We usually have a lot of fishermen at the lake because apparently it is a good fishing lake. The past couple of years someone has caught something big in our bay and word got out, so we usually have a couple of fishing boats trolling our bay for fish every weekend. As you can well imagine I am not fond of this activity particularly when it infringes my privacy. The lake at the cottage is spring fed, which means that it’s reasonably cold for most of the summer, in fact it’s usually August by the time I feel it’s warm enough for a refreshing dip! Over these same last few years, it seems that every time I dip into the water, smallish fish surround my legs; it wouldn’t be bad but these little devils actually try to bite my legs! They’ve obviously heard about the good fishing in the lake and have launched a protest in the form of attacking my defenseless legs! Since I don’t like to fish (obviously, they haven’t heard!) but I do like to eat fish (well, maybe they have a point!) I usually get my fish from our fish monger or the grocery store.
Recently we had some friends for dinner who are vegetarian (the fish-eating kind) and I wanted to make a fish based Paella; I’ve made this dish before but found it a bit lacking without the use of chorizo so I was thinking…what if I made chorizo from fish using similar spices? The texture isn’t the same, but it did add the punch from the spices that I was looking for. It worked out so well, that I will use this method for other ‘sausages’ in the future.
I am participating again in Our Growing Edge Monthly blogging event; I’ve participated before because I had made the Indonesian Thousand Layer Cake which was pretty out there for me, but since then, I can’t say that I’ve made anything quite so awesome, until now.
Salmon Chorizo
makes three ‘sausages’ about 10 cm long each
Ingredients:
- 120 g drained canned salmon, skinless and boneless
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
- 1 egg, beaten
- Saran wrap or thick plastic wrap made for cooking (not microwave as they may contain small holes)
- 3 tbsp canola oil
Directions:
- In a small food processor, add all the ingredients except the plastic wrap and canola oil and process until it is well mixed.
- Lay out one piece of plastic wrap about 30 cm x 30 cm (12″ x 12″). Pipe a length of the mixture into the centre of the plastic wrap and fold over one side and smooth out so that it’s taught to the salmon mixture. Now roll the ‘sausage’ up on the plastic wrap.
- Take each end of the wrap and roll the ends until it is very tightly wound, tie a knot in each end. Repeat until you have rolled all of the ‘sausages’.
- In a medium-sized saucepan, heat about 10 cm (3″) of water until it is almost boiling. Add each ‘sausage’ to the simmering water and cook for about 10 minutes (you don’t want to boil the water, just simmer).
- Remove the sausages from the water and drain. Allow to cool completely in the wrap and when cool remove the wrap. The ‘sausage’ should maintain its shape well. Slice into 1 cm (1/2″) thick slices.
- In a large frying pan, heat the canola oil and fry each side of the ‘sausage’ until desired colour is achieved. Now you are ready to use you salmon chorizo in your recipe.
[…] 1 Salmon Chorizo (for recipe, please click here) […]
LikeLike
[…] Speaking of rice, how about some paella? Eva from Inspirations from Eva’s Kitchen whipped up Salmon Chorizo for the first time for her fish based […]
LikeLike
That is unreal… what a cool idea! I never once would have thought of doing such a thing.Salmon chorizo… I love it, seriously! Small question though… does it *have* to be canned salmon? I’m not even sure if I can get canned salmon here, and I’ve never really understood the point of it… it’s so plentiful in its fresh form. Can I just steam it and use it the same way?
LikeLike
Hi Charles, I used canned salmon because it’s all I had, but I’m sure fresh would be amazing too, even add a few shrimp to it for texture. I would say that you could steam it the same way, salmon cooks very quickly so you probably need not even adjust the timing much, just make sure that it’s fully cooked before diving in. Thank you for your kind words.
LikeLike
What a great idea! I adore salmon and these sound very tasty, especially with paprika. I wonder what other types of seafood could be made into sausage?
LikeLike
Thank you Genie; I was thinking about shrimp!
LikeLike
Yes, Whistler is world class skiing for sure but the small ski village that we used to know has now turned into a small city…with nail salons, fast food restaurants and a huge, traffic snarled highway running right through it 😦 They destroyed so much beautiful wilderness…it’s sad.
Anyway, I will let you know how my bread turns out…I have a heavy pizza stone that I may try as well as the skillet.
Thanks again!
LikeLike
Yes, I have a cast iron skillet that I could use…you just invert it, right? And I will get the powdered milk as that sounds like an important ingredient for the naan to turn out correctly. Looking forward to trying it and Thanks again!
BTW…you are in Canada right? We are in Washington state but I love, love, love B.C. our neighbor to the north! Loon Lake…my favorite place in all the world! 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you kindly. Yes, we are in Toronto, but I of adore BC and I’m particular Whistler, some of the best skiing in the world.
I guess you need not invert the cast iron skillet, but that’s what replicates a tandoor oven. I agree about not omitting the milk powder, I’ve made several bread recipes now from the Middle East and Asia that employ milk powder for chewiness. This recipe has never failed me so I am anxious to hear of your success. Thanks again for your comments.
