Making gravlax

[BryanZ]

For some reason mine drained a ton of water and was drier than I thought it would be. Strange that I cured for less time, too.

Anyway, that looks very nice, great color and moistness.

[theabroma]

I suspect that the lax in gravlax/gravadlax actually means salmon in Norwegian, or another Scandanavian language.  I have made it from both farmed and wild pacific salmon.  From all species (coho, chinook, sockeye, even chum ... not so good).  But I wonder ... couldn't a similar treatment be used on other fish? I suspect that char or some varieties of trout would work.  Surely it's been done, and surely the vast collective wisdom of eG can enlighten me.

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I believe that the 'lax' part means salmon. The grav(ad) part means grave. Or, salmon from the grave. Apparently it was the custom to fillet the salmon, salt, sugar and spice it, wrap it in a 'shroud' of cloth, and then bury it in a hole for a couple of days or so. When dug out, it was said to have 'come from the grave.' Yum!

There are some other fish prepared in that fashion, but it is most common to just salt or smoke-dry them. The one other example that comes to mind is lutefisk - lye-treated codfish, which is made into a kind of translucent, yellow-ivoryish quivering soup, and is eaten with boiled potatoes and lots ... I mean lots ... of aqavit. It is decidedly an acquired taste, and it has a really, um, distinct aroma.

Theabroma

[sadistick]

I would have to say that buying costco salmon is a mistake....

I was there today, looking to buy some to make gravlax, but the most important thing to me when serving salmon, is wild vs farmed.

All of their salmon is farmed, with no skin in tact, so to me, that broke the deal..

Went to a local fish supplier, and for $5 more per lb I was able to attain some fresh wild pacific salmon.

[rlibkind]

I would have to say that buying costco salmon is a mistake....

I was there today, looking to buy some to make gravlax, but the most important thing to me when serving salmon, is wild vs farmed.

All of their salmon is farmed, with no skin in tact, so to me, that broke the deal..

Went to a local fish supplier, and for $5 more per lb I was able to attain some fresh wild pacific salmon.

←

Highly unlikely your Pacific salmon was fresh this time of year. There is excellent quality previously frozen salmon which, when carefully thawed, is a a superb fish.

[Mottmott]

I only use wild fresh fish for curing. I also tend to use arctic char rather than salmon. It seems to be available when wild fresh salmon is not. And it seems more delicate than the salmon to me.

[CharityCase]

Our gravlax (for a New Years party) got started today. One cup of salt, one of sugar, dill and cracked white peppercorns.

I used a side of salmon (about 3.5 pounds) and even after 5 hours or so it's already started to let off lots of liquid. I wil probably remove it from the curing mixture on Friday and hold it for Saturday.

[ldubois2]

Hello,

My first attempt at Gravlax was successful. I used two sides of salmon, farmed, from the local Jewel Food Store. I think they were about 2 lbs each, never frozen with skin intact.

I followed a previously mentioned recipe that called for salt, sugar, crushed juniper berries and lots of fresh dill. Brushed with vodka first. Cured for about 48 hours, weighted with a couple of left over pavers on an old cookie sheet and turned it each morning and evening. First day I had alot of liquid....little the following turns.

I used one of the halves for Christmas Eve Smorgasbord....it was terrific. Everyone loved it. The texture was still firm, not too salty (I rinsed it). Had some trouble slicing, so we removed the skin and slicing easier.

Took some day after Christmas to Wisconsin where my family gathers with locals of scandinavian descent. There, using a Swedish cookbook my father had purchased, I made a mustard sauce using a mild swedish mustard, oil, vinegar, sugar and dill. Served with the gravlax.....fabulous.

I had to leave before my dad presented his version of gravlax. He took half a side of salmon and cut it in two. Then salted and sugared. He could not find fresh dill, so he added dill weed and on a whim, decided to add fresh cilantro. Weighed with two five pound dumbells and was turning it whenever he remembered.

I can't wait to hear my brother's report on the cilantro.....

ldubois

[rlibkind]

I only use wild fresh fish for curing. I also tend to use arctic char rather than salmon. It seems to be available when wild fresh salmon is not. And it seems more delicate than the salmon to me.

←

Char is a nice choice but its availability is very limited. It's certainly possible you had wild char, since that constitutes about one-third of the commercial volume of arctic char; but since the season for wild char is late summer and fall, it's more likely your fish monger was selling farmed char, from either Iceland or Canada. Note that the closed system technology for farming char is much less harmful to the environment than the estuarine salmon farms. As a food fish, and taxonomically, it's closer to trout than salmon, though all three are salmonids.

[legourmet]

My graved lax for christmas dinner turned out very well. I've orderd a 4 kg farmed salmon from Norway. The fish was very fresh and of good quality.

