Clean Eating Salmon Lox

I have been making salmon lox for years. If you have never heard of a lox or gravlax, it is basically raw salmon cured in a mixture of salt and sugar for 24 hours. Very European and Scandinavian thing to make. My clean eating version is made with maple syrup and also contains ground coriander because it adds amazing flavour. I got this recipe idea from a Russian friend years and years ago.

You can use any red salmon fillet (please don’t buy farmed and carefully read the label – there is a lot of “atlantic farmed salmon” on the grocery shelves) but the best one is sockeye salmon, in my opinion. It is the best salmon ever, period!

In years when we are lucky enough to stock up on sockeye, it’s heaven. We buy like 20 big fish at a time, clean it and freeze in Ziploc bags. Well, I don’t clean it, Alex does…half naked.

The most traditional way to eat lox is on a bagel with cream cheese. I swap mashed avocado with salt, pepper and lemon/lime juice for cream cheese. But let me tell you there are many other ways to eat salmon lox – straight out of a container (most of us do that), in a salad or with rice. My kids love it!!! It also freezes well but I never had to because it’s gone so fast. I could brine the whole fish and we will eat it within a week.

Lox is super easy to make. Rub with spices, marinate for at least 24 hours, rinse under cold running water, pat dry with paper towels (toilet paper if you are out of paper towels;)) and slice thinly. That’s it.

Try this recipe! If you like sashimi, you will love this lox! It’s not even raw, it’s cooked in salt and maple syrup, making it a clean source of protein. Enjoy!