Best Gravad Lax Recipes

GRAVAD LAX WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Wipe salmon with a damp cloth. Leave skin on, but carefully remove bone so that big fillets remain. Be careful not to break fish. Mix together salt, sugar, white pepper and allspice. Rub seasonings carefully into all surfaces of the fish. Sprinkle fish with cognac. Wash dill and shake dry. Place one third of the dill in the bottom of a large deep pan or bowl (not aluminum). Place one piece of salmon, skin side down, on dill. Cover salmon with another third of the dill. Top with second piece of salmon, skin side up and cover with remaining dill. Set heavy plate or board on salmon, or a plate, weighted down. Refrigerate salmon for at least 24, preferably 36 or 48, hours.
• Drain fish and scrape off dill and spices. Slice on a slant, wafer thin, away from the skin. Serve with lemon wedges, mustard sauce and freshly ground black pepper. Gravad lax will keep under refrigeration for about 8-10 days only.
• Variation: In the Scandinavian manner, after draining and scraping fish, remove skin from fish carefully. Cut skin into strips and fry in hot butter until crisp. Add a strip of skin to each serving.
• Combine ingredients and blend thoroughly. Chill sauce for several hours. At serving time, beat smooth with fork or wire whisk - do not use rotary beater. Makes about 1 cup sauce.

GRAVAD LAX

Steps:

• Place salmon on a parchment paper-lined work surface. Remove any remaining bones. Wipe salmon with a damp cloth, being careful not to tear fish.
• In a medium bowl, combine salt, sugar, and peppercorns. Select a shallow dish big enough to hold one fillet; place one-third of the dill in the bottom. Place 1 salmon fillet, skin-side down, on top of dill. Rub one-third of the salt mixture into flesh of fish, and top with half of remaining dill. Rub half of remaining salt mixture into flesh of the second half of salmon, and place, flesh-side down, on top of dill. Rub remaining salt mixture into skin, and top with remaining dill.
• Wrap dish tightly in plastic wrap. Place a small board or baking dish on top, and weight it down. Refrigerate for at least 36 hours and up to 48 hours.
• Scrape off seasonings; discard. Slice salmon on the bias, and serve garnished with pumpernickel bread, cucumber slices, hard-boiled eggs, salmon roe, and sour cream.

GRAVAD LAX WITH A MUSTARD AND DILL SAUCE

Steps:

• To make the curing mix: place the salt, sugar and white pepper into a medium sized bowl, add the dill and stir to combine.
• Line a large, shallow, rectangular dish, to fit the salmon, with clingfilm.
• Sprinkle over a quarter of the curing mixture, spread over the base and top with one of the salmon fillets, skin-side down.
• Sprinkle over half of the curing mix and top with the other half of the salmon skin-side up, sprinkle over the remaining curing mixture on top of the fillet and wrap loosely in the cling film.
• Weigh the fish down with some cans or weights on top to remove any excess liquid or moisture.
• Place in fridge, turning the salmon over twice a day, for 3-4 days, if possible.
• Do not pour off the curing liquid if it leaks through the cling film, unless there is a change of over-flowing.
• Before serving the gravad lax scrape the curing mix off the fish to remove the salt and pat dry with kitchen paper (you can rinse it off if you want).
• To make the sauce:.
• In a bowl whisk the mustard and sugar together with the egg yolk, gradually whisk in a steady trickle of oil, making sure the oil is well emulsified.
• Start to add the oil at a constant pace, when used up whisk in the vinegar.
• Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if needed, add the dill and mix well.
• To serve, cut the gravad lax at an angle in slices (gravad lax is traditionally served slightly thicker than smoked salmon). Place 3-4 good slices on a plate along with a spoonful of the sauce.
• Garnish with the dill.

GRAVAD LAX

Steps:

• For the salmon: Place the salmon in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, skin side down. Blend the fennel seeds, dill seeds, black peppercorns and coriander seeds in a spice grinder. Mix the salt, sugar and ground spices in a small bowl and rub them over the top of the salmon. Cover the salmon with the dill, and then wrap the salmon dish in plastic and refrigerate. Leave the salmon in the refrigerator for 2 days to cure.
• For the fennel: Wash the fennel in cold water and remove the top stalks. Cut the bulb in half through the stem, and then slice the bulb halves on a mandoline into a bowl of ice water. Pick the fennel dill (the top of the fennel) into the ice water with the fennel slices.
• For the raeve sauce: Whisk to combine the Dijon mustard, grainy mustard, brown sugar and dill in a medium bowl. Whisk until the sugar crystals are dissolved, about 1 minute.
• For the croutons: Tear the rye bread into 1/2-inch pieces. Melt the butter in a small pot and add the bread pieces. Toast, stirring occasionally, until the butter is brown and the croutons are crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the pot and drain on a towel-lined plate.
• Remove the fennel and fennel fronds from the ice water and drain on a towel to dry. Place in a medium bowl and toss to combine with the watercress, salt and pepper.
• Use a chef's knife to slice the gravad lax into a 3 1/2-ounce portion per person. Plate and top with 1 tablespoon reeve sauce, 5 to 6 rye croutons and 2 tablespoons fennel and watercress salad.

GRAVAD LAKS (AKA GRAVAD LAX, GRAVLAX, GRAV LAX, GRAVLAKS)

Steps:

• Rinse the filet under lukewarm water and pat dry. Remove any remaining bones with tweezers, pliers or a small child, then cut salmon in half crosswise.
• Place the filet pieces on a large piece of aluminum foil.
• Sprinkle the sugar, salt and pepper over 1/2 of the filet, then completely cover that with a thick layer of dill, making sure you only use the thin leaves of the dill and not the stems. Sprinkle the wine on last. Place the other half of salmon on top like a sandwich, skin side out.
• Wrap up the foil into a firmly closed packet, place on plate and put another plate on top. Weigh down with something heavy (I used a gallon of milk) on the top plate and put in the fridge for 48 hours, turning the salmon every 12 hours to ensure even marinating.
• When the salmon is ready, remove all the dill and set aside, then slice the salmon at a severe angle in the thinnest slices you can manage with an insanely sharp knife, parallel to the skin. The thinner the slice, the better it tastes!
• Serve with fresh dill and pepper on buttered fresh toast.
• Ok, just kidding about the small child.