Best Danish Gravlaks Lox Cured Salmon Recipes

GRAVLAX

Steps:

• Cure the salmon: Lay salmon skin-side down, flesh-side up in a glass or stainless-steel baking dish. (A large lasagna dish works well.) In a small bowl, toss together the salt, sugar and pepper until blended. Sprinkle the mixture over the salmon evenly, with abandon, until fully covered, as if under a blanket of snow. Use all of it.
• Spread all the chopped dill on top of the cure-covered salmon to make a thick, grassy carpet.
• Lay plastic wrap or parchment paper over the salmon to cover and press down, then place a heavy weight - such as a 2-gallon zip-top bag filled with water - on top, to weigh heavily on the curing fish. Refrigerate just like this, without disturbing, for 5 days, turning the salmon over midway through the cure - on Day 3 - then covering and weighting it again.
• To serve, mix together the softened butter, dill, shallot and mustard until well blended.
• Remove salmon from the cure, which has now become liquid, brushing off the dill with a paper towel, then set fillet on a cutting board.
• With a long, thin, beveled slicing knife tilted toward the horizon, slice salmon thinly, stopping short of cutting through the skin. Generally, you begin slicing a few inches from the tail end and you slice in the direction of the tail, moving your knife back, slice by slice, toward the fatter, wider belly portion of the fillet. The last slices are always hard to get. Once you have shingled the fillet, run your knife between skin and flesh, releasing all the slices, then transfer them to parchment until ready to serve.
• Spread the compound butter on bread, then drape sliced gravlax on top, and eat as open-faced sandwiches.

GRAVLAX WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut the salmon in half crosswise and place half the fish skin side down in a deep dish. Wash and shake dry the dill and place it on the fish. Combine the salt, sugar, crushed peppercorns, and fennel seeds in a small bowl and sprinkle it evenly over the piece of fish. Place the other half of salmon over the dill, skin side up. Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Place a smaller pan on top of the foil and weight it with some heavy cans. Refrigerate the salmon for at least 2 and up to 3 days, turning it every 12 hours and basting it with the liquid that collects.
• Lay each piece of salmon flat on a cutting board, remove the bunch of dill, and sprinkle the top with chopped dill. With a long thin slicing knife, slice the salmon in long thin slices as you would for smoked salmon. Serve with dark pumpernickel bread and mustard sauce. You can also serve with chopped red onion and capers, if desired.
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• Combine the mustards, sugar, and vinegar in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil and stir in the chopped dill. Serve with the gravlax.
• Yield: 3/4 cup

SIMPLE, HOMEMADE SALMON GRAVLAX

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Rinse the salmon fillets and pat them dry thoroughly.
• Use tweezers or pliers to pull out any pin bones, if necessary.
• Drizzle the aquavit or vodka evenly over the flesh of each fillet.
• In a small bowl, combine the salt, sugar, and pepper.
• Divide the mixture into 3 even piles within the bowl.
• Divide one of the thirds of curing mix in half and place on a rimmed baking sheet or baking pan in the shape of one of the fillets.
• Lay a fillet skin-side down on the mixture. Spread a third of the curing mixture on the flesh of that fillet.
• Spread the remaining third of the curing mixture on the flesh side of the other fillet. Sprinkle the dill, if using, over both fillets.
• Lay the second fillet flesh to flesh on the first fillet. Sprinkle the remaining curing mixture over the skin of the top fillet.
• Cover the fillets and baking sheet or pan with foil or plastic wrap. Place a cutting board or second baking sheet on top of the covered fish and top it with something heavy (cans, pots, or pans) to weigh the fish down. Place it all in the fridge and let chill for about 12 hours or overnight.
• Remove from the fridge, unwrap, and discard the accumulated liquid in the pan. Turn over the fillets so the bottom one is on top.
• Cover the pan, weigh down the fish again, and return to the refrigerator. Let chill another 12 hours.
• The fish is now cured and ready to serve, but it will continue to benefit from another 12 to 24 hours of being weighed down and chilled, so feel free to repeat these steps a second time around.
• When ready to eat, pat dry, and thinly slice the gravlax against the grain using a very sharp knife.
• Serve and enjoy.

GIN AND JUNIPER CURED SALMON - SCANDINAVIAN GRAVLAX

Steps:

• Remove the bone from the salmon, leaving two triangular fillets with the skin intact.
• To make the curing mixture, mix together the Maldon Crystal Salt, sugar and peppercorns,juniper berries and the gin.
• Place the salmon, skin side down, on a board and place half of the curing mixture over the surface of each fillet, pressing it well into the flesh. Now cover each fillet with the chopped dill.
• Place one fillet on top of the other to make a sandwich with the dill in the centre and the skin on the outside. Wrap tightly in Clingfilm and place on a shallow dish or plate. Place a plate over the top and weight with a heavy tin. Put in the fridge for 24 - 48 hours turning the gravalax twice during the curing time.
• Unwrap the gravlax and slice thinly Serve with rye bread and a sauce made from equal quantities of mayonnaise and wholegrain mustard mixed with a little sugar and chopped dill.