The fish was scaled, deboned and trimmed to get two fillets of 1.5 kgs each

Each fillet sprinkled with a mixture of salt, sugar, crashed white peppercorns, crashed cilantro seeds and smashed juniper berries

Two finely chopped bunches of dill are layered onto the fillets

Folded together and wrapped into foil, thrown into a vacuum sealable bag

After 3 days of cureing the fillets were thrown into milk to become soft again. A little virgin olive oil rubbed into the fillets prolong the shelf life by 5 to 7 days

finally sliced and served on a plate with a sweet and sour mustard sauce.

[sadistick]

I would have to say that buying costco salmon is a mistake....

I was there today, looking to buy some to make gravlax, but the most important thing to me when serving salmon, is wild vs farmed.

All of their salmon is farmed, with no skin in tact, so to me, that broke the deal..

Went to a local fish supplier, and for $5 more per lb I was able to attain some fresh wild pacific salmon.

←

Highly unlikely your Pacific salmon was fresh this time of year. There is excellent quality previously frozen salmon which, when carefully thawed, is a a superb fish.

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I can guarantee you that it was fresh, as this supplier (City Fish for those of you from Toronto) is a supplier to some of the city's top end restaraunts, including sushi joints, getting an amazing selection of fresh fish daily. Regardless of that point, he had various types of salmon, fresh, frozen, wild, farmed, for my choosing...

He would not lie about this.

[jayt90]

I would have to say that buying costco salmon is a mistake....

I was there today, looking to buy some to make gravlax, but the most important thing to me when serving salmon, is wild vs farmed.

All of their salmon is farmed, with no skin in tact, so to me, that broke the deal..

Went to a local fish supplier, and for $5 more per lb I was able to attain some fresh wild pacific salmon.

←

This is not actually accurate. Costco in Ontario sets up seafood kiosks on the weekends, with fresh mussels, frozen shellfish (rock lobster tails, large shrimp large scallops, and their 'seafood mix') PLUS, wild B.C. salmon. The last one I got was $4/lb., gutted, and bright and gleaming. They can't tellyou much about their fish, but it was fresh and the price was unbeatable,

As for their farmed salmon fillets, in trays, these are well trimmed with no fat belly , or fatty skin which might have contaminants. In a previous post it was noted that these fillets are firm enough for a decent gravlax.

[CharityCase]

Thanks for the photos legourmet.

My fish has been curing for just over 24 hours, and I was dying for a sample so I tasted a bit of flesh from the more-cooked tail end. After a good rinse it was very tasty but because the flesh is so thin at that end it had almost taken on the texture of fish jerky (or was well on its way to becoming that.

I hope that the meatier sections will keep some of their softness but I suppose I could soak it in milk as legourmet has done to soften it a bit. As it is an entire side I plan to leave it curing for just shy of 36 hours.

How long did it sit in the milk?

[Abra]

I took my remaining fillet out of the cure today, so that was exactly a week. The very tip of the tail was jerked, but the rest is now excellent. Next time I'll wait for fresh fish, though.

[sadistick]

I would have to say that buying costco salmon is a mistake....

I was there today, looking to buy some to make gravlax, but the most important thing to me when serving salmon, is wild vs farmed.

All of their salmon is farmed, with no skin in tact, so to me, that broke the deal..

Went to a local fish supplier, and for $5 more per lb I was able to attain some fresh wild pacific salmon.

←

This is not actually accurate. Costco in Ontario sets up seafood kiosks on the weekends, with fresh mussels, frozen shellfish (rock lobster tails, large shrimp large scallops, and their 'seafood mix') PLUS, wild B.C. salmon. The last one I got was $4/lb., gutted, and bright and gleaming. They can't tellyou much about their fish, but it was fresh and the price was unbeatable,

As for their farmed salmon fillets, in trays, these are well trimmed with no fat belly , or fatty skin which might have contaminants. In a previous post it was noted that these fillets are firm enough for a decent gravlax.

←

That is a good price, however, the guy I spoke to said that they havent had fresh wild salmon in a few months, apparently there wasnt enough interest level, according to a recent email he recieved.

Regardless, if they do have fresh wild salmon...i would hate to go to a Costco on the weekend!

[Mottmott]

I only use wild fresh fish for curing. I also tend to use arctic char rather than salmon. It seems to be available when wild fresh salmon is not. And it seems more delicate than the salmon to me.

←

Char is a nice choice but its availability is very limited. It's certainly possible you had wild char, since that constitutes about one-third of the commercial volume of arctic char; but since the season for wild char is late summer and fall, it's more likely your fish monger was selling farmed char, from either Iceland or Canada. Note that the closed system technology for farming char is much less harmful to the environment than the estuarine salmon farms. As a food fish, and taxonomically, it's closer to trout than salmon, though all three are salmonids.

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You mean Ippolito's fibs to me about the wildness factor? Though to be fair, I think the last time I made gravlax was in November.

