It is a well-known fact that salmon is one of the most delicious types of fish you would ever love to taste. Why it is to worry about the sodium content? Some of you may be well aware however, some may not. At present, Cardiovascular heart disease (CHD) is a trending status prominent among most European citizens as well as in other parts of the world. Accordingly, sodium (salt) content in your diet is a critical factor if you are already a victim of CHD. That’s why you have to think twice before having smoked salmon in your diet. Here comes the option Low Sodium smoked salmon. Let’s discuss it in detail.
First, let’s see is there low sodium smoked salmon? Yes of course. It is obvious that salt is inherently within the flesh of salmon. However, you can still count on low sodium smoked salmon if you are dying to have some salmon and worrying whether how to accomplish it healthily. Next, let’s see how to do that.
How to make low sodium smoked salmon?
Low sodium smoked salmon recipe
Before discussing the super tips on how to have some low sodium smoked salmon, let’s have a look at the low sodium smoked salmon recipe. Believe this! Even though you are not a salmon lover in general, please have a try on this recipe for a super surprise. It is 100% sure that you will love to try more and more recipes of smoked salmon after this. This is something that will make you fall head over heel…!
Low sodium smoked salmon recipe
Equipment
- Saucepan (non-stick)
- Grilling tray
- Bowl
- Smoker
Ingredients
- 2 fillets of fresh salmon
- lemon zest
- butter (as required by you)
- ¼ tsp of lemon juice
- ¼ tsp of black pepper
- ¼ tsp of oregano
- mustard seeds (as you prefer)
- salt
- chili flakes
- minced clove and garlic paste
Instructions
- Put salmon into a bowl. then add black pepper, garlic, lemon juice and oregano on it. Add a small amount of salt based on your preference. Mix well and add lemon zest. Keep them for around 10 minutes.
- Take your grilling tray and place the marinated salmon on it. After that, take the smoker for smoking process. Smoke well until you get a brown color.
- Take a saucepan and add butter to melt. After melting, add mustard to it. Then, you can add smoked salmon and spread the chili flakes, let fry for 1 minute.
- Now it's ready to serve!
Notes
- If you don’t have a smoker, you can use a grill with a smoke box or a stovetop smoker.
- You can add sauce, seasonings or ginger paste to enhance the flavor.
- For the decoration process, tomatoes an dcabbage leaves would be better
In addition, the following super tips (1) will help you to achieve the yield rather with low sodium content.
Super tips on how to remove salt from smoked salmon
Here, be careful about the salt amount you are adding and as well as about the type of butter you are going to use. If you are using butter instead of oil in the frying pan, make sure to use unsalted butter instead of salted butter. Have a look at the label of the butter pack if it has mentioned the salt content. In addition, adding lemon juice with lemon zest is another best way to cut down the salts. Why? because lemon acts as a flavor enhancer , which facilitate the salt flavor in salmon. Moreover, take care not to add a lot of amounts of seasonings and condiments to marinate, because they are also too loaded with salts.
Apart from reducing the salt content in smoked salmon, it is best to have the salmon fillets marinate since the last night. It will emphasize the flavor of spices, condiments, and seasonings and will also help to enhance flavor more during smoking. Furthermore, you may wonder how there is so much sodium in smoked salmon. Let’s go a bit scientific.
Why does smoked salmon have so much sodium?
The process of smoking is called curing also. Here, when the curing period extends, more salt is formed. Lesser the curing period, the less salt will be forming. The behind scene is that the moisture retains within the cells of the salmon flesh evaporates due to heat during smoking (2). Thus, it increases the solute concentration within the cells making the salts prominent within the fleshy tissues. Accordingly, it is said that when curing extends much saltier the salmon would be.
Then, you may wonder if the curing let so, what is the purpose of adding salt? Here is the answer if you frequently practice smoking fish without salt.
Can fish be smoked without salt?
It is well known that salt is something just beyond an additive. On most occasions of the traditional culinary among Asians and as well as in today’s world Europeans, salt is added while smoking fish with the first and foremost intended to preserve the food and to enhance the flavor. According to Jr. K. S. Hilderbrand, Oregon State University, fish that is smoked without proper salting and cooking can cause even food poisoning and on some occasions, is lethal (3). The reason is that several harmful bacteria including botulinum could grow on smoked fish that are not properly stored.
Accordingly, it is important to get to know how to store low sodium smoked salmon.
How to store low sodium smoked salmon?
First, have a close look at the storage instructions on your label. Depending on the variety of salmon you can either store them in the refrigerator after once opened and thawed. Or else some types can survive best even at room temperature for a few days within the sealed packaging.
Normally, smoked salmon can be stored in a refrigerator for about two weeks. However, if you wish to keep them for a longer period beyond two weeks, it is good to pack them in a vacuum bag and store them in the freezer. This will retain for about three months.
