Lox vs Smoked Salmon: What’s the Difference?

Lox vs Smoked Salmon: What’s the difference?  IS there a difference?  Learn how to tell the difference, and get recipe ideas for both styles of salmon!

The terms lox and smoked salmon are often used interchangeably.  But before you buy, there are some things you should know about the differences between lox vs smoked salmon!

What is Lox?

Lox is a type of cured salmon. Homemade salt-cured lox is easy to make in your own kitchen!

Traditionally lox is not smoked, simply cured. However, some lox is cured and then cold-smoked, and the smoky version is often the most popular and easiest to find in stores.

Lox Labels at the Market

When you shop for lox, here are the labels you might see.  They’ll all have similar textures, but the flavor will change depending on how it was prepared.

• Lox: Technically, lox is salmon cured in salt, is NOT smoked, and should be from the fatty salmon belly.  It has a silky texture, and will be sold frozen or chilled.
• Nova Lox (Cold-smoked Salmon): Nova lox is salt-cured like regular lox, and then cold-smoked.  It’s smoky, but has not been exposed to heat.  It has a silky texture, and will be sold frozen or chilled.
• Gravlax: This salmon is salt-cured with spices and herbs, such as juniper berries and horseradish.  It has a silky texture, and will be sold frozen or chilled.

Can I Cook Lox?

Please don’t.

Lox, along with all its variations, is typically thinly sliced, and should be served cold.  My inner lox-lover shivers in horror when I see lox recipes with lox tossed in hot, steamy pasta.  

Never cook your lox, because you’ll ruin the delicate texture.

Want to shop for lox?  Look in the refrigerated meat or seafood section at the grocery store.

Lox Recipes

Once you’ve made or purchased lox, what can you do with it?

Try making these easy smoked salmon cucumber bites from A Clean Bake, or try something a little more complicated with this Swedish Smörgåstårta sandwich cake from Little Sunny Kitchen.

Below are some of my all-time favorite lox recipe ideas!

Lox vs Smoked Salmon: What is Smoked Salmon?

There are two types of smoked salmon.

Cold-smoked salmon usually refers to lox.  Even though only Novalox is smoked.

Hot-smoked salmon is cooked, usually slowly in a smoker. 

The texture is very different from lox, and more like a slow-cooked meat. 

Hot-smoked salmon is generally opaque and plump, similar to a piece of salmon you’d cook at home.

Want to shop for hot-smoked salmon?  

This salmon might be sold frozen, refrigerated, or even canned! You might also find it refrigerated in the seafood section at the grocery store.

Hot-Smoked Salmon Recipes

Did you buy some hot-smoked salmon?

Try using it in these smoked salmon and dill waffles or make smoked salmon breakfast strata, both from Imagelicious.

Then, try swapping canned salmon for smoked salmon in this salmon quiche, or use smoked salmon in this seafood pot pie.