LikeLike
This is incredible Eva, even better served in a seafood paella. I love it.
LikeLike
Thank you kindly David, I am indeed flattered at the high praise!
LikeLike
Hello Eva,
I was reading your recipe for the Naan on Cecilia’s blog and I have a couple of questions…you say to heat your bbq…can this be baked in an oven instead and if so at what temp? And by milk powder, do you mean powdered milk…duh! 🙂 If I leave out the powdered milk…because I don’t have any on hand…should I increase the amount of liquid milk??
Thank-you!
LikeLike
Hi Chris, welcome to my blog and thank you for your comment. Yes of course you can bake this in a conventional oven, I would preheat a cast iron skillet or pizza pan to about 400F. Bake watching carefully. I use cast because it replicates the tandoor oven that naan is usually baked on.
The milk powder is powdered milk, it adds sugar to the dough which makes it chewy; not sure what happens if you leave it out, we like the texture of this dough so much we don’t mess with it! I would not increase the actual milk because that would throw off the wet dry balance. You may want to increase your granulated sugar to 1 or 1 1/2 tsp.
LikeLike
What a creative idea! I love it! I know that real chorizo pairs perfectly with scallops so this one must be amazingly good with it. Your fish adventure reminds me of the new fashionable pedicure method: you put your feet into a bowl filled with water and tiny fish and they eat dead skin (it’s been on offer here for at least two years, but to be frank I am not tempted at all!). On the other hand, I loooove fishing but haven’t done it for ages!
LikeLike
I’ve heard about that pedicure method, I have to say I wouldn’t be tempted either; it certainly doesn’t sound very relaxing at all.
LikeLike
love this combo of seafood and sausage. Chorizo is a favorite of ours and i can see how its spicy flavor goes great with the salmon
LikeLike
Thanks so much Jessica, it was a beautiful flavour combination.
LikeLike
I’m a total wuss when it comes to cold water. And the water here doesn’t get too cold. I like the water to be about 25C! But mostly on a good day it will be around 22. That’s a lovely looking dinner you made for your vegetarian friends xx
LikeLike
Thanks so much Charlie. I’m the same with water temperature, my hands and feet are generally cold enough without dipping them into ice cold water voluntarily!
LikeLike
Interesting recipe, sounds delicious, Eva. I like the sound of running around in the PJs, per Maureen : )
LikeLike
Yes, these days are filled with running about in PJs. Hopefully the fishermen will not be out since it’s been so chilly lately.
LikeLike
Eva have you ever had one of those fish pedicures? It’s the strangest sensation and I don’t know if I would do it again but your description reminded me of that!
LikeLike
Hi Lorraine, no I have not had one of those, but I have thought of them while I was in the lake with the nippy fish — just wish they had been nipping at my callouses instead of my calves!
LikeLike
How creative, and using canned salmon, who would have thought it could work? Sure is an amazing pot of paella.
Looking forward to seeing what you make for the Our Growing Edge Monthly blogging event. I do remember your impressive thousand layer cake.
LikeLike
Thank you kindly Norma, necessity is the mother of invention!
LikeLike
You’re always inspired me with your dish my friend…
never known there such salmon chorizo before, tempting to try!
LikeLike
Thank you very much Dedy, I am quite flattered by your kind words. I made salmon chorizo up!
LikeLike
Hi, Eva. Salmon chorizo sounds very intriguing and would be perfect in a paella. I love to make sausage but haven’t done so in many years. I guess I need to mend the errors of my way and give this a try. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLike
I’ve never made real sausages Richard, but my Mom used to. It’s on my list of things I want to make in the future…the store bought kind tend to be very salty. I hope to see a sausage post on your blog.
LikeLike
I remember Sawsan making a couple of sausages in a similar poaching fashion – chicken was involved – but salmon is unique. And then using the sausage in a paella. You really DO go that extra mile to treat your guests to a good meal when they have these culinary limitations. Would you still need the egg if you had used raw salmon, I wonder?
I was supposed to go to a sausage making demo at my local food equipment place on Saturday but after having the event on their 2013 demo schedule since the beginning of the year, when I called on Friday to find out the exact time, I learned that the person who was supposed to do it had backed out. Nothing like leaving it til the last minute. 😦 The coincidence is amusing that this was the week you posted this sausage recipe.
By the way, the person I talked to said he’d be happy to talk me through sausage making and show me the equipment but it’s just not the same as seeing it ‘live’. As you remember I had made my own pork chorizo a while ago and had been intrigued by the idea of a lamb merguez with the harissa I bought.
LikeLike
My Mom used to make her own sausages with a Molinex sausage attachment. She would buy the casings from a butcher but I have seen natural casings at regular grocery stores. Since the casings are animal I couldn’t use them for my vegetarian friend, but I may just try it with your recipe.
Thank you for your kind words Maria, our friends really appreciated the effort, and it was very tasty without missing anything.
Too bad about the demo, that would be something I would have enjoyed. Nice of the fellow to offer to talk you through it though.
