Salmon Gravlax is essentially cured salmon with the combination of salt and sugar.
Within two days, you will have Cured Salmon Gravlax ready to be used on variety of bread, toast, bagel, or stirred in a cold pasta salad.
The options are endless and its a fraction of the cost of its similar dish, smoked salmon. Once you realize how easy and cost efficient it is to make Cured Salmon Gravlax, I guarantee it’s a recipe you’ll keep over time and something you won’t make just once!
Using the same recipe I provided at the bottom, I’ve made this numerous times and it is safe to eat! I’ve never had any problems after eating, but just mountains of compliments on how delicious it is. The salt and sugar inhibit microbial growth, so this project doesn’t require any special equipments. You can breathe now, it is not an intimidating project. Just requires a little bit of patience.
This post is all about Cured Salmon Gravlax!
So How Does Salt and Sugar Preserve and Cure Meat
There are several ways in which salt and sugar inhibit microbial growth. The most notable is simple osmosis, or dehydration. Salt or sugar, whether in solid or aqueous form, attempts to reach equilibrium with the salt or sugar content of the food product with which it is in contact
Sugar preserves by removing moisture from the cells of the food being preserved. WIthout moisture, it makes it much more difficult for spoilage organisms to grow
Salt-cured meat or salted meat is meat or fish preserved or cured with salt. Salt inhibits the growth of microorganisms by drawing water out of microbial cells through osmosis. Concentrations of salt up to 20% are required to kill most species of unwanted bacteria.
So with the combination of both, salt and sugar, salt is effective as a preservative because it reduces the water activity of foods. The water activity of a food is the amount of unbound water available for microbial growth and chemical reactions. Sugar molecules are MUCH larger than salt ions- over 10 times larger in cross-section and mass. It takes salt almost 24 hours to penetrate meat by an inch.
Why Try to Make Cured Salmon Gravlax
Like I mentioned, its a faction of the cost of regular store bought smoked salmon.
It’s a great kitchen defeat declaring your made homemade cured salmon by yourself.
I love the taste of fresh dill, and you can control the amount of dill and salt with your salmon
Taste of Cured Salmon Gravlax
The taste of Cured Salmon Gravlax is a mix between salmon sashimi (that’s seasoned with salt) and smoke salmon (without the smoke taste). For texture, it is definitely more similar to the thinly sliced smoke salmon you buy in stores. The texture is a moist, silky texture that is “raw-like”, rather than hard like jerky or cooked.
Type of Salmon to Get
First off, I always recommend you to buy a sashimi grade salmon for this project. Invest in a beautiful sashimi-grade piece of salmon will always guarantee you the best quality for this dish.
However, if you’re like me where locating a sashimi grade salmon is difficult to none, there are ways around it. For some time now, I’ve been using Costco salmon for this recipe. I know, Costco themselves also said to only eat their salmon until it is fully cooked. And yes, I know it is not the safest choice compared to a sashimi grade salmon, but listen. All farmed salmon from Costco are pellet fed, so it prevents them from eating parasite infected preys. Never never eat salmon that are wild because they have a higher risk of parasites.
Additionally, to make the salmon safe, freeze it yourself to -10°F / -23°C for at least a week, or use commercial frozen salmon from a reputable fish monger. Whatever choices you make, just make sure the date is fresh, it’s essential that you only use farmed salmon, and freeze the salmon for a week before you cure it.
Type of Salt and Sugar to Use
Typically I purchase large sea salt to cure my salmon. The large salt crystals release the salt slower so I end up with not a heavily salted cured salmon. As for sugar, regular sugar is fine. The sugar is there to help prevent bad bacteria forming and a lot of it will be washed off once the salmon is cured.
Measurements
Because we are eating raw meat, exact measurements is very important. I recommend to not use measuring cups but a food scale to get everything right. A scale can lessen mistakes in this recipe, which in return gives you less chance of something going bad. We are talking about our health, right? Better safe than sorry.
Cured Salmon Gravlax
Equipment
- food scale
Ingredients
- 1 kg fresh farmed salmon
- 250 g course sea salt
- 250 g sugar
- ½ cup chopped fresh dill
- black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Rinse the salmon and pat dry with a paper towel. set aside.
- Combine the sugar, salt, and pepper together in a bowl and mix well.
- Using a sizeable non-reactive plate, place cling wraps on top and extra to cover the fish ( I normally use my large 2 quartz oblong baking dish, see example).
- Lay half the bowl of salt and sugar on top of the plastic wrap and ¼ cup of the fresh dill. Spread it out so it touches all the surface area of the fish. It's okay to spread the surface area larger than the fish.
- Place the fish on top and add the remains, salt, sugar, pepper and dill on top. Carefully fold the plastic wrap around the fish and close off any open areas.Place a small plate or cutting board on top of the fish, and place a heavy can on top of the board.
- Place it in the fridge for 12 hours. Half way through the curing time (6 hours), flip the fish over. You will notice there's a lot of liquid that came out and its fine.
- Remember:24 hours for a light cure36 hours for a medium cure (we will be doing this one)48 hours for a hard cure
- After 12 hours, remove the fish from the fridge and rinse off all liquid and remaining crystals in the dish. Pat dry and return the fish back in the fridge for another 3-12 hours uncovered to dry out the surface a bit.
- (optional) Sprinkle another ¼ cup of dill on top for taste.
- Thinly slice the fish on an angle and serve on toasted bread. Squeeze some lemon on top.
