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Homemade cured salmon gravlax

https://fannyzanotti.com/homemade-cured-salmon-gravlax/
This gravlax recipe still transports me to that sunny al fresco lunch in the street down our house in the village of Valbonne. And yet, I'm hoping it will give you a hindsight into what we're eating for Easter, almost thirty years later in the north of Sweden.
The salmon - and I like to use sahimi-grade fish for this recipe - is cured with salt and sugar. I like to add pink peppercorns, coriander and fennel seeds too, but you could use any spice you'd like.
After curing, I like to drizzle my gravlax with a dash of aquavit - cognac and gin are an equally excellent choice but just as optional - before dressing it with a thick layer of finely chopped dill, plenty of crushed pink peppercorns, and a sprinkle of fennel and coriander seeds.
The gravlax is usually served with a sweet and tangy mustard sauce - hovmästarsås -, crisp tunnbröd - a very thin flat bread - or thin slices of rye bread, a generous amount of soft salted butter, and sometimes, boiled new potatoes.
Author: Fanny Zanotti
Prep Time15 minutes
Total Time2 days 15 minutes
Makes 1 kg cured salmon, serving 8-10.

Ingredients

For the curing mix

  • 80 g caster sugar
  • 80 g fine sea salt
  • 1 tbsp pink peppercorns slightly crushed
  • 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds

For the gravlax

  • 1 kg sashimi-grade salmon trimmed and boned, with skin on
  • all of the curing mix above

To garnish

  • dill finely chopped
  • zest from 1 lemon and 1 lime
  • pink peppercorns crushed
  • fennel seeds
  • coriander seeds
  • cognac, gin or aquavit optional

Instructions

  • Make the curing mix by mixing all the ingredients together.
  • Place two large pieces of clingfilm on top of each other on your work bench, press down using a clean kitchen towel to "seal" them together. Repeat with one more double piece, slightly overlapping with the first one to create a large rectangle, big enough for your salmon side to sit on top of.
  • Sprinkle a little less than half the curing mixture on top of your prepared clingfilm, on a surface as big as your salmon side.
  • Place your salmon on the curing mix, skin side down, and top with remaining curing mixture.
  • Lift into a large tray and leave uncovered.
  • Refrigerate for 36-48 hours, turning your gravlax over a couple of times and removing the liquid that builds up.
  • When ready, rinse the gravlax briefly under cold water. Pat dry using kitchen paper or a clean kitchen towel, place on a clean tray and return to the fridge, uncovered for 3-6 hours for the surface to dry further.
  • If using any, drizzle with cognac, gin or aquavit. Then top with freshly chopped dill, crushed pink peppercorns, fennel and coriander seeds.
  • When ready to serve, slice thinly at an angle, detaching the slices from the skin. Serve with boiled new potatoes, soft salted butter, crisp tunnbröd [Swedish flatbread] or rye bread, and hovmästarsås - the sweet and tangy mustard sauce - recipe to follow!