Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Food, Cooking, and Game Preparation How to make gravlax...

So now it's wintertime, and the salmon fillets sitting in the freezer are starting to get old...

No sweat -- this is the perfect time to make gravlax, or Scandinavian cured salmon.

Salmon fillets are cold-cured with salt, brown sugar, pepper, dill, and alcohol to make gravlax. It is imperative that the fish has been frozen at least 48 hours. No cooking required. Plan ahead. This will take at least 3 days.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
� 1 (3- to 4-pound) salmon, weighed after cleaning and beheading, skin on
� � cup salt
� 1 cup brown sugar
� 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
� 1 good-size bunch dill, roughly chopped, stems and all
� 1 capful of gin

Preparation:

Thaw the salmon, and pull the rib bones from the fillets. The fish skin need not be scaled.

Lay both halves, skin side down, on a large cutting board or other processing surface. Lay one piece on some dill on a strip of plastic wrap, and the other right next to it.. Wash each fillet with half a cap or so of gin. Mix the brown sugar, salt and white pepper; then spread it on both fillets. Sandwich the fillets together, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Put it in a tub, and put another tub, or anything that will fit in with a flat bottom, on top of the plastic-wrapped salmon. Add two or three pounds of weight on top, then refrigerate. I do it a lot during the winter, and just put it out in the garage.

Pour the liquid out every 12 hours and turn the plastic-wrapped fish over to the other side. Put the weight back on, and put it back for another 12 hours. Give it at least three full days; if the fish is larger, go four days. On the third or fourth day, when the flesh has lost its translucence, take it out of the plastic wrap and wash all the remaining salt, sugar and dill off with cold water. Dry with paper towels, and either vacuum �seal, or serve within a few days. To serve, slice thinly as you would smoked salmon -- on the bias and without the skin -- and serve with rye bread or pumpernickel, and lemon wedges. Or whatever else satisfies you � I like putting it on bagels with cream cheese, or eating it all by itself. I generally slice it into three or four pieces out of each fillet, then vacuum-seal it and put it in the freezer. It lasts many months if it�s well-sealed and well-frozen.













Pretty good eating, according to my friends and relatives. And I like it pretty well too... .

Dennis

Try wrapping your fish in cheese cloth so it can breath.
You seriously need a slicer. Today you can get a top quality Japanese slicer at a great price. No need to go over board and buy a yanagi but you need a thin sharp knife. You are crushing the cells of the protein instead of cutting through it. If that sounds silly it makes a world of difference in the end appearance and taste of your product.
You really don't want to cut fish straigh down. Cut it on the bias. If you need to cheat lay a pair of tongs on the fish and then lay the side of your knife on the tongs as a guide.
I've no idea why you think you need to freeze the fish for 48 hours first. If you want to kill parasites guidelines for Sashimi would dictate that you freeze about two weeks at 0 degrees. Then again if it's minus 40 in your freezer two days may do the trick.

muledeer you need my mailing address!

I'm glad you think I'm doing it wrong, because I've been desperately looking for correction and criticism. Thank you so much for providing all that you are certain I need to know. Forgive me for not answering your questions, though, because I really have no interest in incessant trading of fish-catching/fish-eating thoughts.

Dennis

That's because you don't have a bridge to the airport.

Could be...not having a bridge to the airport has played a role in my finances, that's for sure... .

Dennis

I'd rather have an Alaskan freezer full of fish, than a "proper" japanese slicer and store bought fillets.

Thanks for the thread, I've got ~100#'s of fillets in the freezer and while I've eaten gravlax, and Scandahoovian blood flows through my veins, I've never made gravlax.

People really like my gravlax -- which is to say, if I can make it you can too . Or about anyone else who's got any experience handling salmon. Once you get it put together and started, it only takes about 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes at night to drain the liquid out and turn it over. I do mine in the garage, because it's nice and cool but doesn't ever freeze.

I like your first line a lot... .

Dennis

I'm not surprised you don't want to talk about telling folks they "need" to freeze salmon for just 48 hours. Unless your home freezer gets mighty cold as in minus 40 or so that isn't even close to safe. IIR it was just this past summer that a Chicago paper did an article on a patient that had worms surgically removed from his a++ after eating AK salmon with parasites. That wasn't you was it? LOL I seriously hope you investigate your facts just a little more in the future or do you really just not care if your sheeple get ill from your poor advice? Just a little responsibility wouldn't hurt there big fella.
BTW I'd love to hear the logic behind putting weight on the fish then wrapping it tightly in plastic and then trying to drain it every 12 hours.
I don't want to send you off the deep end with a little friendly advice but gravlax really should have some acid component.
Hey you can always write another rant for the rag about your expertise and dealing with folks on the internet.....LOL

Thanks for posting that Dennis. It looks good!

The only part of the recipe I question is the amount of gin that is needed!

what's the gin got to do with it, ain't the fish dead or must we get it drunk before we freeze it. yeeehaaaaaaa, you betcha brother.

Glad to see that you are still alive!

I was worried for a bit when atkinson posted 458 Lott dies



John

had to look thought it was some kinda laxative

I think I've made it 3 times because I saw it posted here. I've had quite a few times and think it's a nice change from smoked salmon. A restaurant here serves it with a horse radish sauce and a creamy mustard sauce. The mustard sauce really makes it 10 times better and I wish I had the recipe. I make it with salt, pepper, sugar and dill and kind of thought the salt was there to kill the critters. Salt and sugar have anti critter properties at high concentrations and both are used as preservatives. I'm going to have to get my chef buddy to blast freeze my fish from now on.

My local market sells it with either dill or peppercorns. I think they are both excellent. Thanks for the post. If you have anything more to contribute, like a recipe for the mustard sauce, I'll be checking back later.

By the way, I have a Scandinavian cookbook home with a neat recipe. They chop the gravlax into little pieces and put it in a ring mold, and present it with the little dab of horse radish cream on top. That would be nice if you have trouble making pretty slices out of all the fillets.

Dennis,

Thanks for the post and for bringing back some great memories!

We made gravlax on the bank of the Kanektok River with fresh, bright Chum. It doesn't get any better!

Now if I could just get some down here in E.Texas........

Ed

Ed,

I already tried to pitty routine and it didn't work the stuff sounds wonderful. But I am not going to pay what they want at the local grocery for salmon fillets to try it. I think they consider it gold here.

Keith

Well, I HAD to try! I heard yesterday that Target is now only going to carry wild caught Alaska salmon and no more farmed stuff. I hope I can get some at a reasonable price.
By reasonable I mean something less than a first-born child & a second mortgage.

I haven't had a cold-smoked salmon filet or gravlax in over a year and I'm going through withdrawal.

Ed

Ed,

I can sympathize. My grandpa used to smoke fish and I haven't had any good home smoked fish in years. The stuff muledeer describes sounds delicious.

Keith

It is pretty fair, and all any of you have to do is stop by my house and you'll have it to eat .

Dennis

(Well, one of the commentors here won't eat mine, but somehow I'm OK with that .)

I'll eat it but dang it is a long drive!