Here at Bentley’s we proudly smoke all our own salmon in-house, with the help of our Rooftop Smoker! Purchased by Chef Corrigan in 2008 we prep our salmon with a blend of sugar, salt and spices before smoking each fillet for 4-6 hours over oak for that distinctly Bentley’s flavour.
Sally Barnes, legend of Irish artisan food, owner of Woodcock Smokery and one of Chef Corrigan’s personal food heroes, is the inspiration behind the dish and the reason we take such pride in it. Sally only works with wild fish, and began traditional smoke-curing as a means to preserve the bounty she caught from the Atlantic waters of the West Cork coastline. She began her work in 1979 and has continued to win the hearts of customers, restaurateurs and the local community ever since.
We serve our salmon with homemade potato blinis, made in-house every day, and fresh horseradish. The perfect way to start your Bentley’s meal.
Whilst we appreciate only a lucky few will have access to a personal smoker, we hope you will enjoy this recipe for a home kitchen friendly Gravadlax, straight from Chef Corrigan himself.
Bentley’s Gravadlax with Pickled Cucumber
METHOD
- Wash and pat the fish dry then lay it in a tray, skin-side down (make sure the tray fits in the fridge). Combine the sugar and salt and rub the mixture over the fish. Wrap it in clingfilm. Weigh it down lightly (a heavy plate on top is fine) and put in the fridge for 24 hours.
- To make the pickled cucumber, peel the cucumber, cut in half lengthways and take out the seed section, then slice finely. Sprinkle the cucumber slice in salt and leave to stand.
- Meanwhile, put the wine vinegar in a heavy pan with the sugar. Heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.
- Rinse and drain the cucumber, then wrap in a clean tea towel and squeeze as much liquid out as possible. Add the cucumber to the cold vinegar mixture and keep in the fridge.
- Take the salmon from the fridge, drain away any liquid and then wash and dry the fillet again. Brush with mustard then cover completely with the chopped dill.
- Carve crossways into thin slices and serve with the pickled cucumber.
Eat as is, or serve with our signature Soda Bread and some delicious scrambled eggs.
Ingredients
About 900g fresh salmon (half a side), skinned, pinned and trimmed (ask your fishmonger to do this)
20g sugar
40g sea salt (we use Maldon, the grains are bigger and won’t melt and burn into the fish)
A little English mustard
A bunch of dill, chopped
1 cucumber
50ml white wine vinegar
25g caster sugar
