Smoked Salmon Rillettes (UnCruise)

1 pound wild Alaskan salmon, pin bone out, skinned and cut into 1 inch strips

1 TB kosher salt

Pinch black pepper

1 TB maple syrup

1 lemon, zest and juice

2 TB shallot, minced

5 oz creme fraiche

2 TB butter, melted

Salt to taste

1 loaf ciabatta bread, sliced to 1/2 inch thickness

1/4 C olive oil

20 small parsley leaves, picked

25 oregano leaves, picked

20 sprigs frisee, picked

8 leaves radicchio, cut into rings or triangles

1/2 tsp olive oil

Toss the salmon with salt, pepper, and maple syrup making sure to coat the salmon completely. Place in the refrigerator to cure for 1 hour.

After the salmon has cured, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rinse the salmon under cool water and then dry thoroughly with paper towels.

Place the salmon into a container and smoke with the Breville smoking gun using apple wood chips and crushed coriander seeds. Two applications of smoke each for about 15 minutes will provide an adequate and pleasant smoke aroma and flavor to the finished dish. Alternatively, you may opt to smoke the salmon using an electric smoker or on a grill.

After the salmon has been smoked, drizzle a little olive oil over the top to coat the salmon and place it in the oven.

Cook until just cooked medium rare (120) or to your liking, approximately 25-30 minutes.

Once the salmon is just cooked through remove it from the oven and place in the refrigerator to cool.

Place the chilled salmon into a kitchen aid mixer with a paddle attachment with lemon zest, shallot, lemon juice, crème fraiche, and butter. Paddle the salmon until all the ingredients are combined and the salmon is completely flaked. Season with salt to taste. Alternatively, you can mix the rillettes by hand if you do not have a stand mixer.

In a sauté pan heat up the olive oil over medium heat. Toast the sliced ciabatta on each side until it is golden brown. Season with salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste.

Assemble the dish by spooning the salmon rillettes on to the toasted ciabatta. Toss the garnishes into a bowl with the olive oil and place them on top of the salmon rillettes.