Gravlax

[Anna N]

I have never made nor eaten gravlax before but decided to give it a shot and see how it compares to smoked salmon. But how will I know when it is properly (and I guess, safely) cured? Are there visual clues? I used steelhead, two thin filets with skin on, followed a recipe that called for covering the flesh side with equal parts brown sugar and kosher salt with white pepper as the seasoning, piled some dill on top of one filet, covered it with the other, wrapped both in plastic wrap, put in 'fridge and weighted down with canned goods. Thanks for any help you can offer. Anna N

[Andy Lynes]

Larousse says 4-10 days! The fish is turned and basted each day, and the pickle mixture scraped off before serving.

[Basildog]

Did you use any lemon juice?

We do Gravalax in 2 days

Edited February 14, 2003 by Basildog (log)

[Anna N]

Larousse says 4-10 days! The fish is turned and basted each day, and the pickle mixture scraped off before serving.

The recipes I looked at all say 24 to 48 hours! These are very thin filets could that be the difference?

[Anna N]

Did you use any lemon juice?

We do Gravalax in 2 days

No, the recipe did not call for lemon juice. Sugar, salt, pepper and dill.

[Andy Lynes]

Although larousse does not give size or weight indications, I would guess that this is for a whole large fish. My instinct would be that for thin fillets you could eat them within within 24 hours, and that they would have a more pronounced flavour after 48 hours.

[Anna N]

Although larousse does not give size or weight indications, I would guess that this is for a whole large fish. My instinct would be that for thin fillets you could eat them within within 24 hours, and that they would have a more pronounced flavour after 48 hours.

Madly scrambling to research this and it seems to confirm what you say - thin filets will be "cured" within 24 to 48 hours. But still hoping someone can give me a clue as to how I will know! Can't take its temperature! Don't want to harm anyone by serving it if it's not safe to do so. Should have thought of this before I had this brain storm about doing something different!

[Jinmyo]

Anna, I'm sure it will be fine.

[Anna N]

Anna, I'm sure it will be fine.

Thanks. I started it twenty-four hours ago and will not be serving it until about noon tomorrow. Back to the rest of the prep for annual Danish lunch - at least the rest of the dishes I know by heart and they all disappear and no one has ever died from Danish lunch though a few have wished to next morning after too many akvavit and with beer chasers!

[Jinmyo]

Do you have a good serrated knife to slice the gravlax with?

[Anna N]

Yes, I do. Thanks for the reminder, though.

As an aside - as a consequence of my desperate need for answers here, I overcame some difficulties and now have my computer (propped up on top of my copy of Larousse!) in the kitchen so I can have my egulleteer tutors right at hand. Always looking for the silver lining and I just found one.

[CathyL]

Yes, 48 hours should be fine. The texture of gravlax is firmer than raw fish.

I get cleaner slices with a long, thin blade than with a serrated one.

[Anna N]

Yes, 48 hours should be fine.  The texture of gravlax is firmer than raw fish. 

I get cleaner slices with a long, thin blade than with a serrated one.

Thanks, Cathy. I have both so I'll see which one works best for me. Anna N

[Malawry]

I've made gravlax a few times, including a whole side that I split with my housemate for our respective Thanksgiving family gatherings. I cure mine for 3 days, flipping the filet every 12 hours. Thinner filets can indeed be done in 24-36 hours quite easily. I use a cure that includes red wine vinegar, and I'm curious as to how a cure without acid comes out. At school, when we learned about gravlax we were told that it's done when it's stiffened up like cooked flesh. The tail is usually done before the main body if you cure a whole filet, since the tail is thinner.

[Anna N]

I've made gravlax a few times, including a whole side that I split with my housemate for our respective Thanksgiving family gatherings. I cure mine for 3 days, flipping the filet every 12 hours. Thinner filets can indeed be done in 24-36 hours quite easily. I use a cure that includes red wine vinegar, and I'm curious as to how a cure without acid comes out. At school, when we learned about gravlax we were told that it's done when it's stiffened up like cooked flesh. The tail is usually done before the main body if you cure a whole filet, since the tail is thinner.

After the question was asked about lemon juice, I went into panic mode as my recipe called for no acidic ingredients. However, a search showed many, many recipes, including one from The New Basics Cookbook (Silver Palate authors) called George Lang's Gravlax Cafe Des Artistes. So it appears it can be done without an acidic component. Do you think any harm will come if I dig in there now and see what is happening?

