Smoked salmon is a
salted fish known for its fatty texture and unique flavor. It's packed with
premium protein, essential omega-3 fats, and a multivitamin and mineral.
Smoked
salmon is revered for its salty and fireside flavor, but is often considered a
delicacy due to its relatively high cost.
It is
often mistaken for liquid oxygen, another product of salmon that is pickled but
not smoked.
However,
like smoked salmon, smoked salmon is usually served with bagels or biscuits
with other toppings such as cream cheese, cucumbers, or tomatoes.
This
article explains everything you need to know about smoked salmon, including its
nutritional content, how to marinate it, and its health benefits and risks.
Nutritional
composition
Smoked
salmon is relatively low in calories and is rich in high-quality protein,
essential fats, and a variety of vitamins and minerals.
One
serving of 3.5 ounces (100 g) of smoked salmon provides (1):
- calories: 117
- protein: 18 g
- fat: 4 g
- sodium: 600–1,200 mg
- Phosphorus: 13% of Daily
Value (DV)
- Copper: 26% of DV
- Selenium: 59% of DV
- Riboflavin: 9% of DV
- Nicotinic acid: 30% of DV
- Vitamin B6: 16% DV
- Vitamin B12: 136% of DV
- Vitamin E: 9% of DV
- Vitamin D: 86% DV
- Choline: 16% DV
0.5
grams of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) per 3.5
ounces (100 g) serving (1).
These
fats are considered essential because your body cannot make them, so you must
get them from your diet.
EPA and
DHA are important for brain function, heart health, and healthy aging (2, 3, 4, 5).
Salt content
Due to
the way it is processed, smoked salmon is high in sodium, containing 600–1,200
mg (1, 6) per 3.5 ounces (100 g) serving.
In
contrast, the same serving of fresh salmon provides 75 mg of sodium (7).
The
Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) recommend limiting sodium intake to 2,300 mg per day to reduce the risk
of heart disease and stroke (8, 9).
The
World Health Organization (WHO) and the American Heart Association (AHA)
recommend lower thresholds—2,000 and 1,500 mg per day (10, 11, respectively).
Therefore,
you may need to monitor your intake of smoked salmon, especially if you are
sensitive to salt.
Summary: smoked
salmon is an excellent source of protein, multivitamins, and omega-3 fatty
acids. However, its sodium content is much higher than that of fresh salmon.
How
smoked salmon is made
Smoking
is a processing method that flavors, cooks, or preserves food by exposing it to
smoke. It is commonly used in meat, poultry, and fish.
Smoking process
To
smoke salmon, the thawed boneless fillets are covered with salt – and
occasionally sugar – and allowed to sit for 12-24 hours to pump out the
moisture through a process called curing.
The
longer the marinating process, the more salt the salmon contains.
By
absorbing water, salt enhances flavor and acts as a preservative to prevent the
growth of harmful bacteria that can lead to food poisoning.
Next,
the fillets are rinsed with water to remove excess salt and then transferred to
the chimney for drying. The drying process helps the fillets form a thin film,
a protein coating that allows smoke to better adhere to the surface of the
fish.
Attached
to the kiln is a smoker who burns sawdust or sawdust — usually from oak, maple,
or hickory trees — to produce smoke.
Cold smoked and hot smoked salmon
Salmon
can be smoked hot or cold. The main difference is the temperature of the
smoking-room.
For
cold-smoked salmon, the temperature should be 50-90°F (10-32°C) for 20-24
hours. This temperature range is not sufficient to cook salmon, so extra care
should be taken during preparation and marinating to reduce the risk of
foodborne illness (12).
Conversely,
for hot smoke, the chamber must be warm enough to reach an internal temperature
of at least 145°F (63°C) for at least 30 minutes to properly cook salmon (12).
Most
smoked salmon on the market are cold-smoked. You can distinguish between hot
smoked varieties because their packaging usually indicates that they are fully
cooked (13, 14).