[jayt90]

I would vlax.

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That is a good price, however, the guy I spoke to said that they havent had fresh wild salmon in a few months, apparently there wasnt enough interest level, according to a recent email he recieved.

Regardless, if they do have fresh wild salmon...i would hate to go to a Costco on the weekend!

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Next time I see whole gutted salmon there I'll put a note on the Toronto "where do you get XXXX" section. The seafood wagon runs Thursday thru Sunday, but not every week.

I shop there on Thurs at 4PM but Fri. at 4PM is also a good time, as most shoppers are busy with school pickups or meeting the GO train.

When the west coast boards were mentioning wild sockeye from Alaska last autumn, the Ajax warehouse had it, whole and gutted, at $11/kg.

If that fish comes back, I'll let you know!

[sadistick]

Sounds good Jay, thanks for the heads up.

I might add, I would suggest that you head over to City Fish (not sure if you have been there) and grab some of their smoked salmon...probably the best I have ever had, its a vodka smoked by a local guy from Ontario, the boss man there gave me a sample the other day and it was out of this world.

[Jmahl]

As a perfect accompaniment to gravlax I have followed an e-Gullet recipe for home made aguavit. Yes that is a bottle of Stoli. –

I will report back on how it turns out. Happy New Year

[BaconFat]

Farmed salmon is bad for you, bad for wild salmon and bad for the environment.

I know this is somewhat off topic, but I think it relevant to make informed decisions when selecting what we use and consume.

After reading through this topic and seeing that some others mentioned that farmed salmon is bad, I thought it would be helpfull to post some links to info that substantiates these claims.

Here's some info on farmed salmon and it's impact:

Farmed salmon info

Farmed salmon and your health

Farmed salmon threatens the long-term genetic integrity of wild salmon

Here is a wild salmon supplier that ships overnight:

Pike Place Fish Market - Seattle

Don't get me wrong; I've used farmed salmon in the past. I enjoyed the availability and low prices. But after learning more about this product, I found it hard to justify its consumption by me and my family given all the issues that surround it.

Edited December 31, 2005 by BaconFat (log)

[Jmahl]

For you lovers of Gravlax, on December 31st I promised to report back on my experiment on making the perfect match for gravlax, that being Aquavit.

Now I must report that my experiment, 22 days later, is a total success. The stuff is good -- real good.

The formula:

a fifth of good vodka - here Stoli.

a tablespoon of coriander seeds

a tablespoon of caraway seeds

an orange peel

some star anise

let sit, filter, freeze (it wont)

drink

I will never have to search for and buy Aquavit again.

[mdbasile]

I am trying to get the righ consistency without saltyness for my home cured salmon, and have been getting mixed results.

Typically I use one 3lb salmon filet, about 1/2 cup Kosher Salt, 3/4 Cup brown sugar and about 1/4 cup of scotch. Seems each time is a bit different.

The only difference has been how I have weighted them. I wrap in platic and then foil and refrigerate 48 +/- hours. How much, and for how long should I weight the salmon.

Also can I cure with less salt and more sugar?

Thanks

[jayt90]

I am trying to get the righ consistency without saltyness for my home cured salmon, and have been getting mixed results.

Typically I use one 3lb salmon filet, about 1/2 cup Kosher Salt, 3/4 Cup brown sugar and about 1/4 cup of scotch. Seems each time is a bit different. 

The only difference has been how I have weighted them. I wrap in platic and then foil and refrigerate 48 +/- hours. How much, and for how long should I weight the salmon.

Also can I cure with less salt and more sugar?

Thanks

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The recipe is good, but 48 hrs seems too long for a small fillet. I would think 24 hrs. is enough, and then all of the brine and mixture should be washed off.

[CaptainJack]

The recipie I use is 2 sides of salmon, 150 g sugar 200g Maldon sea salt, 100g dill and white peper.

In Harold Mcgee's on food and cooking he mentions pine needles being the traditional flavouring not dill, does anybody have any experience with this, or what type of pine needles you could use?

[ulterior epicure]

I suspect that the use of hard liquor has a dual purpose: flavor and "antiseptic." I have made gravlax before - but didn't use alcohol (a member of my family is medically unable to take be exposed to alcohol). I'm assuming it is safe to just cure with salt, sugar, herb/spices without the liquor?

u.e.

[Gifted Gourmet]

safe to just cure with salt, sugar, herb/spices without the liquor?

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Sure, and people do it all the time ..

About concern about "antiseptic" issue: freeze it (the fish) and then defrost when ready to "cure" ... that is the recommendation which I have read most frequently. It will take care of fish parasites ...

Buy salmon that has been frozen, or freeze fresh salmon for at least 72 hours at -4° or lower to destroy any parasites, then thaw to use.

source of info .. also has an alcohol-free gravlax recipe ...