Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Smoked Salmon “Gravlox” Part 2 – It worked!

Alright, you watched us prep our Smoked Salmon “Gravlox” in Part 1, which was basically a simple salt/sugar curing mixture. We turned it over after 1 day and it stayed in the fridge for a total of 48 hours (that’s 2 days if you’re a contestant on “Are You Smarter than a Fifth-Grader). Also, remember, we added some smoked spice to the salt mixture so the final product would have a slight “smoked salmon” taste.

I really hope you give this a try. It may seem a bit scary curing your own fish, but it's been done for centuries and besides, like I said in Part 1, smoked salmon and Gravlox in the gourmet stores are really expensive. I didn’t give any serving suggestions. Did you need any? However you currently consume your smoked salmon will work for this house-made version. Ladies and Gentlemen, start your bagels. Enjoy!

Safety Note: Since this has been cured with salt, it will keep, tightly wrapped, for several days in the fridge. But, as the old joke goes, if you need to keep it longer than that, then it wasn’t that good. Believe me, this will disappear quickly.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Great blog, something I have been wanting to do! Great recipes.

Chef John said...

Thanks! Tell all your foodie friends!

Anonymous said...

Very nice as always. I love your blog, it is my daily routine to watch.... I enjoy cooking.

Is there anyway to make Anchovies at home???

Anonymous said...

no no no! it's gravlAx, with an A.
I'm from sweden, we eat gravad lax (as it usually is called) all the time. (TIP) it's great in toast (sandwiched, preferably white wheat sour dough bread), with a mozzarella slice and some tomato... yum!

Anonymous said...

Did you ever star selling your smokes salt mixture? Sounds interesting. Thanks!

Ben Lambert said...

I made this last weekend for our Sunday brunch and it was outstanding!

I used a cure of Spanish smoked paprika (unbelievable flavor/smell), kosher salt, brown sugar and regular sugar. I followed your directions exactly except I used a ziplock bag since I didn't have cheesecloth.

The flavor was PERFECT! My wife is a smoked salmon snob, and she loved it. Served it on a toasted bagel with cream cheese, capers, red onion, lemon juice, black pepper and a slice of tomato!

btw, I really enjoy your blog!

Unknown said...

I am DEFINITELY!! trying this. I'll use the cheesecloth but then vacuum seal the bundle in a Foodsaver bag. Any thoughts? I might not need the pans and weights.

Chef John said...

Not sure! Never tried that before. Good luck!

Unknown said...

I've looked all over for an easy to follow cold smoked salmon recipe. Chef John, your Gravlox is just what I needed. You might want to repost given the number of times the Costco Kirkland salmon knock off recipe shows up when I searched. Yours is easy to follow and the end product is so delicious!!! Nan Gile.

Unknown said...

Just unwrapped my salmon and I definitely over cured it! It tasted delicious but it is like eating salmon wrapped around a salt lick. So I'm trying to save it by soaking slices of it in cold water. Pray for me please.