If you are looking about what to buy, here are some helping answers for it.
Low sodium smoked salmon brands
There are popular brands in this category. Some brands such as Trader Joe’s low sodium smoked salmon may be well familiar to you. Serving size of two ounces will render you 100 calories. If you are a high carer of your caloric intake, to burn this 100 calories, some activities such as 15 minutes of cycling, 10 minutes of running, or 36 minutes of cleaning are more than enough (4).
Furthermore, it is important to discuss the health effects of consuming low sodium smoked salmon. Before that let’s have a look into the nutritional profile of low sodium smoked salmon.
Nutritional profile
Salmon is considered a nutritious food rendering you heart-healthy oils. These are unsaturated fatty acids such as Omega-3. Let’s have a look at them one by one. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), from a serving of 85 g of raw and wild Atlantic salmon, you may get the following nutritional benefits (5)
| Nutrient (Element) | Quantity (grams) |
| Calories | 121 |
| Carbohydrates | 0 |
| Proteins | 17 |
| Fats | 5.4 |
| Sugars | 0 |
| Sodium | 37.4 |
| Fibers | 0 |
- Protein – It is pretty sure that salmon is a high source of protein. You’ll get 17 g of protein from the aforementioned amount of salmon.
- Carbohydrates – Salmon doesn’t contain any kind of sugars, carbs or fibers. Hence if you are preferring a low-carb diet, salmon would be perfect.
- Fats – You will get 5.4 g of fats. Here, less than 1 g is saturated fatty acids and the rest is Omega-3 fatty acids.
- Minerals – Salmon is chock of minerals such as Potassium, Selenium, Zinc and even Magnesium. In addition, if you prefer canned salmon they may contain a lot of Calcium coming from edible bones.
- Vitamins – Salmon is hefty in B vitamins and in addition, you could gain plenty of Vitamin A and lot of Vitamin D from wild salmons.
However, it should be noted that depending on the type of salmon whether it is farm-raised or wild-caught, there are a few variations in the above qualities. Fat content in farm-raised salmon is a little bit different from wild-caught. In terms of protein, farm-raised salmon contains less protein than wild-caught salmon.
Is smoked salmon healthy?
Yes of course! If prepared using sound ingredients, smoked salmon is one of the healthy options you can try. Let’s have a deep look into the health benefits (5) of consuming properly smoked low sodium salmon.
Heart healthy
As aforementioned most of the fats contained in salmon is Omega 3 which renders long-lasting benefits to your brain, heart and eye health. According to American Heart Association, it is recommended to consume fish at least twice every week. In addition, the Potassium you find in salmon helps you to maintain proper blood pressure within the body.
Reduces the risk of Osteoporosis
It is obvious that canned wild salmon is a great source of Vitamin D and Calcium which are the two most important elements that build your bones and teeth. If your body experiences a huge loss of these two elements, there is a chance of being subjected to Osteoporosis. Hence regular consumption of salmon may reduce the risk of getting Osteoporosis.
Improves memory
Low sodium content in these smoked salmon is very much helpful in improving your memory as well. Memory health is directly related to your brain health. Moreover, brain health is something that is affected by your body pressure level. If your blood pressure is high, it may negatively affect your brain health. It is a well-known fact that sodium intake is affecting your blood pressure level as well. Hence, this low sodium diet is very helpful in improving your memory health.
Important for fetal brain growth during pregnancy
The absence of Omega-3 during pregnancy is a major cause that may hinder fetal brain growth. Accordingly, low sodium smoked salmon as a rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids and DHA, is very much important for the brain growth and growth of the nervous system properly.
Improve your mood
Furthermore, the chock of nutrients present in salmon in addition to Omega 3, simply a wholesome nutritional profile of salmon helps to eliminate upset moods and depressive triggers. And thereby, they help to boost the mood.
The best way to enjoy low sodium smoked salmon side dish
It is a heavenly match to crumble over rice with some tomato sauce add on. Amidst two slices of bread to form spicy sandwiches. Moreover, it would be a delicious snack if you could try them over cream crackers with a topping of cream cheese for a splashing bite. It sounds mouthwatering right…Yes of course. Let’s have some more ideas on how to formulate some healthy smoked salmon recipes.
Healthy smoked salmon recipes
A little apart from the salt reduction in your favorite dish of salmon, you may love to know some other ways of preparing smoked salmon as yummy dishes. Never forget to try some out as an appetizer, snack, or quick meal. The easiest ways of having your smoked salmon are by incorporating them into an omelet, sandwich, pasta, toast, salad, dip, appetizer, spread, pizza and a bagel (6). Have the delicious recipes here.
Furthermore, you would love to have some insights on lox too.
