Sake and Tamari Cured Black Cod
Recipes
Sake and Tamari Cured Black Cod
May 29th, 2026
Vilda Gonzalez
We served this sake and tamari cured Seremoni Grade Black Cod at our recent Japanese inspired Spring brunch. The cured black cod was served cold and thinly sliced, alongside a ramp labne and black sesame crackers. The flavors were inspired by a classic bagel (think: cured sablefish piled on an onion schmeared everything bagel), but were presented in a much more delicate fashion. The cured fish itself is surprisingly simple to make. Mix together salt, sugar, sake and a splash of tamari and rub it all over large filets of Seremoni Grade black cod. The rest of the process is inactive time, simply waiting for the cure to do its magical job.
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup fine sea salt
- ½ cup organic cane sugar
- 3 Tbsp sake
- 2 tsp tamari
- Two ¾ lb skinless filets Seremoni Grade Black Cod
Combine the salt, sugar, sake and tamari in a small bowl and mix to combine. It should feel like slightly moistened sand. Rub the mixture all over both sides of the filets, then stack the filets snuggly on top of each other. Wrap the stacked filets tightly in plastic wrap, or place in a zip lock bag and press out any air.
Place the wrapped fish on a sheet tray or an appropriately sized container and refrigerate for 48 hours, flipping the fish halfway through to ensure that the cure dissolves evenly. At around the 48 hour mark, slice off a small piece of cured fish and taste it. It should taste buttery, deeply seasoned but not too salty.
Gently rinse the fish of any excess cure, and pat to dry. Cut down the length of each filet on either side of the pinbones to remove them. You’ll be left with 4 long, skinny pieces. Slice each piece on a hard bias as thinly as you can.