Gravlax With the Works

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Gravlax With the Works

Gravlox is a delicious snack often served at Hanukkah or on Shabbat.

Some people use the terms smoked salmon, lox and gravlox interchangeably, but they aren't the same thing. Smoked salmon is smoked, and smoked meats and fish can contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which can be linked to cancer. Gravlox and lox are salt-cured. Gravlox is cured with salt and soften sugar but also with seasoning like dill or black pepper. This recipe includes both kosher salt and sugar, giving it a richness of flavour. If you are trying to control the sugar in your diet it can easily be eliminated.

Curing salmon at home is easy. It's also much more affordable than buying the finished product.

Most recipes, like this one, call for wrapping the seasoned salmon with plastic wrap and placing a weight on top. If you don’t like using plastic wrap you can cure the salmon in an airtight glass container. If you opt for this route, you don’t need the weight as the salt will draw out the moisture, whether you weight it or not.

This recipe is adjustable for whatever amount of salmon you use. Serve with an assortment of garnishes such as hard boiled eggs, capers, red onion, cornichons, and horseradish.

Ingredients

For the Gravlax:

For Serving:

Directions

  1. Coarsely grind the fennel seeds, peppercorns and coriander seeds in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Transfer to a bowl and mix with the salt, sugar and grapefruit zest and juice.
  2. Place the salmon fillets side by side, skin-side down, on a large piece of plastic wrap. Scatter the salt mixture over and around the fish. Top one fillet with the dill, then put the other fillet on top, skin-side up. Pat any extra salt mixture all over the fish. Wrap tightly in the plastic wrap and put the fish on a plate. Cover with another plate and put 2 or 3 heavy cans on top to weigh it down. Refrigerate 2 to 3 days, flipping the salmon daily.
  3. Unwrap the salmon and rinse under cold water to remove the spices and herbs. Pat dry with paper towels. Slice the salmon at an angle as thinly as possible with a sharp knife.
  4. Before serving, press the egg whites through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Repeat with the yolks. Arrange the salmon and bread on a platter. Put the chopped onion, chives, capers, beet horseradish and radishes in separate bowls for toppings.

 

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