Just like the traditional log , smoked salmon is the star of festive meals. To avoid unpleasant surprises on the plate, follow our precious advice.

What origin for the best salmon?

Commercial salmon come mainly from Norway , Scotland and Ireland . More than the origin, it is especially the conditions of rearing of the fish, the method and the care brought to the product during the transformation which influence the quality of the smoked salmon which we buy. And wild salmon? It is preferred as soon as possible even if it does not necessarily guarantee its quality. If wild fish move in an altered environment (translating polluted), their flesh will retain the chemical compounds.

What color for a good salmon?

Salmon "orange"? This means that he has been fed with animal meal and thus fattened very (if not too much) fast. Its taste and texture will be less fine. We favor a clear salmon whose color is uniform and homogeneous. Often, the orange color is used to hide the imperfections of the product or to make it more appetizing.

Salting, drying or smoking: what transformation for my salmon?

We choose a salmon "smoked with wood of ..." . Smoking makes it possible to preserve the flesh of the salmon. But beware, only the word "smoked" is not enough to ensure the quality of the salmon. The term "smoked with wood of ..." that accompanies smoked products by burning wood of a single gasoline is preferred, whereas the word "smoked" at all points sometimes simply indicates the vaporization of liquid smoke on the fish.

We choose a salted salmon manually . Salting is the process of removing excess fat from the fish and capturing moisture. Manual salting rather than salted salmon is preferred by brine injection, which will be softer and less palatable.

And frozen salmon?

Do not freeze indicates that the salmon has already been frozen during processing. It should not be refrozen . The best is to choose a salmon that is marked "never frozen", a quality criterion of the Red Label , which prohibits a cooling below - 2 ° C.