Thread: Gravlax Salmon

From what I've heard/read, gravlax is a bastardization of some Scandinavian term for buried (cured) salmon.

100 years ago they'd fillet the salmon, stack lots of tasty stuff on it & bury it in the tundra.......At least that's my understanding of the origins of this recipe.

I find this one interesting in that you cure (cook) the fish in the refrigerator.

It's a huge hit with Asians at parties.

Ingredients:

2 kilos salmon fillet
1 cup sea salt
1 cup minced dill leaves
1 shot vodka
1 teaspoon fresh, course ground black pepper

Pound/mix all the seasonings into a paste in a Thai mortar/pestle and rub it onto the flesh side of the fish (skin side down), and cover with plastic wrap.

You want about 1/4 inch of seasoning to cover the fish, as we're going to cure this bastard in the fridge.

Here comes the odd(er) part.

You need to have a couple garden bricks handy........any chunk of anything heavy will do. I have a couple blocks that usually are door-stops.

Rinse them off & wrap them in clean aluminum foil..........you now have a press for the Gravlax Salmon.

You want equal pressure so maybe put the weights on top of a baking sheet.

Leave it in the refrigerator for 18-24 hours.

The salt will turn it into salmon jerky if you go more than 24 hours.


Rinse all the salt & dill off in fresh water............its done. Slice thinly and serve with Ritz crackers and capers and a nice cheese. Thin sliced red onions, maybe a hot German mustard or a cool cucumber yogurt........No end of possibilities.

It makes most Asian girls want to walk around with their panties down around their ankles once they taste it........Brings them right back to my level of thinking.

^^ You can't be Scandinavian making Gravlax that way.

When making traditional gravlax, only salt, sugar and dill are used to enhance the wonderful, natural flavour of raw salmon flesh. Adding all kinds of "exotic" spices on the salmon or drenching it in liquors, like vodka, aquavit, cognac or brandy, will completely adulterate the delicate flavour which makes this dish so uniquely delicious. Of course you can use whatever ingredients you want to cure your salmon — but then don't call it gravlax, as it would be an insult toward this ancient dish and the Nordic culinary heritage.

Originally Posted by jaywalker

Originally Posted by BosseO

^^ You can't be Scandinavian making Gravlax that way.

Nope. I'm from Florida. I saw the recipe on Emeril Lagasse a long time ago & tried it and enjoyed it. Vodka sounds like a normal ingredient for a Scandinavian dish to me.

I could have guessed that. Vodka is for drinking, not cooking.

Then, I have to admit that I'm adding crushed, not ground, black pepper to my salmon, even my Granny added (white) pepper to the basic salt/sugar mix.

I have seen variations of cured salmon in Sweden but then they are named as "Lemon Salmon", "Garlic Salmon", etc, etc. All for the German tourists.

Originally Posted by The Fresh Prince

I would hardly say that 1 shot of vodka would adulterate 2 kilos of Salmon.

+ it guarantees that you've got another 24 shots to help with the knicker removing process.

Thanks for that vote Fresh Prince

Looks like some of these guys could use a few shots to get their own panties out of a wad.

Maybe never occurred to them to CONTRIBUTE instead of complain/criticize.

If someone else has another recipe, then by all means, give it to us with both barrels on either this thread or start a new one.

Don't just say the way I do it is bad.