Gravlax

Gravlax

Our adventure for today is Gravlax. First and always, remember to enjoy cooking and exploring ingredients. The joy in cooking is different for us all. For me, it's to look and taste what I have created, to experience and share with others an extension of me, my personality, my heart.

Now, too be clear, there is a difference between “Smoked Salmon” and “Gravlax”. Smoked salmon is a fillet that has been cured then hot or cold smoked. Gravlax is a raw salmon fillet cured with salt, sugar and dill typically served as an appetizer. There are quite a few appetizers you can make with Gravlax and your imagination is the limit. I made a few different appetizers and dishes with my salmon. Feel free to email me for the recipes. We will also venture into smoked salmon platters as one of our later projects.

Okay, so let’s get started.

Ingredients
2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons sea salt
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 1-pound salmon fillet, skin on
1 cup chopped fresh dill, divided
Dill Sprigs
Mini Pumpernickel Slices

Dill Mustard Sauce
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
3 tablespoons grapeseed oil or canola oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons honey mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Yield: Makes 4 servings

You want to start with a fresh 1 lb salmon fillet. There are some things you can do to make sure the salmon is fresh. First, when you press it with your finger it should spring back and not leave a fingerprint. The salmon should smell like the ocean, but not smell “fishy”. I’ve you’ve bought a whole salmon, the eyes should be clear and bright, the skin should be shiny and slippery and the gill should be a deep red color. Try to get wild salmon if possible because it’s the best salmon to use.

Gravlax:
First you want to heat peppercorns and coriander seed in small skillet or frying pan on medium-high heat (sidenote: you can use a mix of white and black peppercorns 1 tsp of each your choice. It would add another dimension to the dish, but not having it isn’t a deal breaker in this case). Be sure to shake the skillet frequently to prevent burning. You should start to smell the spices as they heat up and the seeds will also start to jump slightly. The whole process should only take 2 ~ 3 minutes.

The next step is to crush the spices in a mortar and pestle. I have one because I think they’re cool and they do a wonderful job of crushing spices (and because they’re cool!). If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, you can always transfer the spices to a work surface, cover them with a kitchen towel (avoid terry cloth) and use a heavy pan or pot to crush the spices. Transfer the spices to a small bowl and add salt and sugar. Below is a before and after shot for the peppercorn mixture.

Using a small knife with a sharp edge, poke around 10 or 12 holes into the skin of the salmon. Piercing the skin will allow the spices to work their way into the salmon fillet.

Sprinkle around 1/3 cup chopped dill in the bottom of a glass baking dish. Try to find a dish that is slightly larger than the salmon fillet you’re working with. Place salmon, skin side down on top of the dill.

Take remaining spice mixture and rub into the top of the salmon, should look something like this:

Take the remaining dill and place it on top of the salmon. Cover with plastic wrap and press directly onto the fish. You’re going to need something to press the salmon down, maybe some heavy cans, a brick, or in my case a small cast iron pan (I placed a can inside the pan to add some weight). Refrigerate for 2 to 3 days. I ended up getting busy and my salmon sat for 4 days without any adverse effects. I’m wondering how long you can marinate the salmon and if it is a bad thing at some point (maybe I’ll try that someday….will keep you posted.lol)

After 3 days, remove the salmon (gravlax now) from the pan. Scrape off all the dill and as much of the seasoning as you can. It ends up looking like this:

To serve slice the gravlax on an extreme bias (45 degree angle) from the top of the gravlax to skin (be careful not to cut through the skin). This style of cutting allows for very pretty presentation in the cutting of herbs, veggies and various meats. In this case, its to give us nice size thin piece of Gravlax.

At this point, break out the pumpernickel bread slices and chow down. Now, if you choose, here is a dill mustard sauce that will go well with this Gravlax.

To make the Dill Mustard Sauce:

You want to whisk mustard and vinegar in a bowl (preferably a small one). Slowly add/whisk in oil. Add Chopped Dill and salt to taste, then season with Black Pepper.

Note: the sauce can be made a couple days ahead. Be sure to cover the bowl.

Our first food blog down. Please feel free to provide feedback or comments on what you liked and didn’t like. I’m all ears!