Recipes without coffee

[Mathias]

The "Coffee recipes" thread and soon to arrive christmas you just have to try this traditonal swedish christmas dish, especially you who like smoked salmon
You all have to excuse my kitchen english, it is even worse than my normal english

Marinated salmon (proprotion for 1 kg)
1 kg saumon (the middle part, both sides)
2 teaspoons of crushed white pepper
4 soup spoons of salt (big grains)
3 soup spoons of sugar
a lot of dill

I always ask the shop to prepare the fishfilets (with skin) so the only thing left is to pull out the fishbones. Rince and dry the two filets.
Mix salt, sugar and the crushed white pepper. Rubb in 1/3 in each filet on the meat side. Put the rest of the mixture on one of the filets together with the fine cut dill. Put the other filet on top, meat to meat, thick against thin and put the two filets in a plastic bag that you close firmly. Place the plastic bag between two stiff boards and wrap it with scotch, the brown one used for boxes, in a way so that it applies pressure on the filets. Put the packet in the fridge, turn it morning and evening for 2-3 days.

Get rid of the liquid in the bag, remove the dill and cut the filets in fine slices and just enjoy.

A traditional way to serve this in Sweden is with boiled potatoes and a sauce called Hovmästarsås or Gravlaxsås.

Adding a very small amount of smoky whisky in the bag (1-2 cl) will give a very nice flavour too

[phil]

I do recall being told of a very interesting recipe while I lived in Sweden over 20 years ago. I can't remember the correct spelling, although I can remember the pronunciation.

Basically, put herrings and water in a tin. Seal, but do not heat treat.

Wait until the tin becomes nearly spherical. Open and consume the contents.

Enough people told me about this on separate occasions for this to be either real or an extremely well executed joke perpetuated against the Brits by our Swedish colleagues (although several Brits claimed to have encountered the stuff on skiing trips up north).

It's not for real is it?

[Mathias]

Don't know the recipe for that one, most people buy it in the shop. The name is Surströming and it could be used for chemical war. It smell so awfull you don't even want to think about putting it in the mouth

Yes it eixst, especially up in the north. Never touched it ,never will. There are so many nice things to eat and drink, why eat something that smells so bad.

[phil]

Surströming it was indeed! So it's for real?

<shudder>

[Olings]

The "who came up with this recipe the first time/who tried to digest this the first time around" from the Kopi Luwak-thread springs to mind. It's unbelievable that some people try these things. Imagine the recipes that someone tried out for the first time and DIDN'T survive.

"What if I leave the bread in the cupboard for 3 months, then grind it up and mix it with terpentine. I wonder what that would taste like."


Ola

[Mathias]

It is for real, yes, but it is not made the way Phil describes it. Salt is used in the process and the fish ends up being fermented. So in a way it is a process to keep fish for of season. Used in several countries with different ingredients. This one though ends up in the group that to me smells awfull. There are people,especially up in the north of Sweden, who likes the smell and open the tin in in the middle of the table where everyone can enjoy (or pass out by) the smell.

The fermentation takes place in barrels. Tins are used once the fermentation is finished.