Gravlax is a traditional Swedish cured salmon dish where quality fillets are dry-cured for 72 hours with salt, sugar, dill, and white pepper, then sliced thin and served with a tangy mustard sauce. The simplicity of the recipe demands high-quality, fresh salmon and careful technique.
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For the salmon, remove all bones with a pair of tweezers, but leave the skin on.
Rinse.
Mash the dill stems in a mortar with a little of the salt.
Mix with the rest of the salt, the sugar and pepper.
Save the dill leaves for the sauce.
Cover the flesh side of the fillets with the mixture, and place the fillets flesh-to-flesh in a tray made of glass or stainless steel.
Cover with plastic foil and put a heavy weight on top (e. g. the mortar or a brick).
Keep refrigerated for 72 hours, turning the fillets every 12 hours.
Do not discard the liquid that forms.
Scrape off the spices and discard the liquid.
The salmon will keep refrigerated for about a week.
For the sauce, mix mustard, sugar and vinegar.
Add the oil a little at the time (as for mayonnaise), constantly stirring.
Just before serving, add lots of dill and salt and pepper to taste.
Slice the salmon with a sharp, flexible knife in big, thin slices parallell to the skin.
Arrange the ice-cold salmon on lettuce leaves with slices of lemon.
Serve the sauce separately.
Also serve toasted bread and butter.
Refrigerate finished gravlax in an airtight container for about one week; do not freeze, as curing relies on salt preservation rather than freezing.
mortar and pestle · glass or stainless-steel tray · tweezers · sharp flexible knife
Gravlax requires exactly 72 hours of refrigeration, turning the fillets every 12 hours. The curing time is essential for proper flavor and texture development.
Gravlax is traditionally made with salmon. Other oily fish like trout may work, but salmon's flavor and fat content are ideal for this classic preparation.
Keep refrigerated gravlax in an airtight container for about a week after the initial 72-hour cure.
Mild vegetable oil emulsifies better into the sauce without the strong flavor of olive oil, which would overpower the delicate gravlax and mustard balance.
No, keep the skin on during curing and slicing. Slice parallel to the skin with a sharp, flexible knife, and the skin naturally separates as you plate.
