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9:13 pm
February 22, 2010
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QuoteKim:
You're welcome! I'm glad to save others the trouble of repeating my expensive experiments. And thank you for letting me know: I know this recipe gets a lot of page views, but it's gratifying to know that there are actual people enjoying delicious food as a result.
Fiona:
I'm sure wasabi mayo is an excellent addition: I sometimes do the "sushi thing" and season them with a hint of tamari and wasabi myself. And I haven't tried avocado yet, but I may have to now!
JS
6:31 pm
just finished making an almost 4lbs salmon with your recipe. Now I will sit here and stare at the fridge for 48 hours... then time for a feast. I'm sure it will satisfy my Swedish taste buds. Thanks for the recipe, Len
9:09 pm
Dear J Stanton,
I am so excited! I've just finished making about 1.7 lbs of salmon using your recipe. This is my first attempt at making this and I am so anxious for the time to pass, like you said, "now here comes the hard part".
Although, I do have a question for you: When you chopped up the dill, did you use the stems as well as the delicate leaves or just the leaves?
Also, I have a zester however, I find that all I really get is mush instead of zest. About a year ago I decided to try using the small side my cheese grater and found that it gives me these wonderful tiny shreds of what I imagine zest should be like. And while on this thought, does the size of my lime really matter? I am growing limes in my backyard and have a variety of sizes from golf ball sized to the size of small lemons (I'm growing those too) 
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I only hope this turns out as well as my taste buds desire!
Have a great week,
Diana
1:31 pm
February 22, 2010
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Len:
It should be ready today...I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Let us know.
Diana:
I cut off and throw away the very bottom part that's all stem, but I keep the middle part that's stems and leaves. You scrape it off at the end anyway (leaving some bits here and there, which improve the taste) so it's not important to be perfect.
When I refer to "lime slices", I generally mean a store-bought lime, which tends to be larger than golf-ball size, but much smaller than racquetball or lemon. And you can grate the peel instead of zesting, but you might need a bit more because the more finely it's grated, the more of the flavorful oils are released. Personally I just go for the slices, as I have the same problem with zesters that you do. Again, let us know how it turns out for you!
JS
10:18 am
JS:
Thanks for the tips!
Okay... so after 48 hours I just had to try it and I thought it was delightful! I offered to share some with the hubby but he thought it still looked raw and wasn't going to eat any. Of course that made me worry thinking I may have botched the recipe. It has been a couple of years since I have had Gravadlax/Lox/smoked salmon (these are all pretty much the same right?) and I couldn't recall what the texture is suppose to feel like. Is it possible that I messed this up?? I bought wild caught sockeye salmon and it has a beautiful red hue to it (I don't believe it was color-added).
Anyway, I ate a few slices last night and several more on my bagel with cream cheese this morning.
And yes,I think I should have used more lime zest (or bits) I really couldn't taste any.
Diana
6:43 pm
Dear J Stanton
Since I started preparing the gravlax according to your recipe, I've been preparing one lot every week. I love it and cannot get enough. Just to let you know I'm preparing more today for guests and I know they'll love it.
Kim (Singapore )
9:40 am
How much lax do you recommend per person, for an evening party? I'm planning to serve the gravlax with boiled potatoes, a spinach salad, and the usual mustard sauce/capers/chopped onion side dishes. And lots of beer and brann vin.
thanks--
12:07 pm
February 22, 2010
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Diana:
The cure won't change the color of the salmon much: it'll get a shade or two darker, but nothing dramatic. And yes, it'll look raw, because it still is! It's cured, but not cooked. Gravlax isn't the same as smoked salmon: smoked salmon is cured with smoke and (if hot-smoked) heat.
The texture should be slightly but noticeably firmer than completely raw salmon. If you like a "harder" cure (you like the fish to be firmer), use more sugar and/or salt. (Yes, it will make the fish taste more salty and/or sugary.)