Cold-smoked
salmon tends to be smoother and milder, while hot-smoked salmon is flaky and
smoky.
Because
of the food safety risks involved, food scientists generally recommend not
using cold smoking methods at home. However, it is safe to heat smoke with
appropriate equipment and techniques at home (15).
Select and save
Some
varieties of smoked salmon need to be refrigerated, while others need to be
unpackaged for refrigeration. Check the product label for storage
recommendations.
Once
opened, smoked salmon can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks or frozen for 3
months (16).
You
should avoid smoked salmon that contains a lot of black detritus. These
detritus tend to have an unpleasant taste and should be trimmed off – although
they sometimes stay on the final product to increase packaging weight and cost.
Summary: smoked
salmon is made by salting fillets and then placing them in a smoke kiln. Most
fillets are cold-smoked, which means they are cooked too hot to kill
potentially harmful bacteria.
Health benefits and
risks
Smoked
salmon has many health benefits, but there are some drawbacks you should keep
in mind.
Benefits of smoked salmon
The
omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA provided by fatty fish such as salmon have been
linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, certain cancers, and age-related
mental decline. (17, 18, 19, 20）。
These
fats may work by lowering triglycerides, reducing inflammation, and maintaining
brain structure and function.
Still,
other nutrients in fatty fish may be partly responsible for these effects, as
several studies of omega-3 supplements have failed to find the same benefits. (21, 22, 23）。
The
USDA recommends that adults eat at least 8 ounces (227 grams) of seafood per
week to get about 250 mg of EPH and DHA (8).
Smoked
salmon also contains a variety of vitamins and minerals that are essential for
your health. One serving of 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of food contains up to 136%
of your daily vitamin B12 requirement and 86% of your daily intake of vitamin D
(1).
What's
more, the same serving can provide more than half of the daily need for
selenium, an antioxidant that can prevent a variety of diseases (1).
Risk of smoking salmon
One
serving of 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of smoked salmon contains more than half of
the daily sodium limit set by the USDA (9).
Therefore,
if you pay attention to your salt intake, you may want to reduce your intake of
smoked salmon or eat fresh salmon instead.
In
addition, observational studies have linked smoked and processed meat to an
increased risk of certain cancers, particularly colorectal cancer. (24）。
Smoked
salmon may also increase your risk of listeriosis, the bacteria listeria caused
by foodborne illness (25, 26, 27).
The
bacteria are easily destroyed by heat but grow in the temperature range of
34–113°f (1–45°c), which is the temperature range for handling cold smoked
salmon.
Listeriosis
is more likely to infect the elderly, people with weakened immune systems, and
pregnant women and their newborns. Therefore, these groups should avoid
cold-smoked salmon – although canned and shelf-stable varieties are considered
safe (28, 29).
Summary: smoked
salmon provides heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and several other nutrients,
but is particularly high in salt. Cold-smoked varieties may increase the risk
of developing listeriosis.
How to eat smoked salmon
Here
are some delicious ways to enjoy smoked salmon:
- on top of the cream cheese bagel
- on top of your favorite salad
- scrambled eggs with toast
- bake into a baked gratin
- in potato and leek soup
- stir in the pasta
- stir into the cookie dipping sauce
- on a vegetable platter
What's
more, if you have your own smokers, you can make hot smoked salmon at home.
Start
by marinating the fillets in salt for at least 4 hours. Next, pat them dry and
place them in a 225°f (107°c) smoker until their internal temperature reaches
145°f (63°c). You can monitor their temperature with a meat thermometer.
Summary: you can
enjoy smoked salmon in countless ways. Many people like to eat it with dips or
bagels, salads, and pasta.
Conclusion
Smoked
salmon is a salted fish known for its fatty texture and unique flavor. It's
packed with premium protein, essential omega-3 fats, and a multivitamin and
mineral.
However,
it contains large amounts of sodium, and cold-smoked varieties may increase the
risk of developing listeriosis.
Still,
if consumed in moderation, this smoky flavor can be a healthy addition to your
diet.