Gravlax Cured Salmon

Sorry for the delay in posting. I timed things badly since I didn’t realize that today’s breakfast- Gravlax- took 36 hours to cure.  My bad.

From what I’ve found, Scandinavian breakfasts are a far cry from the cereal, muffins and pancakes that we typically enjoy in the U.S.  Besides muesli, open faced sandwiches with a variety of cold meats, cheeses and fish are the norm. While I’d rather have something a little warmer and stick to my ribs as the days get colder and shorter, the idea of curing my own salmon was interesting, so off I went.

I am not a huge reality TV fan, but I LOVE Top Chef.  When seeking out a recipe, I came across Top Chef Masters’ winner Marcus Samuelsson’s cookbook Aquavit.  A little background about Mr. Samuelsson:  Born in Ethiopia, he was adopted and grew up in Sweden, and therefore his food and recipes range from the traditional to fusion cuisine. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through his book, so if you are impressed by Scandinavia, take a peek.

Surprisingly (to me), Gravlax is really easy to make. All it really takes is time.  I picked up some sushi-grade salmon at Whole Foods, some dill, sugar and salt.  That’s it!  After throwing it together, I let it stew in the fridge for a day and a half until I was ready to eat.

I think in my head I had confused cured salmon with smoked salmon. I expected a silky, sweet and salty meat akin to lox.  Much to my surprise, the result was closer to jerky, but not quite as tough. Per tradition, it served it on cold, thin-sliced sprouted wheat and served it with a mustard-dill sauce.  The taste was good, but nothing to necessarily write home about.  It might be a good spread to make for a summer brunch or something, but for this 45-degree October morning, I think I should have gone with the muesli.