Gravlax (marinated Salmon)

Total Time: 72 hrs 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 72 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 2 lbs norwegian salmon fillets (of optimum quality)
• 1/4 cup salt (preferably sea salt)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon peppercorns, slightly crushed in a mortar
• 1 bunch fresh dill, the stems
• 3 tablespoons swedish mustard or 3 tablespoons german sweet mustard
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• salt, pepper
• 6 tablespoons mild vegetable oil (not olive oil!)
• additional fresh dill, finely chopped

Recipe

• 1 for the salmon, remove all bones with a pair of tweezers, but leave the skin on.
• 2 rinse.
• 3 mash the dill stems in a mortar with a little of the salt.
• 4 mix with the rest of the salt, the sugar and pepper.
• 5 save the dill leaves for the sauce.
• 6 cover the flesh side of the fillets with the mixture, and place the fillets flesh-to-flesh in a tray made of glass or stainless steel.
• 7 cover with plastic foil and put a heavy weight on top (e. g. the mortar or a brick).
• 8 keep refrigerated for 72 hours, turning the fillets every 12 hours.
• 9 do not discard the liquid that forms.
• 10 scrape off the spices and discard the liquid.
• 11 the salmon will keep refrigerated for about a week.
• 12 for the sauce, mix mustard, sugar and vinegar.
• 13 add the oil a little at the time (as for mayonnaise), constantly stirring.
• 14 just before serving, add lots of dill and salt and pepper to taste.
• 15 slice the salmon with a sharp, flexible knife in big, thin slices parallell to the skin.
• 16 arrange the ice-cold salmon on lettuce leaves with slices of lemon.
• 17 serve the sauce separately.
• 18 also serve toasted bread and butter.