LikeLike
I’m sure the offer had more than a bit to do with the fact that they’ve got a Hunter’s and Butcher’s supplies sale promotion going on. 🙂 I ended up not going to the store even though they had free knife sharpening for the 2 days. I cooked my smoked picnic ham instead and cut it up for the freezer. I didn’t want the temptation of the goodies on sale.
Maybe I’ll go for the deep fried turkey demo on Oct 4 during the Thanksgiving sales.
LikeLike
I’ve heard so much of the deep fried turkey it would be a very cool demo to witness. Apparently it’s quite dangerous to do so, even a drop of water can make the bird explode sending hot oil in the air all around the fryer. Not something I would want to do, for sure. Plus it takes an enormous amount of oil.
LikeLike
Your creativity ceases to amaze me. I never would have thought to turn salmon into sausage. I bet the paella was amazing! I’m definitely going to remember this dish. I think it’s one we would all enjoy. I remember there was a lake we used to visit when I was a kid and the fish would nip at my legs. Usually sent me running out of the water! 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you so much Kristy, you make me blush with your flattering words! I usually kick at the fish but they keep coming back, I guess I must be irresistible! I wonder why they do it? I’m glad to hear that you had a similar experience, I was starting to think we have crazy fish!
LikeLike
Fish sausages, how creative is that? I never would have thought of it, but I’ll bet your guests were impressed!
LikeLike
Hi Betsy, the dish was very well received, thank you for your lovely words.
LikeLike
What an interesting dish. Who’d a thunk of salmon chorizo – never me.
I know what you mean about privacy at the lake. When we were kids we’d get up and be totally comfortable about running around in our pj’s even if there were people fishing in front of the camp. My mother was less than impressed. 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you Maureen. I have been known to step out on the porch in my PJs only to find a fishing boat way too close! Not impressed.
LikeLike
Quite innovative, Eva.
LikeLike
Thank you kindly Sharyn, it really added the punch that this version of paella was missing.
LikeLike
You are so inventive.. I’d never have thought of making my own sausage like this:) At Mabel Lake, about late August, there are boats that slowly circle for salmon. Luckily it is early morning and so it’s kind of a peaceful looking “dance” for fish. xx
LikeLike
I wish our lake had salmon, I would definitely take up fishing then! If the fishermen stay away from the shore, it’s fine, it’s just that they always push the envelope and sometimes I’ve seen then about 10 feet off our dock, which is way too close.
LikeLike
AHA! I am going to start making sausages this year. And i know NOTHING! AT ALL! about it. Just this tiny tutorial has taught me a lot. Hmm. After you have cooked them do they then stay in the fridge to cure? Or is that a different process. Very very good eva. thank you.. c
LikeLike
I cooked these because of the egg in them, I suspect that if you used a synthetic casing you could probably smoke the sausages which would really add to the authenticity for Chorizo. Maria (A_Boleyn) has a recipe for Mexican Chorizo which I am very excited to try. I will definitely smoke them in my Smoke Daddy Smoker.
LikeLike
So delicious! Didn’t know about the salmon chorizo, but I love the idea.
LikeLike
Thanks Angie, I made it up!
LikeLike
This is awesome. I had no idea how to make chorizo until now. Brava!
LikeLike
If you’re interested in making a pork chorizo, you might be interested in my very successful version here on my LJ post. You COULD poach it like this, I think but I just use it loose.
http://a-boleyn.livejournal.com/137517.html
LikeLike
I LOVE your recipe Maria, thank you for the link. I’m going to make it as soon as I see pork tenderloin on sale (I prefer to grind my own meat). I really like the cheese with the chorizo you made, I’ll have to keep me eyes open for that specific cheese.
LikeLike
I hope you find the Oxaca cheese … Rick Bayless is so inspiring to use the real ingredients isn’t he? Though the Monterey and Pepper Jack were good too.
I wouldn’t use tenderloin, Eva, as it’s too lean and your sausage may be too dry and grainy. I bought a very good extra lean pork grind from my butcher that was perfect. I know when my dad made his own pork sausages (he bought a whole side of pork and made head cheese etc) he cut back on the fat and the first batch of sausage he made, with real casings, was dry and lacked that real sausage mouth feel.
He also made his own smoker and smoked the sausage. The second batch was amazing. Then his smoker caught fire and … I never got any more sausage. I was so sad. 🙂
LikeLike
I really want to try to make my own sausages and I do appreciate your experience, thank you for the tips; there are some things that just need the extra fat for sure. I have a smoker that we convert the BBQ — it just attaches to the side and blows smoke into the cold BBQ. I’m going to give it a try one of these days.
LikeLike
Thanks Jen, it was a very good experiment that worked out well.
LikeLike
Thanks Jen, I’m going to try it with shrimp next time.
LikeLike
Thanks so much Jen, it was a perfect pairing for the paella. It was gobbled up by everyone!
LikeLike
I am so impressed that you went to all of this effort Eva. I am sure your friends appreciated it! This is the first time I have seen chorizo made from salmon — how clever is that? Well done!
LikeLike
Thanks so much Barb. I had made the paella without it before and it really lacked punch, but the salmon with the chorizo flavourings came through; it’s just the texture I missed. Our friends loved it, I am happy to report!
LikeLike