LOX AND BAGELS FOR THE ULTIMATE REUNION.
 
Are you planning a birthday party, a family reunion or you just want to invite some friends? make it easy, delicious, healthy, and elegant at a reasonable cost. 

The Ultimate Bagel Buffet for 12. Here’s what you should get for a Bagel party for 12. Set up your toaster near the sliced bagels: To toast or not to toast is a very personal decision.

Smoked Salmon (Lox)
Get 2.5 – 3.0 Lb. of New York's Delicacy smoked salmon sliced fillets.

Bagels
Obviously. Get at least a dozen fresh made bagels; be sure to offer a variety (but go big on Everything, the superior bagel). Buy them the morning of.
 
Cream Cheese
Buy 12 oz. plain cream cheese to serve alongside the doctored cream cheese here. Let it soften at room temperature and transfer to a plate or bowl—never serve it straight from the package.
 
Other Smoked Fish (optional)
You can add 1 Lb. of other smoked fish spread or salad. Try a mix of the classics—smoked whitefish or sable—and some less traditional picks like smoked trout or smoked mackerel.

 Cucumber and Radish (Optional)
Thin slices of cucumbers and radishes (you’ll need a hothouse cucumber and a handful of radishes) add a refreshing crunch.

Onion
Thinly slice 1 small red onion.

Dill
Any fresh tender herb will do, but dill is especially good with salmon.

Tomato
Slice a couple beefsteak tomatoes—better when they’re in season!

Lemon (Optional)
Cut a lemon into small wedges for squeezing over a dressed bagel. 
serve with a cold white Chardonnay and you are ready to go.   

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A little bit of history
 
Smoked salmon has featured in the cultures of the Native Americans for a long time. Smoked salmon was also a common dish in Greek and Roman culture throughout history, often being eaten at large gatherings and celebrations. During the Middle Ages, smoked salmon became part of people’s diet and was consumed in soups and salads. The first smoking factory was from Poland in the 7th century A.D.[4] The 19th century marked the rise of the American smoked salmon industry on the West Coast, processing Pacific salmon from Alaska and Oregon.
For centuries, fishermen across the world used smoke to preserve the excess catch that could not be consumed fresh. While this was done in much more primitive conditions, the fundamental steps and formulas of the process itself remain largely unchanged even in the face of modern advancements and equipment. However, while the smokers of yore turned to this method out of necessity, today we employ this process not to preserve, but to enhance, the texture and the flavor for our culinary pleasure.
 
In 1869, the transcontinental railroad began to transport barrels of salted salmon from the Pacific coast to the rest of the country. This gave rise to its popularity in New York City, especially among the Eastern European Jewish immigrants who came over to the U.S. with a rapport for cured and smoked fish.

Cold Smoke Process

Brining
Before the actual smoking of the salmon sides are done a brining process is required. The proteins in the fish are modified (denatured) by the salt, which enables the flesh of the salmon to hold moisture better than it would if not brined. In the United States, the FDA regulates the addition of salt as it is a major processing aid to ensure the safety of the product.

There are two main curing methods that are typically used to cure salmon prior to smoking:
1.    Wet brining: Brining in a solution containing water, salt, sugar and many times other selected spices for up to 24 Hrs.
2.    Dry curing: This method is a method often used in Europe, in which salmon fillets are covered with a mix of salt, sugar, and sometimes other spices (traditional London Cure smoked salmon uses salt only). Dry curing tends to be faster than wet brining, as the salt tends to draw out moisture from the fish during the curing process and less drying time is needed in the smokehouse.
 
Smoking
Once the Salmon Sides are wet or dry-brined they are smoked at no higher than 80°F for between 10 and 15 hours, depending on the smoker, and the size and type of salmon and this is where the art of smoking comes in. Cold-smoking is a style where the burning wood and smoke are somewhere else and get blown over the salmon from afar over a long period of time. Cold smoking does not cook the fish, resulting in a delicate texture. Although some smoke houses go for a deliberately 'oaky' style with prolonged exposure to smoke from oak chips, industrial production favors less exposure to smoke and a blander style which gives a softer silkier taste and feel.

Originally, prepared fish was upside hung in lines on racks, or tenters, within the kiln. Workers would climb up and straddle the racks while hanging the individual lines in ascending order. Small circular wood chip fires would be lit at floor level and allowed to smoke slowly throughout the night. The wood fire was damped with sawdust to create smoke; this was constantly tended as naked flames would cook the fish rather than smoke it. The required duration of smoking has always been gauged by a skilled or 'master smoker' who manually checks for optimum smoking conditions.
 
Know Your Lox and Nova from Your Gravlax

Thinly sliced cured salmon is a thing of beauty. A gentle salt cure gives the fish a wonderful salty flavor and an almost velvety texture. We love it on bagels, naturally, and also on stunning appetizers and crispy, mile-high potato casseroles. You’ll find it in vacuum-sealed packages next to the fish counter at your supermarket or sliced to a near translucent thinness at old school Jewish delis.
Lox, Gravlax, and Nova are all made from salmon and involve some kind of cure. Where they differ is in the kind of seasoning and if they are cold smoked or not. Cold smoking uses wood smoke, usually oak, to add flavor, just at a very low temperature (around 80°). Since the temp is too low to actually cook the fish, it is cured first. This is how you get the thin, silky, vibrant pink salmon slices. Hot smoked salmon, also delicious, is cooked in the smoker and will look like a cooked salmon fillet. 

Lox
A deli staple, lox is traditionally unsmoked and made from the salmon’s fatty belly, making for the silkiest slices. It’s best to buy this kind of lox right at the source—any mass produced lox will usually involve some kind of cold smoke and come from any part of the fish.

Gravlax o Ravadlax
This Scandinavian-style cured salmon is also unsmoked. The seasoning is a bit more aggressive, with fresh dill, sugar, citrus, whole spices, and a floral alcohol like aquavit or gin. Gravlax is actually incredibly easy to make at home (no smoke house or special equipment required), and a visual stunner, especially when fresh beets are added to the cure.

Nova
The name for this salmon comes from its origin, in Nova Scotia, Canada, where salmon is cured and then cold smoked. The color is a much deeper pink, almost a burnt orange, compared to other cured salmon. The fish flavor is also a bit more intense than lox or gravlax.
Here's where it gets tricky: When most people are referring to smoked salmon, what they actually want is cold-smoked salmon.