Gravlax

[Adam Balic]

Depending on room temp. etc it should be fine.

The point of this way of preparing the fish is to preserve it for the short term. If it was in a cool part of the home, then I can't see that it would be a problem. Many older (eg. 1970's!) recipes say not to put it into the refridgerator.

Having said this I wold have put it into the refridgerator, as modern homes are quite warm, due to central heating.

[Aulis]

Here's a gravadlax from a finn, the way I do it.

Firstly, if you cant kill your own salmon and fillet it, make sure it is as fresh as possible. Filleted and pin boned, but left with scales on as this will help cutting it thinly once ready.

Use 3% of coarse sea salt by the weight of the fillet, and about 0,5% of sugar and rub these on the salmon flesh gently. If (preferrably!) making 2 fillets at once, put all the sugar and salt mixed on the bottom fillet and cover with the other. Wrap all this in clingfilm and refridgerate.

If possible turn the fillets after 12 hours or so to ensure even curing.

24 hours is usually enough when using no bigger than 2,2 kg fillets, but no harm is done adding a day or 2, after all this is a preserving method .

Never grava without cold storage.. Even though the salt will propably prevent the bacteria, the warmth with the salt will draw the liquids and the flavours out from the fish! And then it will go off..

Dill, caraway, lemon peel, vodka, allspice are the usual spices, use acording to taste.

Good brandy, pink peppercorns, even mustard seed are a step up, but if you want to go the whole hog, go wild (mine's a lapsang souchong with mint and liqourice root!;-)

Spice goes in together with the salt, always.

Its id´s almost acceptable to freeze gravadlax, but I usually just cool it to near freezing in order to get those slices as thin as possible!

Hope all this was of any help..

[Irenesh]

Anna, next time just tell them it's cooked without the application of heat. Certainly sounds better to sensitive individuals. I have read that it can be prepared over a period of up to 72 hours, but don't take my word for it.