Vegan Smoked Salmon Recipe (Oil free Carrot Lox) & Horseradish Dip (2024)

FAQs

What is vegan lox made of? ›

Roasted carrots in a savory, smoky marinade take on a flavor and texture similar to smoked salmon!

Thanks to a tangy, smoky marinade and a long roast with plenty of salt, the carrot lox is surprisingly similar to smoked salmon. It's tender and a tiny bit oily, with an irresistible smoky, savory flavor. Topped onto a toasted bagel with all the classic fixings, it's just as good as the real thing.

Vegan salmon makes a splash

The fish-free patty is made from a blend of plant-based ingredients such as soy protein and algal oil to deliver a similar nutritional profile—including omega-3 fatty acids—as its ocean-dwelling counterpart.

Or, for a smoked-salmon platter, lay out the fillets with other brunch fixings—like cucumbers, hard-cooked eggs, capers, tomatoes, red onions, dill, cream cheese, and bagels or toast—so people can help themselves.

The word "lox" comes from the Yiddish word for salmon, "laks." Brining salmon is a Scandanavian tradition, but it was also popular among Eastern European Jews. Some of these people immigrated to the U.S. and brought their affinity for brined, cured, and smoked fish with them.

Originally derived from the Yiddish word for salmon (laks), lox is cured, but not smoked. It was developed to preserve salmon and other fish before refrigeration was widely available. Lox is never cooked; instead, it's made by curing a salmon belly fillet in salty brine, traditionally for three months.

Tasty salmon alternative: marinated carrots

If carrots are cut into thin strips and soaked for several hours in a mixture of oil, vinegar, algae, and liquid smoke, they absorb the marinade and come to strongly resemble salmon in both taste and consistency. Try this nifty recipe for vitamin-A-rich carrot salmon.

Arctic char. Arctic char is in the salmon family. It looks like salmon and its flavor is somewhere between salmon and trout, slightly more like trout. The meat is firm, with fine flake and high-fat content.

Salmon certainly isn't the only fish in the sea that's full of omega-3. Other cold-water fish such as herring, mackerel, sardines, trout, Alaskan halibut and sea bass are all examples of fish that offer similar quantities of the healthy fat.

Most simply, a pescatarian is someone who doesn't eat red meat or poultry, but does eat fish and other seafood. The term pescatarian was coined in the early 1990s and is a combination of the Italian word for fish, “pesce,” and the word “vegetarian.” Sometimes it's spelled “pescetarian,” but this means the same thing.

Is vegan smoked salmon healthy? ›

Not all vegan salmon has the same level of nutrients, so how healthy it is for you depends on which ingredients are used to make it. But most plant-based alternatives are a good source of protein, and many brands choose to add omega-3 and vitamins like B12 to their products.

It takes mycoprotein created from filamentous fungi to make Revo Food's 3D-printed salmon named 'THE FILET', a vegan fish fillet packed with multivitamins and the start of a series of vegan seafood. Revo Food's 3D-printed salmon contains Omega-3, all 9 essential amino acids, and Vitamins A, B2, B3, B6, B12, and D2.

Cheese to use with smoked salmon

Cream cheese is the classic, obvious choice to pair with lox, but other soft cheeses such as goat cheese, labneh, brie, or feta (my favorite!) could work as well. To make my feta more spreadable, I break it up with the back of a spoon and mix it with some quality extra virgin olive oil.

One popular wood chip option is alder, known for its mild flavor profile that complements the delicate flavor of salmon. For those looking for a stronger smoky taste, hickory wood chips are a great choice. Mesquite wood chips are also popular, adding a sweet and nutty flavor to the salmon.

Both types of smoked salmon can be eaten cold right out of the package. Hot-smoked salmon can also be reheated and is great in hot dishes. Unlike fresh salmon, which should be prepared and eaten within 48 hours, smoked salmon has a longer shelf life. It can be enjoyed for up to a week.

Lox is salmon that's cured, not smoked—and there's more than one way to cure it. "Lox can be cured just in salt, or salt and sugar, or a brine of just salt, or a brine of salt and sugar," says Mattes. Curing methods include salt rubs or wet brine, sometimes upgraded with spices.

Smoked salmon is preserved with a combination of salting and smoking, so the flavor can be slightly salty and slightly smoky. Because lox is only brined, the flavor is very different. It's much more briney and there's no smoky flavor whatsoever. In appearance, these two delicious foods can look very similar.

Lox vs Smoked Salmon: What's the Differences? While lox is cured in a salty spice blend, smoked salmon may or may not be cured but is always smoked and has a slightly smokier flavor. Sight: Lox and cold smoked salmon are both glossy and thinly sliced. Hot smoked salmon looks like poached fish.

Bagels and lox is one of the best Jewish deli favorites and usually consists of an open-faced or ring-shaped bread piece known as a bagel that is topped with thinly sliced red onions, cream cheese, briny capers, and lox. A lox bagel is typically eaten for breakfast and includes both a bagel and lox.