon
In order to keep the smoked salmon fresh for a long time, make sure the air is removed while storing it. This is vital because the presence of air can lead to oxidation in cooked food and will further lead to loss of flavor, freezer burn or spoilage. Therefore, whenever you are storing the salmon, pack in an airtight container.
Labeling the Salmon
If you freeze a lot of food, you may find it hard to recognize the frozen food. Therefore, it is important to label your smoked salmon while freezing it. Also, don’t forget to write down the date when the fish is placed in the freezer. So now comes the next questions, how long can you freeze smoked salmon?
Frozen smoked salmon stays fresh in the freezer and can last for about 3 months. However, this is true if you keep the fish on the lowest shelf of the freezer. But if you choose to put the fish in the chest freezer at a maximum freezing point, it can last for approximately 6 months.The
Thawing Process
When it comes to defrosting the smoked salmon make sure you only remove the required quantity that you want to eat. Place the freezer bag in the refrigerator (or chiller compartment) immediately as it should only be thawed below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Do not thaw the salmon in warm water or at room temperature as it will significantly affect the texture of the salmon. Moreover, thawing the fish at room temperature also runs the risk of bacterial bloom. So make sure whether you are using smoked or fresh salmon, it should always be refrigerated.
Are you now thinking, “Can you refreeze smoked salmon?” Well, the answer is no. Once thawed, the fish cannot be refrozen. After the freezing and thawing process, consume the previously frozen smoked salmon immediately to enjoy best taste and quality.
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Things to Remember When Freezing Smoked Salmon
Freezing smoked salmon properly will ensure that you enjoy eating the fish at a later time. However, while freezing smoked salmon, here are few things you must keep in mind.
- Smoked salmon can be freeze for about 3 months and up to 6 months in a chest freezer.
- When thawing salmon, leave it in the freezer overnight. Make sure the fish is thawed slowly, in a cold environment.
- Don’t force salmon to thaw by placing it in a bowl of hot water. This will affect the quality of the end product.
- Don’t reheat salmon in the microwave as the high heat emitted by the microwave can dry out the fish.
- Moreover, microwaving the fish also results in smelly fish and this is another reason why microwaving smoked salmon is not advisable.
- While microwaving, high heat can leave cold spots and bacteria can develop in these areas. Eating bacteria infested fish can make you sick.
- After reheating smoked salmon, eat it within 2 hours. Leaving it for a long time will lead to the formation of bacteria.
- Do you know smoked salmon can be eaten cold? You can make a new recipe out of smoked salmon leftovers and enjoy eating it in a variety of ways.
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Smoked Salmon Recipes
If you are bored by eating the same old reheated smoked salmon again and again, there are a lot of recipes you can try.
Smoked Salmon Salad
If you have some smoked salmon leftovers, use them in a fish meat based salad. Mix some green leaves, add smoked salmon and toss it with olive oil. There you have a healthy and delicious salad ready. Additionally, you can also add fruits such as avocado for a refreshing taste.
Smoked Salmon Sandwich
Who does not like sandwiches? I don’t know about you, but they are my favorite. The smoked salmon sandwich is filling and satisfying. They can be as simple as adding sour cream to the sandwich and as complex as adding a lot of ingredients.
Smoked Salmon Pasta
Another great dish that you can prepare with smoked salmon is delicious smoked salmon pasta. Use spaghetti noodles or any type of pasta with smoked salmon as the main ingredient. This is undoubtedly nutritious and delicious dish.
Appetizer
If you don’t want to create a main dish with smoked salmon, choose to serve it as your appetizer. An easy to prepare dish smoked salmon appetizer consists of cream cheese, crackers and salmon as toppings. You can choose to vary the crackers and spreads to create interesting combinations.
Click here to know more about frozen smoked salmon recipes.
Smoked Salmon as a Substitute
While it is easy to create various dishes using smoked salmon as the main ingredient, you can also use salmon as a substitute for other ingredients. You will discover a healthier and amazing way to convert some of your favorite dishes.
Substitute for Tuna
While it is not possible to replace tuna in all the recipes, you can still substitute it with salmon in some of the recipes thus reducing your intake of mercury. So, if you are going to make a tuna sandwich, replace tuna with thawed smoked salmon. You can break chunks of salmon into flakey pieces to use it.
Substitute for Bacon
If you are a bacon lover, try replacing it with salmon for an intense flavor. Take the opportunity to create some amazing bacon inspired recipes using smoked salmon. You can even use crumble pieces of salmon as toppings for guacamole recipes or pancakes. If you love mac and cheese, replace bacon as topping in your favorite dish.
Conclusion
So, I hope this post may have helped you get an answer for, “Can you freeze smoked salmon?” If smoked salmon is your favorite dish, this post might have opened new opportunities to use the amazing ingredient. I too love smoked salmon and therefore I went out of my way to discover some amazing recipes that will make this ingredient stand out.
Smoked Salmon is a delicious addition to your meal. While you may feel it is a bit expensive, it is incredibly easy to freeze it and use it for a long time. So, whether you choose frozen smoked salmon or fresh smoked salmon, you can prepare delicious and tasty dishes for breakfast, lunch or dinner with this amazing ingredient.
You can even read more on whether it is possible to freeze potato salad and ricotta cheese.
The post Can You Freeze Smoked Salmon? – Quick Guide, Tips and Delicious Salmon Recipes appeared first on Gordan Ladd's Kitchen.
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