If you don't taste the lime, feel free to sprinkle some lime zest, or a tiny drop of lime juice, on the slices as you eat them. It's best to be a bit conservative in the recipe, because too much lime makes the whole batch taste unpleasantly medicinal! There's a fine line between tasting it at all and tasting it too much, and it'll depend somewhat on the size of your limes and how strong they are.
Kim Siu:
You're welcome! I'm glad you find it as delicious as I do -- and that my recipe transcends both the Nordic countries and the Christmas season.
arkeolog:
That depends on who's coming, what else there is to eat, and whether your guests will have eaten before they show up! I tend to err on the side of making too much, because I'm happy to eat it if my guests don't...
JS
11:25 pm
JS:
Thanks again for your feedback! This is a wonderful recipe that I will definitely be keeping and making several more times!
Diana
3:17 pm
Thank You! You have brought me back to my childhood and the ratio my grandmother made us memorize! She is now 106 and I will be bringing her some of this special treat. She used to make it when she wanted something 'above and beyond' from grandfather. He would do her every request for that special taste of 'home'.
Sha
4:14 pm
February 22, 2010
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ShaSoren:
I'm honored to know that I'm carrying on, in my own way, a very old tradition! I hope it turns out like you both remember it, and I send your grandmother my best regards.
JS
6:10 pm
Hi, I just made this recipe for the first time and really liked it. Can the resulting gravlax be frozen? I made a LOT and can't eat it all. Sorry if this has been asked before (so many comments I couldn't read them all), but can gravlax be frozen after curing? I'd like to save some and whip it out a few weeks from now,
1:52 am
February 22, 2010
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Paula:
It's safe to freeze, though I can't guarantee it'll have the same buttery texture when you thaw it back out. Please let us know what you find!
JS
1:32 pm
just started a batch yesterday with a side of wild Coho (silver, for those of you not from the Pacific NW) that I caught on Sunday... excited to try it!
9:07 am
February 22, 2010
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jeffy:
How did it come out? Do let us know.
JS
5:47 am
Hi, a little tip when using lime or lemon zest, if you freeze either or both for a couple of hours beforehand, it makes the zesting a lot easier and your don't get any juice
11:23 pm
February 22, 2010
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Harry:
That's a solid tip: I'll try it next time. Thanks for sharing!
JS
1:42 pm
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Having never made gravadlax before I searched through so many recipes before settling on yours as the most comprehensive and because you have so much positive feedback!The salmon was AMAZING!!! I used crushed coriander seed with the sugar and salt as my husband is not keen on dill and it came out perfect. The texture, as so many people have already written here was indeed buttery. So, thank you for all the experimentation you did to work out the perfect ratio of fish:salt:sugar it was all totally worth it!
11:22 am
February 22, 2010
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Olivia
You're welcome!
I wouldn't have thought to use coriander, as it's a completely different taste than dill...but I'm glad you enjoyed it, and I might have to try making a small piece sometime. Thank you for sharing that!
JS
9:51 am
I have to thank you and raise a glass of champagne (or vodka) to you for this recipe! Recently diagnosed with hypertension, I felt that I would have to give up one of my favorite foods -- gravlax -- forever!! My Russian sweetheart has always made his style or gravlax (from his childhood) and for years I enjoyed it when he made it, but when I tried his recipe, it always came out way too salty and look like a brick! 
So when I told him I found this recipe, he was a little leery because he thought it would be too sweet. Well your recipe is almost fool proof and it came out so good to both of our amazement that I couldn't wait to try it a second time within one week. (Wild salmon was on sale here at $4.99/pound so I bought almost 5 lbs of it (4 lbs trimmed out). The second time was even better than the first! He is trying the recipe this week and I can't wait to see his spin on it. I will keep this with my treasured recipes. As a matter of fact I am sending you url to my friend in France because when I was there visiting, I had gravlax for lunch ($30 a plate) at an exclusive restaurant in Lille and it was so salty, I sent it back. Thank you for giving me back what I thought I had lost.
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