Gravlax

[Johnny L.A.]

I'm still looking for Scandinavian fish recipes, and I didn't want to derail it for a specific recipe.

I've looked up a few gravlax recipes online. Some say that proper gravlax should conprise only four ingredients: Salmon, salt, sugar, and dill. Others promote juniper berries (I don't know where to get them) and/or pepper. Most say to use granulated sugar, some say to use brown sugar. Some say you should only use the 'sandwich' method, turning every 12 hours, while others say you can make perfectly good gravlax with a single fillet. Some sites say the fish should be weighted, others say it's not necessary. The dill is removed and the fish is washed after curing for a few days. But the store-bought gravlax I buy has dill on it. Or it doesn't. One place says to leave the skin on, and another says take the skin off and use the salt/sugar/dill on both sides. And of course, the amounts of salt and sugar vary.

So here's what I'm thinking: 60% sugar and 40% salt. Remove the skin and the grey flesh. Lay out fresh dill, put the salt/sugar mixture on the salmon and lay it on the dill. Coat the top of the filet with salt/sugar and lay on more dill. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and put it into a baking dish. Fill a one-gallon zip-top bag with water and lay it on top. Refrigerate for three days. At the end of three days time, rinse the fish and pat on freshly-chopped dill. Slice on the bias and enjoy.

Does anyone see anything wrong with that plan? The filets will come out of the freezer and go into the fridge to thaw, so that I can try making it this weekend.

[teela brown]

It sounds fine. Gravlax is really hard to mess up. Really, as long as you leave it in the fridge rubbed in a mixture of roughly equal amounts of sugar and salt and another seasoning of your choice (usually dill), it'll come out tasting great. I don't know if weighting is absolutely necessary, either.

The only time or two I made it, it called for slightly moistening the sugar/salt mixture with some kind of booze. I think the recipe recommended some sort of grappa or eau de vie. All I had in the house was sake, so I used that, and it tasted extremely good.

Yep, gravlax, sliced thin and served with some nummy whole grain mustard and maybe a bit of rye and shaved onion, is extraordinarily good.

[Hello Again]

Originally Posted by teela brown

The only time or two I made it, it called for slightly moistening the sugar/salt mixture with some kind of booze. I think the recipe recommended some sort of grappa or eau de vie. All I had in the house was sake, so I used that, and it tasted extremely good.

I did it once and it said this too. Specifically (for some reason I remember this vividly even though this gravlax experiment was 5-6 years ago) you moistened it only until the mixture resembled damp sand. I believe I used gin, reasoning that it is flavored with juniper.

ETA: yum yum!!

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by teela brown

It sounds fine. Gravlax is really hard to mess up.

That's encouraging.

Anyone have a recipe for sauce?

[teela brown]

Epicurious shows this recipe, with which I can find no fault:

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

Except maybe I'd mix in a bit of whole grain mustard as well. I like to crunch on the little mustard seeds.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by teela brown

Epicurious shows this recipe, with which I can find no fault:

* 2 tablespoons honey mustard

Is that just equal parts honey and dijon mustard?

[cactus waltz]

I actually bought ready-made gravlax and hovmästarsås today. 4.5 dollars all in all.


A couple of tips:

1. Hovmästarsås is served cold, just like the gravlax itself. You can eat the boiled potatoes cold as well if you like (though I prefer them warm).


2. Dill is king. You can barely have too much of it.


3. I've looked at different variations of hovmästarsås (you can too, try google translate for a bunch of hits). Dill, salt, sugar, oil (neutral cooking oil, not olive oil), vinegar, (french) mustard seems to be it basically. Use good quality mustard with a touch of dijon, but not too much; hovmästarsås is actually quite mild.

[lokij]

If you don't want to buy it online try picking up some juniper berries at your local home brewing supply store.

[Duck Quack's Echo]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

Anyone have a recipe for sauce?

I just use sour cream with dill tips stirred through - simple but effective.

[Johnny L.A.]

I just eat it on knäckebröd with nothing else on it. It's time to expand my horizons.

[Tequila Mockingbird]

Turbo Dog is of Scandanavian decent.

He suggests flipping the sugar/salt ratios and making the mixture more salt than sugar.


After making this a few tiimes with him, I suggest a light wipe of liquid smoke before the salt/sugar/dill mixture. Otherwise follow your recipe, with the small exception of turning the fish halfway through the curing process. We always leave the skin on. There may a very small pocket of fish left uncured, depending on the size of the fillet you use.


Honey mustard and salmon is a match made in heaven. Making your own would be a good brown whole grain or stone ground mustard with just enough honey to sweeten it up pretty well. If anything, cut it a little bit with a little mayo.

[Canadiangirl]

Salmon filet,skin on, shot of vodka and kosher salt.

Soak salmon on plate in fridge with weight on top, pouring off juices every day.