[Malawry]

Oh, I believe you when you say it can be done without acid. I just wondered idly what an acid-free gravlax would taste like as compared to the acid cures I've tasted.

I don't think anything bad will happen if you open it up and check it out. Just wrap it tightly and reweight it when you're done, if it's not done.

[CathyL]

Anna, the cure I like (from Jacques Pepin) uses no acid either: soy sauce, molasses, spices. What matters is the salt & sugar.

What's the rest of the menu, or is it posted elsewhere?

[Anna N]

Anna, the cure I like (from Jacques Pepin) uses no acid either: soy sauce, molasses, spices.  What matters is the salt & sugar.

What's the rest of the menu, or is it posted elsewhere?

Thank you. It certainly did concern me.

No, the menu is not posted. This is just an annual family affair. We used to do it on Boxing Day (Dec 26) but found we had already had too much good food to really appreciate it. We moved it to February as a "cheer up" for the worst month of the year. It is a Danish open-face sandwich lunch where all make their own sandwiches from the selection we put on the table: pickled herring, smoked eel, Danish meatballs (served cold and sliced), assorted cheeses, cold cuts (we try for Danish salami, Danish rolled pork, etc. from the deli) a dish of apples, pork and onions, and such Danish toppings as cucumber salad, braised red cabbage, crispy onions, pickled beets and the list goes on. We serve akvavit from the freezer and icy cold beer. It's a fun affair and my kids won't let me give it up and now the grandkids join us!

[KatieLoeb]

The recipes I've used for gravlax always included a sprinkling of brandy or vodka before the laying on of the dill. I also use some crushed toasted coriander seeds and black peppercorns along with the kosher salt and brown sugar. I usually leave it for two to three days.

[oraklet]

anna,

i've never made gravad laks myself, but at least i can tell you that your procedure is in accordance with my danish cook book (your husband will know it: "frøken jensens"). no acid. no liquor. two filets, head end on tail end. salt, white pepper, sugar and dill. pressure. c. 48 hours.

the traditional sauce is an emulsion of mustard, sugar, vinegar and oil, with lots of dill.

i'll see if i can find a swedish recipe. after all, it's a swedish word, "gravad" meaning "buried", i think.

edit: found some recipes. only difference is that they say to put the filets, skin punctured with a knife, on top of 1/4 of the curing(?), with 1/2 between the filets and the rest on top, and let rest at room temp for 2 hours before putting in fridge. one recipe actually mentions brandy...

Edited February 15, 2003 by oraklet (log)

[Basildog]

I have used Brandy in the past , and always use some crushed juniper berries.Dave likes a splash of vodka on the salmon

[Anna N]

Thought that since you all offered your help so unstintingly, I should at least report back:

The gravlax disappeared in the blink of an eye! Then, someone asked what it was. I explained how I had made it and there were a number of inscrutable looks!

"So, it's not cooked?"

"Nope!"

"We just ate raw fish?"

"Cured fish."

Somehow suspect it won't disappear quite so fast next time!

But it's my family and I still luv 'em all.

I will make it again but I think I'd like to experiment with a few of the suggestions you have given me to see how the flavour changes.

Anna N

[Adam Balic]

Anna - out of curiousity, does your family eat smoked salmon? I have see exactly this reaction before in people, even when you explain that gravalax is as cooked as smoked salmon (if it is cold smoked that is), some people still feel that the gravalax is more icky. The use of the word "Cured" most likely doesn't help either.

[Anna N]

Anna - out of curiousity, does your family eat smoked salmon? I have see exactly this reaction before in people, even when you explain that gravalax is as cooked as smoked salmon (if it is cold smoked that is), some people still feel that the gravalax is more icky. The use of the word "Cured" most likely doesn't help either.

Initially, Adam, they assumed it was smoked salmon since that is usually on the table for Danish lunch. Perhaps I should have kept silent but in the end I felt I had to come clean! I further dug myself into a hole (pardon the foreshadowing pun) when I explained that the origin of the word gravlax as I understood it meant "buried". For the remained of the meal they referred to it as "salmon corpse"! The brave ones asked someone to pass "the salmon corpse". So, we had a good laugh and no real harm was done. Anna N

[Joni]

I have a question: a friend of mine is making gravlax with brandy, I think quite a bit, and she is not refrigerating the gravlax (she got the recipe from a friend who never said anything about putting in the fridge -- so she assumed to leave it on the counter). Question: is the salmon okay to eat? Or should it be ditched now?!!