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Cold-Smoked Snoek Pate (Cape-Style)

Name: Cold-Smoked Snoek Pate (Cape-Style)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 5 h
Total time: 5 h 30 min
Yield: 9 servings
Cuisine: south-african
Ingredients: 1.5 lbs firm oily fish fillets (snoek, mackerel, or trout); 0.25 cup salt (brine); 2 tbsp brown sugar (brine); 4 cups water (brine); 8 oz cream cheese, softened; 2 tbsp butter, softened; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tbsp apricot jam; 1 tbsp chopped chives; to taste black pepper; pinch cayenne

A refined Cape delicacy — firm oily fish cold-smoked to a silky, smoky texture, then folded into a rich pate with cream cheese, lemon, and a hint of apricot. True cold smoking, so it carries real food-safety weight and demands tight temperature control.

75°F5hServes 9

Ingredients

9servings

1.5 lbsfirm oily fish fillets (snoek, mackerel, or trout)
0.3 cupsalt (brine)
2 tbspbrown sugar (brine)
4 cupswater (brine)
8 ozcream cheese, softened
2 tbspbutter, softened
2 tbsplemon juice
1 tbspapricot jam
1 tbspchopped chives
black pepper
cayenne

Method

Confirm you understand the risks

This recipe involves a food-safety-critical technique — cold smoking, raw or lightly-smoked fish, or taro (luau) leaf cookery. Each carries real risk if cure ratios, sourcing, temperatures, or cook times are wrong. Before following these steps, please review our food-safety guide and confirm the technique with at least one other reputable source (USDA, FDA, or a published reference).

I understand the food-safety risks of this technique and I will independently verify ratios, sourcing, times, and temperatures before I begin.

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