Gravlax

Making Gravlax Ahead

Keeps 5 days refrigerated, wrapped, once cured. Sliced gravlax freezes 1 month.

Gravlax: The Method

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1. Mix the salt, sugar and crushed peppercorns.

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2. Lay one salmon fillet skin-side down in a non-reactive dish and sprinkle over a third of the cure.

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3. Cover thickly with all of the dill, then sprinkle over another third of the cure and the aquavit if using.

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4. Lay the second fillet on top, flesh to flesh, head to tail so the thick end meets the thin one, and cover with the remaining cure.

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5. Wrap the whole thing tightly in cling film and set it in a dish that will catch the liquid.

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6. Weight it with a board and a few tins and refrigerate 48 hours, turning the parcel every 12 hours and draining off the liquid that collects.

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7. The salmon is ready when it feels firm all the way through and has darkened in colour.

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8. Scrape off the cure and dill, pat dry, and slice very thinly on a steep diagonal, leaving the skin behind.

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9. For the sauce, whisk the mustards, sugar and vinegar, then trickle in the oil while whisking until thick and emulsified. Stir in the dill and salt.

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10. Serve the gravlax with the sauce and rye bread (optional).

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Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Ingredient substitutions.

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Tips for Success

• Equal weights of salt and sugar. Shifting the ratio either way changes the character completely.
• Weight it properly and drain the liquid, or the fish sits in brine and cures unevenly.
• Use farmed salmon sold for eating raw, or wild salmon frozen first to kill parasites, since the cure does not kill them and the fish is never cooked.

Some Background

Salt and sugar draw water out of the fish by osmosis and replace it with a saline, sugary solution that firms the flesh — the ratio matters, and a salt-only cure gives something closer to salt fish than gravlax. Weighting the fillets presses out the liquid faster and gives an even, dense texture.

What to Put Next to It

Rye bread or crispbread with butter · Ice-cold aquavit · Boiled new potatoes with dill

Swaps and Variations

• A dry vermouth keeps for longer than an open bottle of white wine and is the closer swap than a random white left in the fridge; for an alcohol-free version, use the same amount of stock with a squeeze of lemon.

Questions About Gravlax

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: the marinade or brine is counted in full, though some is discarded; an ingredient listed without an amount is not counted, so the figures run low. The calories include 2 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.

Gluten-free when served without the rye bread or crispbread.

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