A classic
A classic on the Swedish Christmas buffet, as well as those for Easter and Midsummer and – as far as I’m concerned – any time inbetween.
“Att grava” is a verb meaning to dry cure. This means that you rub the meat or fish in a mixture of salt and spices and then set aside to cure. This is an ancient form of preserving food stuff, which is still in practice. These days it’s more common to use this form for fish, but curing meat has had an upswing lately, with a renewed interest in traditional food.
Gravlax
A simple recipe for dry cured salmon.
Ingredients
- 1000 g salmon fillet in one piece with skin middle piece
- 30 g of coarse non-iodized salt you may use iodized, but it may affect the outcome
- 20 g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp coarsely ground white pepper
- 2 g saltpeter optional
- 100 ml dill chopped
Instructions
- Cut the salmon into two equal pieces. Remove any bones with tweezers.
- Cut a few shallow slits in the skin.
- Mix salt, sugar, saltpeter and white pepper.
- Rub the fillets with the spice mixture. Sprinkle dill on the meat side and put the two pieces together, sandwich style, with the skin outward. Place the fillets in a plastic bag and seal. Put on a plate in the fridge for 2 days. Turn 3–4 times.
- Pour off the liquid and wipe off the dill and spices if the salmon is not to be eaten immediately. This is importand, as the salt will dry out the fish and make it hard if it stays on.
Notes
Wipe and cut into diagonal slices. Top the salmon with a few sprigs of dill and decorate with lemon slices.