Both the trout from Idaho and the Arctic char caviar fell into my lap from separate suppliers within about 15 minutes of each other last week. Being such a coincidence – and to show that I am a believer in the unexplainable – I took it as a sign from The Good Lord to put them together… Praised be to Nero’s Neptune!
Now back to Earth… The trout is seasoned with a virgin lime olive oil and salt, placed closely together on a plate, covered tightly with plastic (packed directly on the fish) and placed in a 125? proofing box for 18 minutes. It is then removed, placed on a wire rack, and covered with plastic wrap leaving one corner open. Next, applewood chips are placed in the bowl of a smoking gun (from Polyscience). The hose is placed in the opening of the plastic wrap, the gun turned on and the chips lit. The smoke should fill up in the pan. Remove the hose, cover tightly and allow the smoke to flavor for 1 minute for a light smoke. Remove the plastic wrap, transfer the fish to a storage container, cover well, and refrigerate if not serving immediately.
The gel is made from seeded Persian cucumbers blended for 3 minutes in a Vita-Prep blender and then strained through a coffee filter. Gelatin is bloomed and dissolved in at a ration of 16 leaves to a litre, and a small amount is filled into a demi-sphere Flexipan. The caviar is spooned in and the spheres are then topped off with the cucumber juice and refrigerated.
The rest is pretty self explanatory.
