Friday, August 01, 2008

I love cured salmon...

I love salmon and one of the things I have come to enjoy is curing my own and making a version of gavlax. Its an easy and fun appetizer to make for friends coming over for dinner.

1 16oz piece of fresh salmon, skin removed
1 large bunch of dill
3 tablespoons of sea salt or Kosher salt
2 tablespoons of white sugar
1 tablespoon of crushed peppercorns

Remove the pin bones from the salmon with needle nose pliers or tweezers. You can feel them by running your fingers the wrong way along the fillet.

The sugar and salt draw water from the salmon. The weights are traditional, but you can just wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and lay it on a platter in the fridge, turning once. White sugar is traditional, but brown sugar also has interesting possibilities.

Spread this mixture over the fish then wrap in plastic wrap tightly. Use a weight to press for 24 hours in the fridge, turning once.

Wash off the salt, sugar and dill, pat dry, slice across the grain, fairly thick (1/8 inch). Serve with Dijon mustard or sour cream and crackers.

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