Gravlax: Swedish Cured Salmon
Cook time: 36 hours (almost all inactive)
Gravlax tastes like Christmas to me. Perhaps because my grandfather cures salmon every year over the holidays? Needless to say, gravlax has a special place in my family’s hearts and mouths. Making gravlax also used to seem, to me, like a monumental task – It takes more than a day and it feeds 14 people!
But - and this but took me almost 30 years to get to overcome – once you make gravlax you realize how simple it is to cure salmon, and you don’t have to make enough for 14 people. This recipe is enough for two people to pig out and then have a bit left over. The cured salmon will last at least a few days in the fridge, but I have never seen it last past day two. Just sayin’.
We will need to cure the salmon in a container or dish. A small baking dish probably works. I happened to have a glass food storage container that was just bigger than my salmon filet. The closer the size of the container to the salmon filet the better. We will call this the curing container.
Perhaps you have never heard of juniper berries. When you crush them, pick one up and smell it. They are what gives gin that great smell. So it just makes sense to use juniper berries and gin when curing the salmon. We are just reinforcing that flavor.
The salmon should cure for a minimum of 24 hours, and I wouldn’t go more than 48 hours. 36 is the sweet spot. You can start curing the salmon in the morning and have gravlax for dinner the next night.
When you are slicing the gravlax, just mimic what you have seen sushi chefs do when sitting at the counter of your favorite sushi restaurant. It is okay if some slices are thiner and some are thicker. It is also okay if you taste it – for quality control purposes – while slicing.
Why do we make the sauce after we slice the salmon? This is so that everyone standing around you at the kitchen counter can’t inhale it all before you finish slicing the salmon. And remember to save some fresh dill for the sauce and for garnish.
Come to think of it, perhaps this is why gin smells like Christmas to me…
Servings/Suggestions
Use another neutral oil instead of grapeseed oil, but I do not recommend using extra virgin olive oil. You don’t want an oil with flavor.
Whisking the sauce — I like to just use a fork. Forks are easier to clean than whisks.
Serve on toast or crackers. You can make your own toast, buy little packaged toasts, whatever you like. If you make your own toast, make sure it has enough time to cool. We don’t want hot toast!
If you get a 2 pound filet of salmon, you shouldn’t need to tweak anything in the recipe.
Special Equipment
All you really need is a good, sharp knife.
Ingredients
1.5 pound salmon filet, skin on
I do not recommend sockeye salmon.
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Lots of freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon juniper berries, crushed with a flat side of a knife
fresh dill
1 teaspoon gin
Crackers or toast, for serving
For the Mustard Dill sauce
1 tablespoon honey mustard
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 tablespoons white vinegar
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1.5 tablespoons grapeseed oil
fresh dill
Directions
Step 1
Combine the salt, sugar, brown sugar, black pepper, and the crushed juniper berries in a small bowl. Mix well. This is our “curing mixture”
Step 2
Place the salmon filet skin-side up on a cutting board. Using your sharpest knife, make three two inch long slits in the skin. Just make sure you have cut through the skin. You don’t need to cut more than a few millimeters into the actual salmon flesh.
Step 3
Layer the bottom of your curing vessel with half of the curing mixture. Place the salmon skin-side down on the mixture. Distribute the rest of the curing mixture evenly over the top of the salmon. Now, put fresh dill on top fo the salmon. Finally, drizzle the gin over the top fo the salmon. Put the lid on the curing vessel or cover with plastic wrap. We will cure the salmon for a total of 36 hours, flipping the salmon filet over once every 12 hours. If you did the math, we will be flipping the salmon twice.
Step 4
Once the salmon is cured, we need to rinse off the curing solution. It will be very salty if you do not. Rinse the salmon under cold water and place skin-side down on a plate layered with paper towels. Dry off the top of the salmon with additional paper towels. Now put the salmon on your cutting board. Using your sharpest knife, let’s cut the salmon. We want to slice it thinly at around a 45 degree angle. The hardest part is just getting it started. Try to get as much of the salmon removed from the skin as well. Waste not this labor of love!
Step 5
Time to make the mustard sauce. In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredient for the sauce except for the grapeseed oil and the dill. Once they are all combined, taste it. Too sweet? Not sweet enough? Too acidic? Not acidic enough? Not enough mustard flavor? Once it tastes how you like it, drizzle in the grapeseed oil while whisking to create an emulsion. Once the sauce is emulsified, add some fresh dill and give the sauce one final stir.
Step 5
To serve, place some sliced gravlax on your bread (or cracker or whatever), spoon on some of the mustard dill sauce, and top with a little fresh dill. Done!
GRAVLAX (SWEDISH CURED SALMON)
Ingredients
- 1.5 pound salmon filet, skin on
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- Lots of freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon juniper berries, crushed with a flat side of a knife
- fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon gin
- Crackers or toast, for serving
- 1 tablespoon honey mustard
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons grapeseed oil
- fresh dill
Instructions
- Combine the salt, sugar, brown sugar, black pepper, and the crushed juniper berries in a small bowl. Mix well. This is our “curing mixture”
- Place the salmon filet skin-side up on a cutting board. Using your sharpest knife, make three two inch long slits in the skin. Just make sure you have cut through the skin. You don’t need to cut more than a few millimeters into the actual salmon flesh.
- Layer the bottom of your curing vessel with half of the curing mixture. Place the salmon skin-side down on the mixture. Distribute the rest of the curing mixture evenly over the top of the salmon. Now, put fresh dill on top fo the salmon. Finally, drizzle the gin over the top fo the salmon. Put the lid on the curing vessel or cover with plastic wrap. We will cure the salmon for a total of 36 hours, flipping the salmon filet over once every 12 hours. If you did the math, we will be flipping the salmon twice.
- Once the salmon is cured, we need to rinse off the curing solution. It will be very salty if you do not. Rinse the salmon under cold water and place skin-side down on a plate layered with paper towels. Dry off the top of the salmon with additional paper towels. Now put the salmon on your cutting board. Using your sharpest knife, let’s cut the salmon. We want to slice it thinly at around a 45 degree angle. The hardest part is just getting it started. Try to get as much of the salmon removed from the skin as well. Waste not this labor of love!
- Time to make the mustard sauce. In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredient for the sauce except for the grapeseed oil and the dill. Once they are all combined, taste it. Too sweet? Not sweet enough? Too acidic? Not acidic enough? Not enough mustard flavor? Once it tastes how you like it, drizzle in the grapeseed oil while whisking to create an emulsion. Once the sauce is emulsified, add some fresh dill and give the sauce one final stir.
- To serve, place some sliced gravlax on your bread (or cracker or whatever), spoon on some of the mustard dill sauce, and top with a little fresh dill. Done!
Notes
Remember to refer to the website for more details!
