bxtra

Something you can feasibly make in the quiet apocalypse, or not! Coho Salmon Gravlax with Fermented Cattail Shoots and Salty Crackers. Make ahead: chop the cattail stalks down to fit inside whatever vessel you will be using to ferment them. A good sized pickling jar is perfect but even an old peanut butter jar should be fine, so long as you give it a good clean beforehand. Pack the shoots into the jar and cover with a brine which is 3tbsp of salt to 1 quart of water. Pop a suitable weight on top to keep the stalks completely submerged, a small stone would work; use what you have. Store in a cool dark place. Every few days "burp" the jar, to stop too much pressure building up as the cattails ferment and to check for mold (Green or black. A white coating is expected and indeed wanted so leave that alone!). In warm weather, it will probably take just over a week to fully pickle the veggies. In winter, this may take longer. Tip: Keep the brine of older batches, as a tbsp of ready fermented brine kick starts new ones. To cure the salmon, combine 250g salt and 250g sugar per kilo of salmon fillet. Coat the fillet with the salt sugar mix evenly on both sides, and wrap tightly. Use food safe plastic wrap if you have it. If not, clean bandages should suffice. Place somewhere cold - a fridge is ideal but if you find yourself stranded outside or without power, an outdoor rock cache is perfect. If using a fridge, cover the wrapped fish with a board/spare copy of The Frozen Angler, and weigh it down. 3 cans of tomato soup, pinnacle peaches or similar should be about right. Using a rock cache keeps the fish cold and weighted whilst curing, but don't stack it too high because we'll be flipping the salmon over every 12 hours. Hostile wildlife may be attracted to the smell, so be alert and maybe keep a flare handy. Flip the fish every 12hours until has been curing for about 3 days. Retrieve, unwrap, dry off and place somewhere cool and dry for another 3-12 hours to finish up. The fridge again, or a nearby cave. Serve the salmon with the pickled cattails and some crackers.