Smoked
salmon is technically
raw, but it's been
cured (with
salt,
sugar and
oil) and then
smoked (usually for about 6 to 12 hours, depending on thickness), so it's not the sort of raw raw fish to use in
sushi or
sashimi.
If you start with good fish, you'll end up with good smoked fish. If you buy the cheap offcuts of mass-produced
bargain smoked salmon,
vacuum packed and overchilled from the
supermarket, do not expect a
miracle. it will taste like plastic. Good smoked salmon is expensive.
Wild salmon and farmed salmon do not taste the same. Salmon that has been cured in small batches over
aromatic woods and
herbs does not taste the same as a factory processed fish.
Splash out a little, go to the
fishmonger or the fancy
deli and ask them to order some real smoked salmon.
If you're just eating it slammed into a hurried
lunchtime bagel, with a slathering of crappy low-fat
cream cheese, it doesn't really matter if you are chewing plastic strips of not-so-good fish. But if you're eating smoked salmon plain, all tender and shiny and full of its own moisture, with just a little
brown bread,
butter and a small squeezing of fresh
lemon, oh, you'll taste the difference in texture and taste.