Gravlax or Cured Salmon

                     
I think the number one secret in these recipes is to choose the right file of fresh salmon.I use salmon but trout or tuna can be used instead and the fish must be fresh and very well chilled.
The process of curing meat it has been used in old time as a way to preserve meat from going off.
The salt and sugar cooks the meat by drawing a large amount of liquid. In the same way the Japanese came up with sushi. They needed a way to preserve for longer days the fish for their army in the war, so they covered the fish with raw rice, which absorbed all the liquid, keeping the fish drier and safer.
Usually a mix made from salt, sugar and herbs is rubbed onto the surface of the meat and leaved to cure for 2 days.
Ingredients:
1,5kg sides of salmon. Skin on, bones out
5 large spoon of Sugar
5 large spoon of Salt
300gr cooked and grated beetroot
2 lemons
100gr of fresh dill.
Preparation:
Wash off the fish on both sides and pat dry.
Mix sugar and salt in a small bowl and finely chop the dill.
Take enough plastic wrap and lay flat on counter and then sprinkle with 1/2 of the salt and sugar mixture.

Put fish on top and sprinkle remaining salt sugar mix on top of fish, and the chopped dill and the beetroot on top. Squeeze one lemon over the fish and slice another one on top of the fish.

Tightly wrap the fish and refrigerate with something fairly heavy on top, for 24-48 hours, until moisture has been drawn out of fish.

The longer the fillet is kept this way, the saltier it becomes. I think the salmon is better when it is only very lightly salted.
Remove from the plastic wrap and wipe off the salt. Slice thinly and serve.
You can freeze the salmon if you do not intend to eat it straight away. It'll keep about 3 months.
You can serve gravlax as it is, garnished with dill and lemon slices

 or with egg butter, soy sauce, pickled ginger, Wasabi paste,

or use it to make gravlax canapés over blini with sour cream and salmon caviar.

Here I use the slices of cured salmon on a wrap with cream cheese, capers, red onions and iceberg salad. I serve on a bufet table for a large party.

Here the salmon is marinated with Aquavit and juniper berry then chopped very fine and I served with sweet mustard sauce.

Here we marinate the trout with the dill, orange and lemon. We serve the trout with a Swedish cheese cake, lemon oil and baby salad.

Here I marinate the salmon with lime, ginger and coriander and served with sushi rice rolls and a soy- mirin sauce. As well you can enjoy the salmon with fresh salad or with scrambled eggs, or part of a quick creamy pasta sauce.
For all this recipes you can replace the cured salmon with smoked salmon for a quick version.

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