Slicing Smoked Salmon

For a large party it is more economical to buy a whole side of salmon and slice it yourself than to buy it ready sliced. A smoked salmon knife (see box) makes light work of this technique, although any long, thin flexible knife can be used.

Trim and discard the dark fatty edges and remove any pin bones. Holding the knife as parallel to the fish as possible and starting at the tail end, cut wafer thin slices with a gentle sawing action. Work along the fish towards the head end, cutting slices in “V” shapes so the dark fatty flesh in the centre is not included. For easy serving, interleave the slices with non-stick paper.