Recipe Gravlax

[The Late Night Gourmet]

As I mentioned in the Challenge thread, I was inspired by Hemulen; specifically, I was fascinated by the Ceviche propio de Hemulen. I wondered how seemingly aggressive flavors would play on a fish. I thought about making that exact recipe (and I think I will someday), but I decided instead to make this. When I looked up recipes for gravlax, there are crucial things that you are told to do, but rarely with an explanation. This was based on a Martha Stewart recipe. I didn't know why it said to weigh down the fish, and I honestly forgot to do it. After the first 24 hours, I wondered why there wasn't much moisture to pour off. Then, I learned that you weigh down the fish to squeeze the moisture out. She said to use sushi-grade salmon, but I didn't find that necessary: I bought mine from an excellent fishmonger, and it was perfect. It wasn't cheap ($15/pound!) but the results were worth the price.

This is actually an easy recipe to make. The hardest part is separating the skin from the fish. I have an excellent fish knife, so it wasn't too bad.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper
2 tablespoons coarsely ground juniper berries
3/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoon of grated zest, 1 each from lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit
2 cups chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup Detroit River Blues gin
2 pounds high quality salmon, skin on, pin bones removed

Directions

1. Place juniper berries and peppercorns in a pepper mill. Grind until you realize the juniper berries are too soft to grind this way. Place remaining peppercorns and juniper berries in a spice grinder and pulse until coarsely ground.

2. Combine salt, sugar, zest, ground pepper and juniper berries, and dill in a bowl.

3. Add gin; stir until mixture resembles wet sand. WARNING: Resist the urge to eat the mixture or use it as cologne!

4. Rinse salmon and pat dry with a paper towel. Find a plastic container large enough to fit the filet. Scatter one-third of mixture on the bottom. Lay salmon, skin-side down, on mixture; spread remaining mixture evenly over top.

5. Using heavy objects (I used beer cans) in a plastic bag, weigh down the filet. Wrap the entire thing (container plus weights) in plastic wrap, ensuring a good seal.

6. Refrigerate, flipping fish and pouring off excess liquid every 24 hours, for 3 days.

7. Rinse excess mixture off salmon (the picture below shows the salmon before rinsing); pat dry with a paper towel.

8. Place fish flesh-side down, and slide the tip of a fish knife or other long, sharp knife between flesh and skin at a short end. Separate the skin from the flesh, rolling it out of the way as you go. Scrape and save any excess flesh that stuck to the skin: you'll want to eat every bit of this.

9. Flip fish; slice at a 45-degree angle. NOTE: I know I could have sliced it thinly across the top, but I was impatient! Serve with pickled leeks and capers.

 

[epicuric]

The hardest part is separating the skin from the fish

Look up "D cut", works a treat with smoked salmon.

 

[Hemulen]

I use these to get rid of the deeper fishbones after filleting.