Gravlax (Salt Cured Salmon)
Gravlax is a quick cured salmon that's ready in just 2 to 3 days, no cold smoking required!
Ingredients
- 4 lbs Salmon Filet Sushi Grade, Skin On
- 1 cup salt See note
- 1/2 or 1 1/2 cups sugar see note
- Spices of Choice such as dill juniper berries, black pepper or conifer tips
Instructions
- Remove the salmon from its package and rinse it quickly in cool water.
- Mix the salt and sugar to create the cure.
- Place about half the cure and spices into a 9 x 13-inch baking pan, and then lay the salmon filet on top of the cure skin side down. Ensure that the salt/sugar cure completely coats the bottom of the filet, and rub it in a bit if necessary to ensure that it's covering the whole underside of the fish.
- Pour the remaining half of the cure over the top of the fish, and ensure it covers the whole filet in a thin layer. Don't leave any area of the fish without at least a thin layer of cure covering the surface. Cover with more spices of your choice (optional).
- Cover the tray, and place the fish in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days until the fish is uniformly firm. The color will have changed, and it should feel firm (more like cooked fish than raw) when pressed with your finger).
- Once it's done curing, remove from the tray and rinse the salt and spices off in cold water. Pat dry and then slice thinly to serve.
Notes
Be sure to use the freshest fish possible. Tell your fishmonger that you intend to serve this salmon raw and ask for sushi-grade.
For the cure, I'd suggest using either 1/2 cup of sugar for a more savory variation, or 1 1/2 cup for a sweeter gravlax. An equal 1:1 ratio of salt/sugar ends up surprisingly bland, so you should make a choice to use the lesser or greater amount of sugar-based on your desired results. The salt amount stays the same either way, as the salt is for preservation and the sugar is mostly for flavor.
You can omit the sugar if you like, but it won't taste nearly as good, more unidimensionally salty without any sweet balance. Without the sugar, it also may take slightly longer to cure as the sugar helps draw out moisture from the salmon through osmosis and firms up the salmon filet.
This is not designed as a food preservation recipe, and the finished gravlax should be consumed within 2-3 days once it comes out of the cure. Store tightly wrapped in the freezer if it needs to be preserved longer.