Update and Redux: C – Last year someone served salmon lox at the New Year’s Eve party I was attending. She wanted to bring something fancy. No one ate it. It was too daunting to eat. No one wanted to have smelly hands all night from picking up a piece of salmon lox.
If I had stepped in, all the lox would be gone. I would have made this great recipe with it. It’s healthy and light and people can pick them up easily.
C – Luke showed me how to make salmon gravlox this week.
I always thought making it would be really hard to do. I would be in awe at the grocery stores when gravlox were available. I’d usually get them and eat them with cream cheese and bagels. It always seemed so daunting to make. I never thought to research and try making it myself.
Who knew it would be so easy to cure salmon? Luke said there were a few key steps to making good salmon gravlox. First, always buy fresh fish. Never frozen. The fish meat breaks down if it’s frozen. It won’t work in the curing process. So, check with the fishmonger to make sure it’s not been previously frozen. Also, check where the fish came from and if it’s wild or farmed. Wild salmon tends to have a better diet and has a richer red color to it. It’s important to how pretty the color is. Lastly, the salmon needed to be as thin and even as possible. The more even the better, so the salt can be evenly distributed.
Gravlox were so easy to make, I think it can be a regular in my refrigerator and not bought from the store anymore. It makes such a great snack, great for breakfast and a great appetizer for guests you want to impress. Making it at home is pretty impressive. I love the consistency of cured salmon. It’s tender and soft. It feels like a good piece of meat, not dried out. Luke made the perfect blend of seasoning. It was salty, but not too salty. He added a bit of sugar to balance out the salt. I wanted to eat the entire fish. Ever time Luke sliced a piece, I was right by his side waiting for my fair share. It was so good. Too bad I had to save it for guests.
Luke paired the gravlox with English cucumber, cream cheese and lemon zest. I loved the combination. It was salty from the salmon, creamy from cream cheese and crunchy from the cucumber. There was a refreshing little kick of lemon zest to round it all out. I really loved it. I felt healthy and refreshed eating it. I couldn’t wait for more.
| Homemade Salmon Gravlox on English Cucumber with Lemon Zest Cream Cheese |
- 4 pounds fresh salmon from two salmon tails, thinnest possible, with skin on
- 1 cup salt
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- Trim any excess fat from salmon.
- Place salmon on cutting board meat side up and sprinkle ¼ of the salt and the sugar evenly on top of the salmon.
- Place a long piece of plastic wrap on the counter. Place salmon on to plastic meat side down.
- Sprinkle the skin side of the salmon with ¼ of salt and sugar.
- Seal the salmon extremely tight in plastic wrap.
- Repeat with other side of the tail.
- Place skin side up with a sheet pan of top and bottom and a place heavy weight on it to keep it pressed down.
- Flip every day for one week.
- Once salmon has completed this week long process, it is done.
- Cut and throw away the first outer piece of the salmon. It’s a bit too salty for consumption.
- Slice pieces very thin at an angle, not including the skin.
- Serve.
- Enjoy!
I am going to have to make this again. I have been looking for a quick protein snack that will last a while in the refrigerator.
Thanks, Luke, for showing me the way.