I can’t tell you how many times I have made gravlax over the years.
For raw fish novices, gravlax is the result of curing raw salmon in a mixture of salt and sugar and dill. With variations galore.
I’ve cured small fillets of salmon, thin pieces of salmon, whole sides of salmon.
I’ve tried one-day, two-day, three-day cures.
I’ve always wrapped the salmon tightly in plastic wrap. No matter the length of the cure.
And while I have enjoyed the various curing methods, I was never blown away by the results.
But I recently came across a gravlax recipe by Gabrielle Hamilton, the resident genius behind the NYC restaurant Prune.
Her treatment calls for a five-day cure!
Yikes, I said to myself. That is way too long to cure the fish. It had to come out way too leathery.
Her recipe also calls for a very loose plastic wrap.
She turns the fish on day three.
Everything else about her recipe is standard: sugar, salt, gobs of dill, weighing down the plastic wrap.
The results yielded the best gravlax I have ever made.
Soft, buttery, not all all salty. I have seen the gravlax light.
Next up: making my own cream cheese, growing my own onions, picking my own capers, ripening my own tomatoes, and baking my own bagels.
— LOU
Calm down, fella! The salmon sounds good, but some of the above goals might be unreachable and better left to the professionals. Case in point, the capers. I don’t think you can grow those around here. But do let me know if you have success.
— LUCY