Third day - slice thinly and eat.

[Southern Yankee]

Ok, this thread has inspired me. I just bought a nice big piece of salmon to try tonight. I have a few questions, as this will be my first attempt at gravlax:

1. Johnny L.A. said he was going to wrap his in plastic wrap after coating. Canadiangirl seems to say to leave it unwrapped to pour off the liquid. Which is better?

2. Is the idea to thickly coat the entire flesh with the salt/sugar mixture, or is it more of a sprinkling over top? The fish I have is fairly large, so I may need to get some additional salt and sugar, depending.

3. Would it be okay to lay the fish on a metal cookie sheet in the fridge, or would metal be a bad idea?

Thanks!

[Johnny L.A.]

Southern Yankee:

1. Every recipe I've seen says to wrap the fish in plastic wrap. (Some say to double-wrap to prevent leakage.)

2. The drill seems to be to entirely cover the fish with the salt/sugar mixture. Since it's going to be washed off at the end, I'd assume that you'd want a nice coat instead of just a sprinkling. (Note: Use kosher salt, not table salt. Otherwise your ratio will be messed up. I haven't made gravlax yet, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express. )

3. Since the fish is wrapped in plastic, I don't think it should matter. But I'll be using a glass dish myself.

As I mentioned in the OP, there are a lot of variations to the recipe (hence, this thread). One person will say to use a certain ratio of salt to sugar, and someone else will say that it's too salty or too sweet. This first time, for me anyway, it's going to be a crapshoot.

Canadiangirl: I was thinking about it on the way to work, and since I have two fillets I may do the 'sandwich' method.

[Southern Yankee]

Thanks, Johnny. What is the sandwich method? The piece I have is large enough to cut in half, which would then fit better in a glass baking dish I have.

[Johnny L.A.]

The 'sandwich method' is to take two filets (ideally, I assume, from two sides of the same fish) and season both halves. Then put the dill on one half and top with the other, skin sides out.

I searched for 'gravlax' and 'sandwich' and found this page. They're doing a single filet, rather than two filets skin-side out with the dill in the middle; but it's a neat page.

[Southern Yankee]

Thanks for that link. Now I'm scared of round worms....

[Johnny L.A.]

It's a two-hour trip from Pike Place Market to my house; so while the fish there is excellent, I usually just buy the wild-caught frozen salmon at Trader Joe's. No worries about round worms.

Trader Joe's frozen wild-caught salmon is pretty good, but not as good as the local stuff at PPM. I'm really hoping this experiment turns out well.

[aruvqan]

dammit, now i want a bagle, schmear and lox....

where is the pouty smiley?

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

I searched for 'gravlax' and 'sandwich' and found this page.

Oh -- I actually found that page before, when I was looking for a Dirty Rice recipe. (I used it, and it turned out well.) But I just found it again.

aruvqan: You can use the Sad smiley for a Pouty.

[Southern Yankee]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

It's a two-hour trip from Pike Place Market to my house; so while the fish there is excellent, I usually just buy the wild-caught frozen salmon at Trader Joe's. No worries about round worms.

Trader Joe's frozen wild-caught salmon is pretty good, but not as good as the local stuff at PPM. I'm really hoping this experiment turns out well.

I got mine from Costco. It doesn't say frozen or previously frozen anywhere on the package. It says fresh, farm-raised salmon. But it's from Norway. Wouldn't it have to be frozen to be shipped from Norway?

[Johnny L.A.]

I'd assume it was previously frozen, but if it says 'fresh' maybe it wasn't.

Personally, I avoid farm-raised salmon. Generally it's not as tasty as wild-caught, it often contains dye, and the pens are not the best environment for them. Having said that, I've had farmed salmon from Norway that I bought at Trader Joes and it wasn't pretty good. I've heard that Norway's the best place to get farm-raised. If CostCo's fish is as good as their beef, it should be good eatin'.

Let's see... I have sugar, brown and white; I have kosher salt. I need the dill. I should get that first thing in the morning.

[Johnny L.A.]

I used a whole package of fresh organic dill and a 60-40 mix of brown sugar and kosher salt, sandwiched between two filets. The gravlax-to-be is in the fridge.

And I've got a kipper cooking.

[Vihaga]

Mmm. I haven't made gravlax in a while, and you're making me crave it. I've used gin like Hello Again did; it was good. Also, in my experience, turning/checking is important so you can check to make sure that none of it is drying out and it all remains coated as more liquid is present; I messed up part of one by forgetting a skipping a turn or two, once.

[cactus waltz]

Originally Posted by Duck Quack's Echo

I just use sour cream with dill tips stirred through - simple but effective.

If you're going that route, I would definitely add chopped red onion and a few drops of lemon juice.

[Johnny L.A.]

