How to Make Lox at Home: Differences Between Lox and Smoked Salmon and Step-by-Step Guide to Homemade Lox

Lox is salmon which is preserved either by curing (removing water from food by adding salt) or brining (preserving fish or meat by placing it in a saltwater solution). Derived from “lachs” and “laks,” the German and Yiddish words for salmon, lox is most often served at breakfast and brunch.

Lox is the term used to describe salmon that goes through a curing process to preserve it. While some markets label smoked salmon as lox, they are prepared differently. Some people prefer true lox while others prefer the spin-offs that have a smoky flavor. Here are the four different types of preserved salmon that now are often labeled as “lox.”

• Lox, in its truest form, is simply salmon preserved with salt. Traditional lox is belly lox, meaning it comes from the salty, fatty middle section of a salmon. Lox is prepared by covering the flesh of fresh fish with salt or brined in saltwater. It takes several days to make lox, which is thinly-sliced, translucent, and slightly salty with a mild fish taste.
• Smoked salmon is similar to lox in the initial preparation, but with the additional step of cooking the salmon by exposing it to smoke. Salmon is first preserved either through brining or curing. While lox traditionally uses the belly of a fish, smoked salmon can be from any part of the fish. The salmon is then either cold-smoked or hot-smoked. Cold-smoked salmon is placed in 70 F-smoker for the better part of a day and more closely resembles traditional lox. Hot-smoked salmon is placed at 145 F for eight hours, achieving a thicker, darker texture that loses its translucency, and is flakier in texture, like oven-cooked salmon fillets.
• Nova lox is a popular find when shopping for lox. It is wild salmon specifically from Nova Scotia that is cured or brined, then cold smoked. It is similar in its buttery taste and texture to traditional lox, but with a slightly smoky flavor.
• Gravlax is the Scandinavian preparation of lox. Literally translated, gravlax is “salmon from the grave,” which comes from the preparation method from the Middle Ages of salting the fish then burying it in the sand while it cured. Gravlax is very similar to traditional lox but with added flavors. It is cured with salt, sugar, dill, juniper berries, and, sometimes, aquavit, a Scandinavian alcohol distilled from potatoes.

Any type of salmon can be used for lox.

• Though many prefer the fatty body of the Atlantic salmon, Alaskan salmon species, like king salmon, are also popular for making lox.
• With the depletion of wild-caught species from overfishing, farm-raised salmon is widely available from numerous international locations, like Chile and Norway.
• Traditionally, Nova lox is strictly salmon from Nova Scotia but is now used to describe cured and cold-smoked salmon in general.

While most often associated with breakfast and brunch, lox can be served with any meal, along with appetizers or main dishes. Here are five ways to eat and enjoy lox:

1. 1. With a bagel and cream cheese. The most common way to eat lox is on top of a bagel and cream cheese, also called “schmear,” the Yiddish word for a spread. Other popular toppings with this dish are red onion slices, capers, and a dash of black pepper.
2. 2. Lox and eggs. There are a number of ways to pair lox and eggs. Scramble up a couple of eggs and eat along with fresh lox. Cut an avocado in half and fill the center with lox and a hard-boiled egg. Bake the lox into a rich frittata with eggs and fresh vegetables, like peppers, spinach, and mushrooms.
3. 3. On a salad. Put fresh lox on top of a bed of arugula, radishes, cucumber, avocado, and a simple vinaigrette.
4. 4. Lox and latkes. Make a batch of homemade latkes, sometimes called potato pancakes, which is another traditional Jewish food. Grated potato is mixed with onion, eggs, salt, and pepper and fried until golden brown. Top each latke with a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche, horseradish, and lox.
5. 5. All alone. To really appreciate the buttery taste of lox, eat it straight. Top each bite with a dab of horseradish for a little kick.

Lox is widely available at most stores, but homemade lox is a simple process, and less expensive than buying lox. With just a few ingredients, the total time to make your own lox is a few days, most of that time is unattended. Here are the four simple steps to cure salmon and make lox.

1. 1. Start by rinsing a one- or two-pound fresh salmon fillet under cold water. Remove any small pin bones. Pat dry with a paper towel. Slice the fish in half, placing each half skin side down on plastic wrap.
2. 2. Make a salt cure by combining one cup of kosher salt and one cup sugar. If making the Scandinavian gravlax, add several juniper berries, coarsely-ground peppercorns, and fresh dill to the bowl. Spread the mixture over the two fleshy sides of the salmon.
3. 3. Fold the salt and sugar-covered sides together, so the skins face out, and wrap tightly with the plastic wrap. Place in a Ziploc bag, making sure all air is pushed out before sealing it up. Place the bag in a glass baking dish and put in the refrigerator. Place something heavy on top of the salmon. The added weight will help the fish absorb the salt mixture.
4. 4. Keep refrigerated for at least two days, preferably three, flipping the salmon under the weighted object every day. Drain any liquid from the bag that accumulates during curing. When ready, rinse the salmon off and slice thinly, leaving the skin behind, and enjoy.

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