The best way to learn to make something perfectly is to put it on a catering menu in such large quantities that you can’t afford to fail. While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this method to anyone else, it appears to be one that works for me.
I’ve made gravlax – cured salmon – before, but only in small quantities, when I was living and working in London. Faced with the prospect recently of serving it to 20 guests at a very special dinner party, I knew I’d better get my research and methods straight before attempting to cure upwards of 2 kgs of very expensive fish. Salmon is not native to these waters, and imported fresh Norwegian salmon will set you back anything from R185 – R245 per kilo. At that price, failure is not even an option.
Some nimble Googling brought me to this recipe: The best gravlax recipe on the internet. I don’t know why we sometimes feel the need for someone to hold our hand, even when we really do know what we’re doing, but there you are – I found some solace in this recipe.
What is gravlax? Simply put, it’s fresh salmon, layered with salt, sugar and dill, wrapped, chilled and weighted for three days, before being served in thin slices with a traditional sweet mustard sauce. The sugar, salt and dill cure the salmon and make it more appetising than simply serving it raw. Some recipes add vodka, schnapps or whiskey, beetroot and other herbs, but I like the original version best.
Gravlax is extremely simple to make. You need fresh fish, you need sugar and salt, and you need dill. That’s it. Perhaps it’s the very simplicity of the process that makes people jittery about trying to cure salmon at home -who knows? The results are so transportingly delicious I’d really recommend you try it at least once. I haven’t yet attempted this method with some of our local fish, but it’s on my list of ‘must-makes’ in the near future. I imagine yellowtail, kingklip and Cape salmon might work quite well with a similar cure. I shall investigate and duly report back with the results!
The addition of the chopped lime in this recipe was new to me, but I happily followed the instructions to the letter. Make sure that none of the lime touches the fish anywhere, as this will ‘cook’ those parts of the fish and turn it opaque, which you really do not want in gravlax.
I used Maldon sea salt flakes that I ground down to a finer flake with pestle and mortar – do use the best and purest sea salt salt you can afford. I wouldn’t go for fine, iodised salt in this recipe, as the iodine has a nasty bitter aftertaste to it that might spoil your fish. Also, I used white sugar, as brown sugar might discolour the fish.
Ask for your salmon fillets to be pinned (all bones removed) and with the skin on. Use spankingly fresh fish and proceed as follows: Place one fillet skin down on a length of clingfilm. Sprinkle the salt and sugar all the way down the centre, not including the thinner sides, as this will overcure the thinner parts of the fish. (See photo 2 below). Chop fresh dill very finely and cover surface of both fillets thoroughly. For 2 kgs of fish, I used 4 x 50g punnets of dill.
Take three paper thin slices of fresh lime and chop finely. Layer on top of the dill on one fillet only, making sure no parts of the fish is exposed to the lime. Sandwich the two fillets together and press down firmly. Remove and discard any bits of the cure mix that have fallen out. Wrap salmon very tightly in three layers of clingfilm.
Now place salmon in a container just big enough to hold it snugly, and at least 3cm deep – a Tupperware is perfect. Place a smaller lid that fits inside the Tupperware on top of the salmon and put some cans of beans, tomatoes etc on top of the lid to act as weight. Leave in the fridge for 3 days, turning once or twice a day. Do not discard any of the liquid that gathers inside the wrapping as this liquid is what cures the fish.
When ready to serve, unwrap, pat dry and wipe off the excess dill. Use a very sharp chef’s knife to slice thinly on the diagonal and serve with a garnish of marinated cucumber, saladings and pretty micro herbs. I made a light vinaigrette of tangerine and lime juice with olive oil, honey, salt and pepper and a little Dijon mustard to spoon over the gravlax and salad before serving on chilled plates, as below:
Now place salmon in a container just big enough to hold it snugly, and at least 3cm deep – a Tupperware is perfect. Place a smaller lid on top of the salmon and put some cans of beans, tomatoes etc on top to act as weight. Leave in the fridge for 3 days, turning once or twice a day. Do not discard any of the liquid that gathers inside the wrapping as this liquid is what cures the fish.
When ready to serve, unwrap, pat dry and wipe off the excess dill. Use a very sharp chef’s knife to slice thinly on the diagonal and serve with a garnish of marinated cucumber, saladings and pretty micro herbs. I made a light vinaigrette of tangerine and lime juice with olive oil, honey, salt and pepper and a little Dijon mustard to spoon over the gravlax and salad before serving on chilled plates, as below:
