NYTimes on the Smoked Salmon Industry

"The Industry: The Great American Smoke Out"
from the NYTimes

http://tinyurl.com/hcpv5

"Which purveyor has the best smoked salmon? It's the one that takes the greatest care of the fish."

Best,
Michael

Interesting article. What caught my eye was the recipe that followed.

Scandinavian Seafood Salad

6 fingerling or 2 Yukon Gold potatoes
2 cups (about 10 ounces) cooked and peeled small shrimp, cut into small pieces
1 ½ cups (about 10 ounces) chopped smoked salmon
1 ½ cups (about 10 ounces) crab meat
4 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon sliced chives
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 4-5 limes)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
Kosher salt and ground pepper
2 small heads iceberg lettuce, separated into leaves.

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small baking dish, roast the potatoes for 30 to 40 minutes, until fork tender. Let cool completely and then peel and cut into ½ -inch dice.

2. Combine the potatoes with the shrimp, salmon, crab meat, eggs, shallots, anchovies, cilantro and chives in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, mayonnaise and sour cream; fold into the salad and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter and serve alongside the salad. To eat, roll a lettuce leaf around a dollop of salad, like a spring roll. Serves 6.
Adapted from "Aquavit," by Marcus Samuelsson.

I dropped by Acme last week for the first time. The smokehouse opens to the public for five hours a week -- 8am until 1pm on Fridays. I picked up 3/4 lb. each of cold-smoked, hot-smoked, and kippered (baked?) salmon, as well as a whole smoked whitefish and a small jar of pickled herring. The cold-smoked and kippered salmon were particularly good. I also liked the herring, but I'm a sucker for any half-decent preparation. My understanding is that prices are near-wholesale: all salmon products were $12/lb. I'm sure my knife skills pale in comparison to those of Zabars' countermen, but I'll happily take my uneven slices considering the prices quoted in the NYTimes article.

Acme Smoked Fish Corp.
30 Gem Street (Just off North 15th Street)
Greenpoint, New York
Acme Fish Fridays
Directions