Home Cured Gravlax, Cured Salmon (Lox)

From time to time I actually take a risk and buy seafood. This time being no exception, results aren't the best when you live in a secluded mountain region. Although I'm under two hours from NYC, my options are still limited, the price is high, and the quality varies from mediocre to awful. Grocery mart seafood is the best I can get my hands on. When we lived in Maine as a kid, I had pretty good seafood around. We ate scallops and halibut mostly, the quality was always beyond superb. New England seafood is something I really remember fondly. If I had the chance I would move back in a heart beat. I long for the day I can pack it in and buy a piece of land far, far from a city. For today, I make due with whats here. For a few years now I've pretty much given up on seafood entirely. 

I buy packaged frozen fillets of fish mostly, maybe, sometimes shrimp. For a while I had an occasional sushi  binge, but that has pretty much stopped at this point. The cost is ridiculous and the quality has just gotten gross. So now I cure (pun intended) my cravings at home. I made some ridiculously awesome buttered scallops, I knocked down a few batches of clams and I made this cured salmon. I've seen cured salmon on various blogs in recent months, but I was first exposed to cured and smoked salmon through my Scandinavian cookbooks and the New Scandinavian Cooking Show. After chatting with my favorite blogger extraordinaire I decided to grow a pair and finally give it a try. I've seen a bagel with lox, creamed potatoes with cured salmon, New Scandinavian Cooking even made open faced sandwiches with potatoes and onions that looked scrumptious! But-of-course I've also put this stuff in homemade sushi. You really can do a lot with it. Its a great protein rich, raw snack. It is super duper easy to make, so you should try it. 

Home Cured Gravlax, Cured Salmon (Lox)

This process is painfully simple. All you do is sprinkle the salmon with a sugar and salt mixture. Finding fresh fish is really difficult for me, mine turned out super fishy tasting. If I were to pull a re-do I would have traveled further to buy fresher seafood. You can mix the curing mixture with a one quarter cup measure, using a 50/50 ratio of salt and sugar. (equal parts- 1/4 cup salt, 1/4 cup sugar) The amount you use will vary according to how much salmon you are curing. You can use smaller portions, one whole fillet is about 1 pound. 

1 or 2 fresh whole, skin-on salmon fillets, wild caught (it will be a much richer color)

sugar and salt mixture

fresh dill (if available)

1-2 tablespoons vodka, white wine or vermouth

Rinse and pat salmon dry. Remove any bones or scales that are lingering. Combine salt, sugar and chopped dill if available. Sprinkle the fleshy side with the sugar and salt mixture. Drizzle with vodka, or clear booze of choice. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, or pack tightly into an airtight container. Store in the fridge for 2 to 3 days, flipping every 24 hours. 

Cutting each whole fillet in half allows you to really cure the edges well. Additionally you can store it in a smaller container. Serve with horseradish cream, mustard sauce, potatoes, avocado, onion, flat breads, bagels, whatever. The world is yours! 

-If you are preparing two fillets place fillets flesh to flesh, scales facing outwards like a fishy sandwich. Wrap and store as previously directed.