Smoked Salmon Competition Entry


 
j biesinger

j biesinger

TVWBB Platinum Member
We cooked in a KCBS comp this weekend that had tagged on a side dish category of fish (the event theme was "Oh Canada").

I cured some salmon with some Alaskan birch syrup, salt and little Szechuan peppercorn and long pepper. I smoked it over alder and glazed it with more of the birch syrup and gave it a pinch more of the pepper before boxing. The finished salmon was topped with pickled mustard seeds with birch and a bit of tarragon. I tried to play up the connection to the North Pacific by cutting a plank and decorating it in a Haida style.

Here's our scores: 989, 899, 978, 879, 977, 999

13th out of 35

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I can only find humor in the two judges giving the presentation an 8. I can only imagine what a 9 would look like to them.
 
Wow! That looks amazing!!! What a gorgeous presentation. The two judges that gave you an 8 need to take a refresher course. Those pictures should be in a cookbook. Great job.
 
I have never, ever, ever, ever, seen a better presentation. Saying that, I can't begin to appreciate how this must have tasted.
 
By the way, the middle name of the judge(s), and I’m only guessing, it was not “mole” perchance?
I'm so glad I did not enter that contest. This looks abolutely stunning!
 
Thanks everybody!

I should mention a little of my rational. I was trying to think of the most memorable fish dishes I've had, and they all were whole fish. I knew I couldn't serve a whole fish (with the six individual servings requirement), so I wanted to create the same feeling as if each piece came from a whole.

Chad M. said:
Wow! That looks amazing!!! What a gorgeous presentation. The two judges that gave you an 8 need to take a refresher course. Those pictures should be in a cookbook. Great job.
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hehe. I look forward to the day when the table is turned and I get to nitpick something they submit.
 
I think your presentation is absolutely awesome so don't get me wrong but... birch syrup is not Canadian, maple syrup is. Szechuan peppercorn is not Canadian either so maybe those two choices cost you the points you were hoping for.
 
Gary S said:
I think your presentation is absolutely awesome so don't get me wrong but... birch syrup is not Canadian, maple syrup is. Szechuan peppercorn is not Canadian either so maybe those two choices cost you the points you were hoping for.
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if they can make birch syrup in Alaska, they can do it in Canada. Just because they don't, doesn't mean they cant :)

keep in mind that we are about the only team that even considers the theme as part of the dish (it's not part of the rules). I heard fish tacos, pecan crusted something or other and a mahi mahi on a plank all in the top ten. I'm pretty sure mahi mahi isn't Canadian. If anything, I should have gotten points for at least attempting to be mostly in the Northern Hemisphere :)
 
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