Wow, if I knew this stuff was this easy, I would have made it long ago. If you don’t know, gravlaks is cured salmon. It’s a nice, velvety, salty raw salmon, much more flavorful and somewhat drier than lox, and it makes a perfect appetizer. Heck, I think I’ll put some on my bagels tomorrow morning, too. Anyway, here’s the scoop:
Get a very fresh filet of salmon, skin on, and remove all the bones with a needle-nosed pliers or a tweezers.
Mix together 1/2 cup each of brown sugar and salt. Add to this mixture a few crushed juniper berries or dill weed and several grinds of coarse black pepper. Moisten it with a little gin, sake or grappa until it is like damp sand.
Put the salmon in a ziplock bag, smear the salt mixture on all sides of the fish, and seal up the bag after pressing all the air out of it. Put it in the fridge and place something on top of it to weight it, like a plate with a can of tomatoes on top.
In two days, take it out and pour off all the accumulated liquid and pick off the juniper berries. Slice paper-thin slices of the salmon with your sharpest carving knife held parallel with the carving board. In other words, don’t slice down towards the skin side, but parallel with the skin.
Yum! Good with buttered cocktail rye bread and shots of vodka.
Y’know, I have a recipe for this, and I’ve been meaning to make it for years. I must do it. Yummm…
A similiar thing is making your own corned beef. It’s essentially the same process, only you use beef & a salt-spice mixture. You leave it in the fridge, weighted, for a week, turning it on occasion. VERY yummy.
Thanks a lot for this recipe, I’m grabbing it before it gets moved to some other forum. It sounds wonderful. Zenster, I’ll grab a bottle of Akvavit, since my vodka was sacrificed to Bloody Caesars last week-end.
Akavit (or Aquavit, however you prefer) is similar to a grain vodka, and can be flavoured with a wide variety of herbs, spices and medicinals. My favoured ones are caraway (for mixing with tomato juice for Bloody Vikings) and dill, to drink with either gravlax or herring.
Thanks! You helped me answer the burning question: what AM I going to do with those salmon fillets in the freezer? I’m making one now and keeping one in the ol’ hip pocket for thanksgiving (my family are notorious lox junkies). I used gin, I can’t wait!
It’s nothing like the Italian headache juice labeled Grappa that I once had. Aalborg Akvavit is another matter entirely. It is the traditional Danish gasoline and is commonly served with the bottle frozen into a block of ice. The caraway flavor hints at another Danish obsession, namely licorice.
Aalborg Akvavit
Caraway flavored cordial imported from Denmark and distilled from Danish potatoes. Aalborg is a city in Northern Denmark which has been producing Akavit since 1846. Though this is listed in the cordial category, the product is also considered a flavored vodka (this is how it is described on the bottle). Good used as a vodka substitute in Bloody Mary’s.
Recently they have diversified their product line. I would recommend the Aalborg Dild® (and, boy, doesn’t that look suspicious?).
AALBORG DILD® Aquavit has a pure, fresh dill flavour. The after-taste has a hint of aniseed and a tasty trace of sweetness. It is best served cold to ensure that the fresh, green taste of dill comes through clean and strong.
AALBORG DILD® Aquavit is the latest member of the AALBORG AKVAVIT® family. The taste and aroma have been combined carefully to ensure that AALBORG DILD® Aquavit is the perfect match for fish and shellfish - and for other tasty dishes. It is the perfect foil both for cooked fish, and for raw salmon, marinated fish and sushi.
Alcoholic strength: 38% vol
[Scandihoovian accent]
Und here ve hef der most famous AALBORG DILD®, vell known fur the vay it can strongly penetrate the fishy flavored dish, ja.
[/Scandihoovian accent]
Now let me out of here before I get myself into (more) trouble.