You might never buy smoked or cured salmon from the store again with this easy tea cured salmon recipe. Smoked black tea, Lapsang Souchong, gives this cure the ideal amount of smokiness to take your cured salmon from breakfast to dinner.

Join us as we discuss how we'd serve this tea cured salmon at a spring brunch or summer dinner party. We'll take you through step-by-step instructions (with pictures!) for making tea cured salmon at home, and discuss a little bit about why Lapsang Souchong is not just a great cup of tea, but also a great pantry staple! If you'd rather skip the small talk and get straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button below!

Cooking with Tea

Lapsang Souchong - A Vegan's Best Friend

Lapsang Souchong is a fabulous addition to any pantry. Beyond making a robust cuppa that will keep you warm even on the coldest mornings, Lapsang Souchong is a great way to add smoke to dishes without actually breaking out the smoker.

Yes, we know that this is a recipe that is not at all vegan, but it bears saying that we often recommend Lapsang Souchong as a pantry staple for vegan customers who are looking to add the smokey flavor of meat to dishes without any actual meat. Using Lapsang in recipes like this tea cure, as part of broths, or in marinades is a great way to impart flavor to any dish!

Tea Cured Salmon

Making Your Cured Salmon

salmon filet with bag of lapsang souchon and tea cure

1. Prep Salmon

Remove pin bones from the salmon and place in a glass container, such as a pyrex or a 8x8 baking pan.

adding lapsang souchong tea salt cure to salmon

2. Blend the Cure

Blend all ingredients in the cure in a small bowl. Lay a bed of the cure at the bottom of the container, place the salmon on top and cover with a thick layer of cure. Reserve any extra cure. Refrigerate the salmon.

adding smokey lapsang souchong tea cure to salmon

3. Re-Cure Salmon

In 24 hours, remove the salmon from the refrigerator, pour off/remove any water, cover the salmon with remaining cure, and add fresh cure. Allow to rest another 24 hours.

close up of slice of tea cured salmon

4. Prep for Service

Brush and lightly rinse off the cure. Dry off the salmon, slice thinly and enjoy! Salmon may be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

Tea Recipe

Tea Cured Salmon

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup sea salt
1/2 cup Lapsang Souchong, coarsely ground
1/2 tsp juniper berries, coarsely ground
1 tsp peppercorns coarsely ground
1 lb Salmon

Directions:

1. Remove pin bones from the salmon and place in a glass container, such as a pyrex or a 8x8 baking pan.
2. Blend all ingredients in the cure in a small bowl. Lay a bed of the cure at the bottom of the container, place the salmon on top and cover with a thick layer of cure. Reserve any extra cure. Refrigerate the salmon.
3. In 24 hours, remove the salmon from the refrigerator, pour off/remove any water, cover the salmon with remaining cure, and add fresh cure. Allow to rest another 24 hours.
4. Brush and lightly rinse off the cure. Dry off the salmon, slice thinly and enjoy! Salmon may be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

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