For a while now, I’ve wanted to see if I could ever make a vodka ceviche, because it sounds like fun. I may not be able to consume copious amounts of alcohol, but that doesn’t stop me from cooking with it! Or in the case of a ceviche, not even cooking it!

Me being me, recipes are just guidelines. I take one look, then do whatever I feel like. Which can have disastrous consequences.

In any case, I tossed together some really random things and decided to go with gin cured salmon.

Salt, sugar, basil, pepper, gin, lemon juice and a tiny dash of ginger (just so I could write GINger).

This was me tossing everything into a container. I took no note of how much salt and sugar was in here, and I assumed I had to have enough liquid to cover my fillet. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the recipe I consulted…

The lemon juice meant that the outside went all “cooked” and I had also conveniently not researched the maximum recommended cure time. Mine was left there for about 18 hours.

By the end of it, it had the right texture and looked amazing when I cut it. Too bad the outside tastes bitter – or maybe I am simply not well versed in spirits and that it’s actually supposedly peppery. I think I broke it during the curing process, and I definitely needed more salt and sugar, so I will do that for next time – orange vodka ocean trout!