Grav Lax

Many thanks to Zach for inviting me to contribute to this blog.

I'll start out with this recipe, which is currently in-process in my fridge.

Ingredients:

1 lb salmon fillet

2 tbs salt

2 tbs white sugar

2 tsp black pepper

fresh herbs (dill, tarragon, mint, etc.)

Ever wanted to cure salmon at home?  This is how to do it.

You need sushi-grade salmon to do this.  Ask at Whole Foods and they will bring it out from the back.  Or buy a share of a Community Supported Seafood (if you live in Philadelphia, we recommend Otolith)

1.  Defrost the fish, wash and dry it, and take out the bones (and de-scale if neccesary.

2.  Mix together the salt, sugar, and black pepper

3.  Put some plastic wrap down in a pan and then put the fish on top of it.

4.  Cover the fish with the mixture.

5.  Put the fresh herbs directly on top of it - no need to chop them or take them off of the stalks.  Dill is traditional, but I don't like it very much, so I've used mint and tarragon before with great success.  Reserve some for garnish.

6.  Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge.

7.  Forget about it for 48-72 hours.

8.  Take it out of the fridge, through out of the now-soggy herbs, and rinse off the fish.

9.  Using a sharp knife, slice it very thin.  Garnish with reserved herbs.

10.  Serve with crackers, crème fraîche, boiled potatoes, mustard, chopped onion, chopped hard boiled eggs, or whatever else you'd like.

David

(adapted from http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/132/Gravlax)