Recipe of the Day

Gravlax, or gravlaks, is a Nordic dish made from salmon that is cured using salt, sugar, and dill.  As with lox it is cured but not smoked.  Gravlax is usually served as an appetizer, sliced thinly and traditionally accompanied by hovmästarsås - a dill and mustard sauce. 

We like it served on sliced baguette or caraway snack rye with cream cheese, capers and minced shallot. It’s a terrific appetizer, snack or breakfast accompaniment. 

When eventually we can throw a party with guests and adult beverages a ginormous slab of homemade gravlaks is going to be the star of the show. 

This recipe is adapted from that courtesy of the incredibly creative foodies over at the New York Times……

Gravlax

Yield 10 to 12 servings (about 3 pounds)

Time 30 minutes, plus 5 days curing

Ingredients

For the Cured Salmon:

1 side clean, fresh and fat Alaskan king salmon, skin on, pin bones removed, neatly trimmed of all undesirable bits of fat and tissue (about 3 to 3 1/2 pounds total), or 1 fat and gorgeous 2 1/2-pound fillet cut from the widest part of the body

½ cup kosher salt

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup finely ground black pepper

2 bunches fresh dill (about 4 ounces each), clean and dry, left intact (no need to pick fronds from stem), coarsely chopped (about 2 cups

For Serving:

Cream cheese

1 medium shallot, peeled and finely minced

Capers

Rye or dark pumpernickel snack bread or fresh-baked baguette.

Preparation

Cure the salmon: Lay salmon skin-side down, flesh-side up in a glass or non-reactive stainless-steel baking dish. (A large lasagna dish works well.) In a small bowl, toss together the salt, sugar and pepper until blended. Sprinkle the mixture over the salmon evenly, with abandon, until fully covered, as if under a blanket of snow. Use all of it.

Spread all the chopped dill on top of the cure-covered salmon to make a thick, grassy carpet.

Lay plastic wrap or parchment paper over the salmon to cover and press down, then place a heavy weight — such as a 2-gallon zip-top bag filled with water — on top, to weigh heavily on the curing fish. Refrigerate just like this, without disturbing, for 5 days, turning the salmon over midway through the cure — on Day 3 — then covering and weighting it again.

Remove salmon from the cure, which has now become liquid, brushing off the dill with a paper towel, then set fillet on a cutting board.

Finished product

 Suggested breakfast serving.....

Breakfast of Champions

Pro Tips – Ditch the Ziploc bag filled with water. The zipper will pop and you’ll have gallons of water all over your kitchen counter, hand-held device, tablet and the floor. I substituted a couple of flat rocks in the Ziploc.   A couple of bricks would work too. 

I also recommend a short rinse with cold, running tap water to remove any remaining cure. Blot it dry and allow to air-dry on a clean towel in the fridge for a half-day. 

If you care to go traditional following the Hovmästarsås instructions linked in the first paragraph above.

This recipe appears to lend itself to improvisation. The introduction of (single) alternative aromatics such as coriander, caraway, juniper berries or other herbs to the cure might yield good results. 

Lastly, I vacuum-packaged some chunks of cured salmon with my FoodSaver® and froze them. Thaw, slice and serve as needed. Freezing does not appear to impart any change in texture or favor. 

Cheers!