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A wooden board topped with lox, capers, red onion, cucumbers, lemon wedges, fresh dill, sliced pumpernickel, and a bowl of cream cheese
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Homemade Lox Platter

Lox is made by curing a whole salmon fillet in salt. A mixture of smoked salt, brown sugar, and pepper is used here to provide that salty, smoky, and sweet flavor that is so well adored. Served with a creamy goat cheese schmear, fresh cucumbers, red onion, salty capers, soft pumpernickel, dill, and lemon - this is an appetizer spread that is sure to please.
Prep Time20 minutes
Curing Time:4 days
Total Time4 days 20 minutes
Course: Appetizers & Snacks
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Appetizers, Brown Sugar, Brunch, Lemon, Lox, Lox Platter, Salmon
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

For the lox:

  • 2 1/2 lbs fresh salmon fillet
  • 1/2 cup smoked sea salt
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper

For the goat cheese spread:

  • 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
  • 4 oz goat cheese room temperature
  • Zest of 1 lemon

To assemble:

  • 1 loaf pumpernickel bread
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup cucumber, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup capers, drained
  • fresh dill to serve
  • Lemon slices, to serve

Instructions

For the lox:

  • Rinse salmon fillet, and pat dry with paper towels.
  • Line cookie sheet with plastic wrap. Mix smoked sea salt, brown sugar, and pepper together. Sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons on plastic wrap, placing salmon filet on top. Top with remaining salt mixture, covering filet thoroughly.
  • Wrap filet with plastic wrap tightly. Top filet with an additional baking sheet, and weigh down with something heavy, like a cast iron skillet or a few large cans. Place in refrigerator. Over the next 2 days, monitor lox for released liquid. Remove pan from refrigerator to drain liquid and rewrap lox in fresh plastic if needed.
  • After 2 days, slice a piece off and rinse. Taste to determine if salmon needs additional curing. If it's already salty enough, you can move on to the next step. If it still needs additional flavor, allow it to continue to cure in the refrigerator for an additional 1-2 days.
  • Once salmon is done curing, unwrap and rinse salt and sugar mixture off. Thinly slice salmon and arrange on platter.

For the goat cheese spread:

  • Mix cream cheese, goat cheese, and the zest of 1 lemon together thoroughly. Transfer to small bowl to serve.

To assemble platter:

  • Arrange lox, sliced pumpernickel, goat cheese spread, cucumbers, red onion, lemon slices, and dill on a large platter for serving. Sprinkle lox with capers.
  • To enjoy, spread a piece of pumpernickel with the goat cheese spread, and top with cucumber, red onion, lox, dill, and capers.