I plan to turn it at 2330 tonight, and at 1130 tomorrow. Since Monday is a commuting day, I'll turn it a couple of hours early Sunday night, and turn it again before I leave for work. I'll get home about 13 hours later and give it a try for dinner. I've got some dark rye and some butter waiting, as well as some spring greens. I just have to make the hovmästarsås. (Only I've used all of the dill in the gravlax. cactus waltz's recipe calls for white or red vinegar, and I have red wine vinegar.)

[parthenokinesis]

If you're looking to add juniper flavoring, could you just add some Gin to the marinade? The alcohol content should also enhance the dill and any other herbs you're using.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Southern Yankee

Ok, this thread has inspired me. I just bought a nice big piece of salmon to try tonight. I have a few questions, as this will be my first attempt at gravlax:

Did you make it?

I'm as eager to hear of your results as I am to taste mine!

Originally Posted by Me

Having said that, I've had farmed salmon from Norway that I bought at Trader Joes and it wasn't pretty good.

WAS pretty good!

[Southern Yankee]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

Did you make it?

I'm as eager to hear of your results as I am to taste mine!


WAS pretty good!

First, I made the "was" assumption.

My salmon is still in the freezer, hopefully eliminating any parasites along with the paranoia in my brain. Tomorrow morning I will begin thawing, with preparation taking place hopefully tomorrow evening.

I'm curious about adding gin to the recipe. How is that done? Do you muddle it with the salt and sugar, making a paste?

[Johnny L.A.]

Here's an interesting how-to video. (His constant 'tsk-ing' is a little annoying, but maybe it's just me.) He doesn't wrap the fish, but isolates it from the pan with a layer of dill. ('You can't get too much dil.') He also seasons the skin, which I didn't do. I like the paving stone he uses for a weight. It's heavier and more elegant than my half-gallon of water in a zip-top bag.

I wonder if he's expecting Ceiling Cat? I noticed a portal in his overhead.

And here's a video of a guy making 'instant' gravlax.

.

[Johnny L.A.]

It occurred to me that I have something a little more handy than a bag of water for weight. My mom gave me a cast-iron bacon press, for which I've never found a use. An old g/f gave me a small anvil that weighs about two kilos. Conveniently, the anvil fits onto the bacon press if I turn it on its side to get under the handle.

There was liquid in the bottom of the pan. I thought it was either a small leak from the (new) zip-top bag, or else condensation. But it was brown. I did double-wrap the fish, but it's leaking anyway. I've poured off the liquid. (Still a couple of hours until I turn the packet.)

[Quartz]

Here's how I make it.

Chop your dill and rub the chopped dill into the salmon, which should still have its skin.

Mix 6 parts sugar to 6 parts salt to 1 part coarsely ground pepper. Coat the fillet with the mixture and add more dill. Put the remainder of the mixture in the dish and put the fillet flesh-side down in the dish.

Wrap the dish in a clean supermarket bag and put a weight on top. I use another dish with a plastic top filled with water. Call it 500g tops.

Wait 2-3 days.

Scrape the mixture off the fillet, slice it and enjoy.

[Southern Yankee]

So I checked and my Norwegian salmon was never frozen, so it'll have to stay in the freezer for a few more days. I'll make my preparations Thursday night.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Me

There was liquid in the bottom of the pan. I thought it was either a small leak from the (new) zip-top bag, or else condensation. But it was brown. I did double-wrap the fish, but it's leaking anyway. I've poured off the liquid. (Still a couple of hours until I turn the packet.)

Very little liquid last night and this morning. I turned it again when I got home from work, and there was no liquid in the pan. But my fingers were wet, and it wasn't brown sugar-tinted. It was the oil from the fish. I think it's about done. (But I'm going to wait until lunchtime tomorrow before I try it.)

[Soul Brother Number Two]

Coming to this late, but it actually takes a lot less salt than one might think. There used to be a recipe on the back of the Diamond Kosher Salt box with a perfect ratio. I just did a search and Joyce Goldstein (famous chef and author) sez 3T to 2# fish.

I (former pro cook) made it a buncha times. The first time I made it i went freehand and poured a shitload of salt all over the damn thing. Using too much salt results in an "overcooked" product that does not have that silky glossy almost translucent feel and taste to it.

I used to use tarragon instead of dill cuz I lurves me some tarragon. Fuckin' A good stuff.

[Johnny L.A.]

Success.

Delicious success.

Slicing on the bias... not so easy. Made a bit of a mess of it. But it tastes just as good.

