Salmon Crudo

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Salmon crudo is an Italian dish of raw salmon.  With only a few ingredients and a few minutes, you can effortlessly make an elegant and refreshingly delicious appetizer that will impress your guests.  This dish will elevate any dinner party.

WHAT IS A CRUDO?

“Crudo” in Italian literally means “raw”.   A typical crudo is a dish of raw fish, seafood, or beef that is dressed in oil, citrus juice, and seasonings.  Having said this, the possibilities with this dish are endless, play around with different ingredients and flavours to make your own version of crudo. 

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CRUDO, CARPACCIO, CEVICHE, AND SASHIMI?

While crudo, carpaccio, and ceviche are all dishes of raw seafood and meat, these dishes all have their differences.

Firstly, crudo is a dish of raw fish, seafood, or meat, dressed in oil, citrus juice, and seasoning.  Crudo does no require a specific size, shape, or technique to slice the uncooked protein.  “Crudo” is basically a blanket term for anything raw and dressed.

Carpaccio, on the other hand, requires the raw seafood or meat to be thinly sliced, then pounded until extremely thin.  It is worth noting that carpaccio is also a type of crudo.  Carpaccio is a dish that is typically made with fish or beef, but you can use other types of protein too.  Similar to the simple crudo, carpaccio is dressed with olive oil, citrus juice, and seasonings.

Finally, ceviche is a dish that is most unique amount these three dishes.  In ceviche, the raw fish is fish marinated in citrus juice, which technically ‘cooks’ it.  Consequently, compared to crudo, ceviche would generally require about eight times the amount of citrus juice, and the fish would sit in the citrus juice for a longer amount of time for the fish to cure, thus transforming its texture.

Unlike fish crudo, sashimi is made from very carefully sliced fish that is unmarinated, dressed, or garnished.  Sashimi focuses on the quality of the fish.  Instead of being dressed with sauces and seasonings, sashimi can be dipped into a little soy sauce and wasabi by the diner just before eating.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED FOR THIS RECIPE

Sashimi-grade salmon Or check out our post on how to cured salmon for sashimi. This process will make fish from your supermarket safe to eat raw.

Red onion Finely diced

Capers

Lemon juice Freshly squeezed

Olive oil Ideally, you will want want to use good quality olive oil, as they have a more pleasant flavour.

Salt

Freshly ground pepper

Lemon zest

HOW TO MAKE SALMON CRUDO

Arrange salmon slices on a plate.

Drizzle over lemon juice and olive oil.  Sprinkle over, red onion, capers, and lemon zest.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

PRO TIPS

As we are serving the salmon raw, it is imperative that we are working in a sterile environment.  To ensure food safety, was your hands thoroughly, wipe down your bench top with disinfectant wipe, and finally, sterilise your cutting board and knife.  I like to pour over some boiling water over my washed cutting board and knife to ensure that any bacteria lingering around is killed.

Do not use regular salmon from the fishmonger or supermarket.  Make sure you are using sashimi grade salmon.  Alternatively, you can cure your own salmon at home to make it safe to eat it raw.  You can find out how I cure salmon for sashimi and crudo here.

Salmon crudo can either be served on a platter for sharing or on individual plates.

Crudo is such a versatile recipe.  Feel free to play around with flavours.  Add dill, chili flakes, or freshly squeezed orange juice.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When to eat crudo?

Salmon crudo is great as a refreshing appetizer or in a salad for a light and healthy lunch or snack.  If you are serving crudo as an appetizer, it will look amazing either on a share platter or on individual plates.

Can I make salmon crudo in advance?

Unfortunately, salmon crudo should be served immediately, and cannot be made in advance.  There are two reasons for this.  Firstly, as we are working with raw fish, it would be unsafe to make this dish and keep it in the fridge to serve later.  Secondly, if the salmon sits too long in the lemon juice, it will negatively affect the taste and texture of the salmon crudo. 

If you are serving salmon crudo at a dinner party, you can prepare and measure out all the ingredients ahead of time.  When it is time to serve, simply plate up and you are ready!

And it goes without saying that any leftovers should be discarded.

Can I use smoked salmon to make salmon crudo?

The word ‘crudo’ means raw.  As a result, raw fish is traditionally used in crudo.  However, if you do not have sashimi grade salmon, or simply don’t like eating raw seafood, you can swap the raw salmon for some smoked salmon.  Although no longer an authentic crudo, the flavours of smoked salmon will work really well with the other ingredients in this salmon crudo recipe.

VARIATIONS

As crudo is raw, you will want to use the freshest seafood you can find.  So, whether you can’t find fresh salmon or want to experiment with different proteins, here are some ideas for you:

• Any white fish (eg: snapper, cod, kingfish)
• Tuna
• Scallop
• Lobster

As for toppings, the possibilities are endless.  Have fun, experiment, and let me know you favourite flavour combinations in the comments below!  This is also a good opportunity to make a fushion dish. You can add miso, yuzu, or gochujang (Korean chili paste).

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