Smoked salmon benefits your health because it is rich in a variety of nutrients, including essential vitamins, minerals, fats, and proteins. However, smoking fish usually also involves salting it. This means that certain smoked salmon products can be very high in sodium.
It is commonly confused with cured salmon, another similar product that is not smoked. However, both can be enjoyed on a bagel or on top of crackers with other toppings like cream cheese, cucumber, or tomato.
What is smoked salmon?
Salmon is a very healthy fish. According to health professionals, you should consume approximately 340 grams of low-mercury fish, such as salmon, each week. This is equivalent to four servings of salmon (85 grams).
This version of salmon is usually prepared hot or cold smoked. Smoking is a healing technique that involves a combination of smoking and salting.
The smoked in hot involves heat and results in a cooked, flaked fish. On the contrary, smoking in cold it is done at lower temperatures and results in a product more similar to raw fish.
The exact nutrition of your smoked salmon can vary depending on the smoking technique that was used to cure it. It is very likely that the sodium content of salmon is different.
Nutritional information and properties
Salmon is particularly healthy because it is rich in essential fats, known as omega fatty acids. 85 grams of smoked salmon have 3 grams of fat, 15 grams of protein and 99 calories No carbohydrates and in each 85 grams we also find the following vitamins and minerals:
- 22 percent of the daily value of copper
- 11 percent of DV for match
- 50 percent of the DV of selenium
- 7 percent of the DV of Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)
- 25 percent of the DV of Vitamin B3 (niacin)
- 15 percent of the DV of Vitamin B5
- 14 percent of the DV of Vitamin B6
- 115 percent of the DV of Vitamin B12
- 73 percent of the DV of vitamin D
- 8 percent of the DV of Vitamin E
Smoked salmon also contains small amounts (between 1 and 4 percent) of many other essential nutrients, such as vitamin A, vitamin B1, calcium, potassium, iron, manganese and zinc.
Additionally, it is a rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids, providing a combination of 0,5 grams of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) per 100-gram serving. These fats are considered essential because the body cannot produce them, so we must obtain them from the diet.
Because of the way it's processed, smoked salmon has a high sodium and contains 600 to 1200 mg per 100-gram serving. By comparison, the same serving of fresh salmon provides 75 mg of sodium. Experts recommend limiting sodium intake to 2300 mg per day to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke. So you may want to watch your smoked salmon intake, especially if you are sensitive to salt.
Advantages and disadvantages
This fish is extremely nutritious. The benefits of smoked salmon come mainly from its content of Omega-3 fatty acids, selenium, vitamin B12 and vitamin D.
Omega fatty acids are particularly beneficial because certain Omega-3 fatty acids can only be obtained from seafood. These healthy fats can help lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels and reduce inflammation.
Despite these nutritional benefits, you may want to limit your intake, as the content of sodium of smoked salmon can be extremely variable. An 85-gram serving can have as little as 24 percent (571 milligrams) or as much as 71 percent (1.700 milligrams) of the daily value for sodium.
The American Heart Association recommends consuming no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day. Ideally, people should consume as little as 1.500 milligrams of sodium. Excessive sodium intake can increase the risk of cardiovascular, kidney, and gastrointestinal problems, including stomach cancer, kidney disease, and high blood pressure.
The sodium in smoked salmon doesn't mean it's unhealthy. However, try to avoid high-sodium salmon when possible.
If you have bought one that is high in sodium, consider eating it in smaller portions to reduce your daily sodium intake. For example, a 25-gram serving of smoked salmon with avocado can be quite a healthy snack.
Ways to eat smoked salmon
Introducing this food is not that complicated. However, for those who have never tried it, here are some tasty ways to enjoy smoked salmon:
- On a bagel with cream cheese
- On top of your favorite salad
- On toast with scrambled eggs
- oven gratin
- In potato and leek soup
- Mixed in a pasta dish
- Stirred in a biscuit sauce
- On a plate with vegetables
Also, we can prepare hot smoked salmon at home if we have a smoker. We will start by curing the fillets in salt for at least 4 hours. Then, we will dry them and place them in a smoker at 107°C until they reach an internal temperature of 63°C.
How to do it
Smoking is a processing method of seasoning, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to smoke. It is commonly used with meat, poultry, and fish.
The smoking process
To smoke salmon, thawed, boneless fillets are covered in salt and allowed to sit for 12 to 24 hours to draw out moisture through a process called curing. The longer the curing process, the more salt the salmon contains.
By drawing out moisture, salt improves flavor and acts as a preservative to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria that could cause food poisoning. The fillets are then rinsed in water to remove excess salt before being transferred to a smoking oven to dry. The drying process helps the fillets develop a pellicle, which is a layer of protein that allows smoke to better adhere to the surface of the fish.
Attached to the oven is a smoker that burns wood chips or sawdust, usually oak, maple, or hickory, to produce smoke.
Cold or hot smoked salmon
Salmon can be smoked hot or cold. The main difference is the temperature of the smoking chamber. For cold-smoked salmon, the temperature should be 10-32°C for 20-24 hours. This temperature range is not hot enough to cook salmon, so extra care must be taken during preparation and curing to reduce the risk of foodborne illness.
By contrast, for hot smoking, the chamber must be hot enough to reach an internal temperature of at least 63°C for at least 30 minutes to properly cook the salmon.
Normally, the ones we find in the supermarket are cold smoked. We can distinguish the hot-smoked varieties because their packaging generally indicates that they have been fully cooked. Cold-done tends to be softer and smoother, while hot-smoked salmon is flaky and smokier in flavor.
Selection and storage
While some varieties require refrigeration, others do not until the package is opened. It is recommended to look at the product label for storage recommendations. Once opened, salmon can be kept in the fridge for about 12 weeks or frozen for 3 months.
Smoked salmon with lots of dark bits should be avoided, as they tend to be off-tasting and should have been trimmed, although they are sometimes left in the final product to add to the weight and cost of the package.