Jewish LOX

Joe had invited me to have Lox at a meet up we had not too long ago, he told me he needed atleast 4 days to cure the fish and then he would call to confirm the time. The time came soon enough.

To be honest with all the travelling I have done, the one thing I had never tasted was Jewish Lox. Lox is basically cured fish: typically fillet of fish (mostly used is Salmon) cured and cold cooked. The cold smoking does not cook the fish thereby giving it a smooth texture in the raw state it's in.

I learned from Joe that there are different kinds of Lox: Nova Scotian, Jewish, Scottish, Scandanavian to mention but a few. Since Joe is Jewish, he made what he knew best.
Lox comes from the German word lachs which means Salmon. The Jews that immmigrated away from Germany brought it with them. Joe told me that the original lox was never smoked, it was always brined. He said having lived in New York he found that many mistake the smoked salmon (nova) for lox: Nova is the Novascotian smoked salmon. The traditional Jewish lox is made oil and a lot more salt for preservation. Joe made his with a mix of salt, sugar and some oil to keep moisture in.

We had thin slices of the Jewish lox he made fro his grand mother's recipe, over toasted bagle with cream cheese spread, tomatoes, kapers, red onions, cucumber and peppers. A side dish of porched eggs on cream spinach and fresh coffee. Hmmmm yummy!

My friend Joe is such a passionate guy about food, never met anyone who lights up as much as he does when he talks about food. I will have to organize a meet up in Tucson again just so he can cook for you :)