Gravlax

One of my favorite DIY recipes is Gravlax.  It is so easy to make!  Five ingredients and three days will yield a moist, delicious and impressive appetizer.

Gravlax comes from gravid lax, which means “buried salmon” in Swedish.  When I first heard the word I thought it was the same as lox (smoked salmon that you place on top of bagels).  But it’s better!  The fact that it is not smoked or cooked, and the addition of fresh dill gives this dish a clean and delicate taste.

Gravlax

1/3 C packed brown sugar

¼ C  Diamond Crystal kosher salt

1 1-pound skin-on salmon filet

3 tablespoons brandy

1 C coarsely chopped fresh dill

 

1.        Combine sugar and salt.  Place salmon, skin side down, in a 13 x 9-inch glass baking dish.  Pour brandy over salmon, making sure to cover entire surface. Rub salmon evenly with salt-sugar mixture, pressing firmly on mixture.  Cover with dill, pressing firmly.

2.       Cover salmon loosely with plastic wrap, top with square baking dish or pie plate, and weight with several large heavy cans.  Refrigerate until salmon feels firm, about 3 days, basting salmon with liquid released into baking dish once a day.

3.       Scrape dill off salmon.  Remove fillet from dish and pat dry with paper towels before slicing. Gravlax can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 1 week.  It should be left whole and sliced just before serving.

 

Slice the salmon as thin as possible and against the grain for a more tender and buttery texture.  Serve on toasted rye bread with some cream cheese, or plain crackers and Swiss cheese on the side.