“You piss me off you Salmon…..You’re too expensive in restaurants.”  -Eddie Izzard, incredible British comedian, actor, and occasional transvestite

One of my favorite classes of all at The French Culinary Institute was waaaaaaay back in Level 1 when Chef X. taught us about preservation techniques.  This was a little bit of a void in my existing culinary knowledge (and still is….), and I became, as a result, extremely interested in learning about this stuff:  charcuterie, curing, canning, confits, pickling, etc.  This is the stuff our grandparents used to do before there was such a thing as supermarkets and chemical preservatives.  This is how people used to eat, for hundreds and hundreds of years, in order to get through droughts and winter months and the off-season.  To me, there is a beauty in this.  It’s a convergence of cooking, necessity, science, and plain old trial and error.  It’s capturing time and suspending it.

During this lecture, Chef X. did a demo for us of gravlax, and it was something of a revelation for me.  Gravlax happens in two steps.  First, the salmon is cured overnight, and second, it’s bathed in alcohol and herbs, and then wrapped up and weighted down for another night.  Words like “curing” just sound like a labor-intensive and intimidating process, I know, but aside from a whole lot of latent time where the salmon just does it’s own thing in the refrigerator, there is truly nothing about this process that’s even remotely difficult.  I’m a fanatic for gravlax with cream cheese and capers on my morning bagel, and I couldn’t believe that, all this time, I had been spending around $30.00 per pound on it when I could have easily made around 2 pounds of it myself with just a tiny bit of effort and spent half the money.  I have to tell you, too, that making this myself and having it actually work was an extremely satisfying endeavor.  As my knowledge of charcuterie and preservation expands and deepens, I will be sure to pass on more of these kinds of recipes.  (Just you wait until I get a meat grinder!)

The recipe below is the one that Chef X. taught me and my classmates.  His version deviated from the one in our textbook by way of tequila instead of brandy.  I’ve had other chefs that swear by cognac or grappa, so I imagine it’s rather open for experimentation.  I see no reason why lemon or orange zest could not be subbed in for lime zest, or why spices like mustard, caraway, or fennel seed couldn’t be added to the curing mixture.  This is less about a “recipe” and more about a “process.”  I share Chef X.’s version with you because it’s a tribute to him, the results are wonderful, and it’s incredibly simple to do.

Gravlax is wonderful on canapes, great for breakfast or brunch, and wonderful on sandwiches with cream cheese, cucumber, and watercress.  It has a great affinity for mustard, dill, capers, eggs, and pickles.  I hope you’ll give it a try!

Ingredients:

1 whole side of salmon (anywhere from 1 1/2 – 2 1/2 lbs. in weight), skin on (NOTE:  Ask your fishmonger to check the side for pin bones, and to remove them if found.)

1/2 cup kosher salt

2-3 tbsp. sugar (depending on size of the salmon side)

1 1/2 tbsp. tequila

Zest of 1 lime

Freshly ground black pepper

Approximately 1 1/2 cups of fresh herbs, washed, dried well, and coarsely chopped into smaller pieces (NOTE:  I used dill (mandatory), parsley (mandatory), tarragon (very strong, so use less than the other herbs), and chives.)

Instructions:

1.  In a small bowl, combine the salt and sugar and mix together.  Set aside.

2.  On a cookie sheet big enough to accommodate the side of salmon, place a big piece of aluminum foil.  On top of the aluminum foil, place a piece of plastic wrap that’s about the same size.  On top of the plastic wrap, place the salmon, skin side against the plastic and the flesh side up.  Rub the salt/sugar mixture all over the salmon flesh, doing the best you can to get an even layer over all exposed parts.  Wrap the salmon up as tightly as possible with the plastic wrap, and then with the foil.  Place the whole cookie sheet in the fridge and allow to cure for at least 6 hours, but preferably overnight.  (NOTE:  I did this at about 10:00pm and took it out the following morning.  It worked fine.)

3.  After the salmon is cured, unwrap it and have a look.  For the most part, the salt/sugar mixture will have melted and any liquid will have been absorbed by the fish.  If you see any more salt or sugar visible on the salmon, just rinse the whole thing under cold water and pat dry with paper towels.

4.  Lay the cured salmon side back on the cookie sheet, on top of a fresh sheet of plastic wrap over a fresh sheet of aluminum foil.  Rub the salmon with the tequila, lime zest, and pepper in as even a layer as possible.  Cover the flesh with the herbs, distributing evenly and gently pressing into the salmon.  Once again, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then again with the aluminum foil.  This time, cover the wrapped salmon with another cookie sheet or a cutting board.  Weigh down the top cutting board with a stack of plates or some canned goods from your pantry.  The total weight should be about 2 lbs. or so.  This will help to tighten the meat.  Place the trays and weights back in the refrigerator for about 6-8 hours so that flavors can develop.

5.  Unwrap the finished side of salmon and remove the herbs with a paper towel and discard.  Next comes slicing the gravlax, which is a bit of a challenge at first.  It’s ok if it doesn’t come out perfect on the first few tries.  You want to use a knife with a long, narrow blade if possible, and hold it perpendicular to the length of the side of salmon.  Point the blade edge of the knife toward the narrow (tail) end of the salmon, and position your knife so that it is around 3-4 inches from the tail end.  Keeping the knife blade basically parallel to the tabletop, use a back and forth sawing motion to work the blade toward the tail.  Stop when you get to the skin and trim the meat away.  Repeat this process, moving each time a bit closer to the head end of the salmon, until you’ve sliced the desired amount.  The remainder of the salmon can be wrapped up in its own skin and kept in the refrigerator for about a week.

Yield: A whole lotta Omega-3!