I'll recap what I did:

1 pound (500 g) Trader Joe's frozen wild-caught salmon filets, skin on.
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
2 Tablespoons kosher salt
1 three-quarter ounce (21.3 g) package fresh organic dill

Mix the salt and sugar, and coat the meat side of both salmon filets completely. Arrange all of the dill on one filet. Place the other filet meat-side-down on top of the dill. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Wrap tightly again. Place the packet in a non-reactive pan. (I used a Teflon-coated loaf pan.) Put a flat weight on top of the packet. (I used a bacon press with a small anvil in it.) Put the pan into the coldest part of the refrigerator. Drain any liquid and turn the packet every 12 hours (and replace the weight) for three days. At the end of three days, remove the dill and rinse the filets in cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Slice as thinly as possible on the bias.

I've made two smörgås on dark rye bread with butter, lettuce, and hovmästarsås. I've eaten one of them, and will have the other one as soon as I post.

[Southern Yankee]

Congrats! I can't wait to try mine.

[Johnny L.A.]

I brought some into the office, just enough to make two smörgås (which I made into four portions). My officemate 'doesn't like to eat food that looks like what it is', but she tried it and said it was good. Another coworker, the 75-year-old newlywed, had two half-smörgås. They both liked the hovmästarsås, even though I didn't have any dill to put in it.

Southern Yankee: I can't wait to hear how it comes out!

Soul Brother Number Two: I like tarragon with fish; usually tuna. I used 3 Tbsp brown sugar to 2 Tbsp kosher salt for 1 pound of fish, so I used twice as much salt as Ms. Goldstein recommends. The textrure did come out silky and glossy. I loves me some oily salmon!

[Soul Brother Number Two]

Johnny, I would have used a lot more dill, more like 6 or 7 bunches. Enough to completely cover the fish an inch deep or so. When I was looking for the Diamond saltbox recipe, I saw plenty of recipes that called for the amount of salt you used. I also saw recipes that called for much much more, which would have resulted in overcured fish.

I am glad your salmon turned out so well. It sounds perfect. Yum.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Soul Brother Number Two

Johnny, I would have used a lot more dill, more like 6 or 7 bunches. Enough to completely cover the fish an inch deep or so.

The dill is not overpowering. It tastes good, but as has been said: You can't have too much dill! Two bunches would not have I really need to look into growing my own. Maybe I'll look for some seeds and a pot this weekend. It will have to grow in a windowsill, since it gets a little chilly here in the Winter.

[teela brown]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

Success.

Delicious success.

Slicing on the bias... not so easy. Made a bit of a mess of it. But it tastes just as good.

Yeah, now that you mention it, I remember I had to get out my best carving knife and put a razor-sharp edge on it. It still took a bit of finagling to get good slices, even then.

You make me want some gravlax really bad. A local supermarket has wild salmon filets on sale this week, so I think I know what I'll be doing this weekend. Mental note: remember to get fresh dill, too!

[Southern Yankee]

Quick question: my salmon is skinless, so do I put the salt/sugar mixture on both sides of each piece? Or just the "inside" parts of the sandwich?

[cactus waltz]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

two smörgås

One smörgås, two smörgåsar.

[Johnny L.A.]

Oh, great. Now I have Falco in my head!

Alles klar, Herr Smörgåsar?

[Southern Yankee]

Ok, my salmon is wrapped and in the fridge. First flipping will commence at 5:30 AM.

[Johnny L.A.]

Did you season both sides?

[Southern Yankee]

No. Should I have? I put the first piece on the plastic wrap and seasoned it on top. Then I put down the dill. Then I seasoned the second piece on one side and put the seasoned side on the dill, making the sandwich. Then I wrapped it in 2 layers of plastic, put it in a baking pan with a heavy cat iron fry pan on top, and into the fridge.

[Johnny L.A.]

This was the first time I made it, so I should leave the answer to the experts; but I'll give you a WAG anyway. If I had used skinless salmon, I would have seasoned both sides. But why? The used-to-be-skin-side just has plastic in place of skin, so what's the difference? I'm guessing that dill-sugar/salt-fish-sugar/salt-dill-sugar/salt-fish-sugar/salt-dill would give more flavour to the fish (which it doesn't really need, IMO), or shorten the curing time (since the curing seasoning is coming in from both sides), or both.

I think (in my first-timer's opinion) yours will turn out great just the way it is.

[Southern Yankee]

I hope so, but if not, it's an experiment. First flip just happened. There was about 2 - 3 TBSP of liquid on the dish, which I poured off.

[Johnny L.A.]

Round Two has been put into the fridge.

This time I used 1.8 pounds of fish, again from Trader Joe's. I neglected to check the weight, so I didn't know if I had enough dill. Since I'd bought all the first market had, I went to another one for some more. The Market is yup-scale, so I don't go there often. I did get the dill (which I didn't need, as it turns out) and they had fresh wild-caught salmon filets about 15" long. It had never been frozen, and arrived yesterday. The pisser was that TJ's wild-caught frozen salmon is $7.99/lb. The Market's fish was $5.98/lb. Oh, well. Live and learn.