How long to keep smoked salmon
This relates to my smoked salmon appetizer recipe question below. Ha!
For Christmas I received a generous gift of a whole smoked salmon from Scotland. It's beautifully packaged w/plastic between the salmon layers making for easy serving. It has a March 2012 expiration date.
I served some Christmas morning and wrapped it up well and refridgerated planning to serve the rest this upcoming weekend. I just checked it and read the fine print which says when the vacume pack is opened you should serve within 3 days. :(
It tastes fine, perhaps a bit salty, but the edges of the top piece are slightly discolored...brownish. May I cut that away and serve or should I toss? Thanks!
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It depends whether it was 'cold smoked' or 'hot smoked'. Hot smoked is like slightly warming/smoking the fresh fish. It must be eaten pretty quick. Cold smoking any fish properly will allow the fish to remain edible non-refrigerated for months. The West Coast indians on the BC coast still hang fresh speared/netted salmon up in the rafters of their 'big houses' to eat them throughout the winter/spring.
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Three days for smoked salmon is ridiculous! Fresh salmon, sure, but smoking is a preservation method. I have a package of smoked salmon in my refrigerator that I opened at least a month ago, and it's still fine. If yours smells fine, isn't slimy, looks good and tastes the way it's supposed to taste, it would be a waste to throw it out just because the package says to keep it only three days. No doubt their lawyers made them say that.
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You should check out the website http://www.stilltasty.com/
it has guidelines for the shelf life of most foods. They recommend one week in the fridge after you open it.
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When it comes to food safety for myself, I live life on the edge. As Harters said, if it looks OK, smells OK, and tastes OK, then that's my green light. I tend to ignore expiration dates, and rely more on smell and look, followed by taste. I once ate a yogurt that was 6 months passed expiration date. It was fine, and I was fine.
YMMV.
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I agree with Harters. I wouldn't ignore the three day rule. However, I have successfully refrozen smoked salmon (the Northwest kind, which is hot smoked) and served it in a pasta dish. Everyone thought it was yummy, and no one died. Maybe you could try freezing it next time?
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re: Isolda
Freezing works pretty well. Periodically, I come across smoked salmon in the supermarket , discounted because it's near to its date. That's about the only time I can afford to buy it. I portion it out - some into small portions for mixing in to breakfast scrambled eggs, larger portions for sandwiches or meals. Then I freeze.
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