Low sodium lox recipe
What is lox? Lox can be introduced as a fillet of salmon which is smoked or not smoked and brined. If you are eagerly waiting for the low sodium lox recipe, here comes the way. The most important thing in here is, reducing the salt content properly without spoiling the magic taste of lox. How do you make lox less salty? You can try it as follows.
The first simple thing you can do is soak the salmon fillets in water for about a few hours. If not so, you can keep them soaked even for a day as well. Be very careful when soaking in water, because this can vanishes the super flavor you are dying for. The magic ratio you can try is that for a pound of salmon you can use 1/4 cup of salt, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1 tablespoon of pepper.
Finally, let’s have a look into the importance of getting a low sodium diet.
Importance of a low sodium diet
It is a well-known fact that sodium is an element vital for our body majorly to maintain the normal fluid balance of the body tissues and for nerve functions. It is normally recommended to have around 2300 mg of sodium per day. This is the equivalent of a teaspoon of table salt. The major intention of taking a low sodium diet is to have control over your potential for heart failure and related problems.
Final thoughts
Low salt content diets are popular among most Europeans as a means to reduce the risk of Cardiovascular heart diseases. Accordingly, low sodium smoked salmon can be introduced as a popular side dish that you find in American cuisine.
It is undoubted that salmon is one of the delicious types of fish that most of you love to consume. Smoking is a super method of preserving salmon and it is important to take care of the sodium content as extended smoking can increase the salt content in salmon.
Salmon is a package full of healthy fats and as well as other vitamins and minerals. Accordingly, they play an immense role in keeping your heart healthy, improving your memory, for proper brain growth of the fetus during pregnancy, as a mood fixture and reducing the risk of osteoporosis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tassal salt reduced smoked salmon
Tassal salt-reduced smoked Atlantic salmon is a pre-made smoked salmon product which you could use conveniently for your meal preparation. This is produced by the Tassal Group, a company that specializes in the processing, farming, and sale of salmon in Australia. Their new product is made with 60% reduced salt making it an excellent healthy option for those who have issues related to high blood pressure, heart attacks etc.
If you want you can make the normal tassal smoked salmon recipe at home follow these simple steps.
Sprinkle fresh salmon with sea salt and cure slowly in a steady temperature controlled room. Then Use the beachwood smoke for smoking process. This will give a sweet smokey and woody note in it’s flavor. You can easily enjoy it in your special occasions, as a topping for salad, pizza, sandwich, pasta etc.
Smoked salmon recipes for breakfast
If you are a salmon lover, you could easily incorporate smoked salmon into your breakfast or brunch meals. There are many ways of enjoying it with your other meals by combining them. Below are the popular recipes of smoked salmon.
- Smoked Salmon Toast with Eggs
- Smoked Salmon Sandwich
- Herbed Smoked Salmon Omelette
- Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict Royale
- Smoked Salmon Frittata
- Smoked salmon dip
- Eggs Royale
- Smoked Salmon BLT
Is smoked salmon healthy for breakfast?
The simple answer to this is yes. You can easily make wide range of healthy breakfast choices with smoked salmon. Furthermore, taking smoked salmon in your breakfast helps you keep satisfied and full in morning routines. Furthermore, as mentioned in the above paragraph, you could easily incorporate it into different meals to have different smoked salmon recipes like smoked salmon omelets, smoked salmon frittata, smoked salmon bagels, avocado toast etc.
However, keep in mind that all salmon are not smoked in the similar ways, so that the nutrient profiles may vary based the way they are processed.
Is smoked salmon raw?
The answer to this depends on the preparation method. Generally you can smoke salmon through hot smoking process or cold smoking process. The ultimate difference between the two processes is temperature.
In hot smoking, fish is smoked at a high temperature usually between 120-225°F until it is cooked properly. This smoked salmon is cooked and it has a firm texture and a orange/pink color.
However if the salmon is cold smoked, the temperature is used usually between 80-90°F for along time period. smoked salmon prepared of this ,method are raw, having a soft texture and darker color.
How long is smoked salmon good for
The answer to this also depends mainly on the storage condition, especially the storage temperature. To lengthen the shelf life of smoked salmon you could tightly wrap them in a aluminium or plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.
But how long is smoked salmon good for in the fridge? After opening a package of smoked salmon, you can keep them up to one week in advance if you follow the proper storage practices as mentioned above. This one week is valid even if the expiration date passes, when proper storage conditions are followed in refrigerating.
Moreover, you can also use the freezing as an option for this. All you have to do is place them in a freezer bag or wrapping them properly with an aluminum foil. With best storage conditions, this will last for around 3 months.
However, keep in ind that these storage periods can be varies based the type of smoking process as well.
How much salt in smoked salmon?
Approximately the sodium content in smoked salmon is around 672mg in a 100g serving.
Watch our video about the importance consuming smoked salmon in a healthy way to improve your health.
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