HOW TO MAKE GRAVLAX~COLD CURE SALMON PART 2

Scott and I started making cured salmon a few months back.  It was always something on my to-do list, but I just never got around to doing it.  Believe it or not, I am scared of the unknown.  So, I was a bit apprehensive to go out on my own and spend that kind of money and just maybe fail at it.  That is why when Scott decided one Saturday to make some I was ecstatic.  He really took over that one and made it his own.  I helped but it was all his baby.  

Scott has been picking on me and telling me, you know you can do this yourself.  I told him a few days ago, I know I can and plan on doing it soon without his help and all on my own.  I told him I had been exploring various recipes and I think I had come up with a version of one I wanted to make.  You guys know me, I research then come up with something a bit different than the recipes online.  I am lucky, so far, I have not failed too many times.

Salmon is by far one of my favorite fish.  However, if you do not know what you are doing you will ruin it.  Yep, I did that the first time I attempted to make salmon.  Oh, it was utterly disgusting.  So bad, that I did not try salmon again for about years.  

In doing all my research, I found that cure salmon is called gravlax.  Gravlax is a Nordic dish that is raw salmon cured with salt, sugar, and dill.  Maybe that 6% of my DNA that is Nordic understands the love of this dish.  

There is no way to descript how good this is.  You really must try it to understand.  It is not smoked.  Just simply cured with salt, sugar and some seasonings.  Really you can do just about anything you wish with this as long as you cure it with salt and sugar.  

In the research I did I found several recipes using vodka.  Yeah, you read that correctly.  Vodka.  Of course, you still must have salt and sugar.  Since I wanted to shake up Scott's recipe I decided to go this route.

I started with zesting one lemon.  

Next, I coarse ground juniper berries and black peppercorns.

Added the lemon zest and coarse ground spices in a bowl.

In a different bowl, I combined white sugar, brown sugar, and coarse ground sea salt.

Chopped some fresh dill.

Added everything together in a bowl.

Along with some vodka.

I placed some plastic wrap down on my table and put some of the "cure" on the wrap.  Place the salmon on top of that and tossed the rest of the cure on the salmon.  I think it already looks pretty good.

Wrap the salmon up really well with plastic wrap.

Place the salmon in a dish.  Put another smaller dish on top and in the smaller dish place something that will weight your salmon down. Since this is going in my fridge, I used some jars already in my fridge.  

Here is the thing about this, it can be done in 24 hours.  Or you can go a few more days.  We normally go for 3 to 4 days because we like the fish to be firm.  Just in my humble opinion, I feel the longer you allow it to cure the better it becomes.  

Once you have cured your salmon the desired length, rinse it really well and pat dry.  They say it is good for 2 to 3 weeks in the fridge but to be totally honest with you, it has never lasted that long here.  

GRAVLAX

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of raw salmon
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup coarse ground sea salt
• 10 to 12 juniper berries
• 20 black peppercorns
• 1/4 cup fresh dill
• Zest of one lemon
• 1/4 cup of vodka

Directions

• Combine white sugar, brown sugar, and sea salt into a bowl.
• Zest lemon.
• Coarse grind juniper berries with peppercorns.  Add to the bowl with lemon zest.
• Chop fresh dill.
• Add all ingredients together and mix.
• Add 1/4 cup of vodka to the dry ingredients and combine well.
• Tear off a sheet of plastic wrap that is large enough to cover your fish.  Put some of the cure onto the plastic wrap.  
• Add salmon skin side down on top of the cure.  Coat the top of the salmon with the remaining cure.
• Cover fish well with plastic wrap.
• Place into a dish, add another smaller dish on top.  Weight down the top dish. 
• Salmon can be ready in 24 hours.  However, if you go longer, turn the salmon daily.  If you stick to the 24 hours, turn your salmon in 12 hours.  

The beauty of this recipe is the fact you can have an impressive appetizer to share with friends.  You can mix up the herbs and spices if you wish.  I stick to dill but you could use rosemary.  Really any herb you want is fine.  Same way with the spices, you can omit the juniper berries and use something else, like fennel seeds.  We have used orange zest before.  It really is up to you.  The trick is you just have to use the salt and sugar because this is what cures the salmon. 

I honestly can not say or explain how delicious this is.  It's so buttery.  It is the ultimate luxury food.

I hope you will give it a try and please feel free to come back and post pictures and comments.

Happy Friday and ENJOY!!