Gravlax (Gravlaks)
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Intro
It’s difficult to think of Norway and not think of smoked or cured fish, especially salmon. Due to the harsh Norwegian winters, they employ a lot of curing, fermentation, etc. to preserve food in preparation; “grav” means “dig” and “lax” means salmon. While traditionally, before they had refrigerators, Norwegians used to ferment the salmon by burying it in the ground, the sugar and salt effectively cures it instead of fermenting it. The reason why this recipe lives in the Heritage section is because it is actually my Norwegian boyfriend’s grandmother’s recipe, so while it isn’t mine, it is from a very legit source and meant to pass on authentic recipes.
Aquavit, or “akevitt” in Norway, is a Scandinavian spirit distilled from potatoes or grain mash and flavored with botanicals and spices, making it similar to gin but the main flavors come from caraway and dill (instead of juniper). Each Nordic country has different flavor profiles that come through: Swedish aquavit favors fennel, anise and citrus, Danish aquavit tends to have more dill, caraway, and coriander notes, and Norwegian aquavit is typically aged in sherry casks, giving it a slightly golden hue (compared to its fully clear cousins).
This recipe uses a Norwegian aquavit so if you’re using a Swedish or Danish aquavit I would use a little less and possibly even bump up the sugar levels. You don’t want to use too much aquavit that it starts to cook the fish -- you’re just trying to infuse the flavors from the aquavit into the gravlaks; some Norwegian chefs forgo the aquavit altogether or even cook it down the decrease the alcohol levels and focus on the botanical flavors instead.
What You'll Need
[4-day prep needed, “Day 1” = the day you start curing the fish]
For the gravlax:
~ 1 lb good quality salmon, bones removed but skin kept on, cut in two equal-sized pieces
2 TBSP aquavit (I used the Barekstein brand)
2 heaping TBSP coarse sea salt
1½ TBSP cane sugar
1 tsp white pepper powder (use less if freshly ground)
LOTS of fresh dill (forgot to measure but honestly the more the better)
Accompaniments:
For the sauce: honey or Dijon mustard, cane sugar, splash white wine vinegar, coarsely ground black pepper, fresh dill
To enjoy: Lefse (Norwegian potato pancakes) or rustic/crusty bread, more fresh dill
Instructions
For curing the salmon:
First, “rinse” the salmon with the aquavit and pat dry with a paper towel *
Combine the salt, sugar, and white pepper and rub into the meat in the container, making sure to get some of the mixture onto all sides
Spread the dill evenly over the meat and drizzle the aquavit over the salmon
Place the pieces of salmon on top of each other with the meat sides touching
Pour off any leftover liquid/aquavit
Cover the salmon and container with plastic wrap and place in fridge, putting something heavy-ish on top
This is going to be curing in the fridge for the next 3 - 4 days
Since the salmon is stacked on top of each other, there’s some empty space over which I write a check list to make sure I’m tracking the dates
Every day (after day 1), flip this stack and pour off any excess liquid — I check off each of the days as they go
* Do NOT use water to rinse as it will encourage bacterial growth
How to Enjoy!
For the sweet mustard sauce, I mix roughly 5 TBSP of Dijon mustard, 1 TBSP sugar, more fresh dill, and a splash of white wine vinegar together and then crack some fresh black pepper to taste. You can add some vegetable/neutral-tasting oil to achieve a thinner consistency if you’d like.
The first time I had gravlax in Norway we spread the sweet mustard sauce on some lefse (a Norwegian potato “pancake,” my closest comparison is a chewier non-sweet crepe), placed several slices of gravlax onto that, rolled them up, and then cut them into little bite-sized pieces (almost like you would a sushi cut roll). It’s soooo good! I don’t usually like potatoes so don’t have them handy, but I made a fake lefse using this simple Alton Brown crepe recipe in which I use a combo of AP and cassava flour (2:1 ratio).
Another way you can enjoy this gravlax is over a grainy piece of bread with that same sweet mustard sauce. Here’s a picture of the gravlax with the sweet mustard sauce on a nice levain/sourdough bread I bought from a Swedish bakery, Fabrique.
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