Recipe - Gravad Lax

1 small Salmon, whole
(about 23 lb)

SWEDISH RECIPE I
2 tablespoon White peppercorns
(or a mixture of
equal parts white
peppercorns and
allspice berries)
4 tablespoon Salt
2 tablespoon Sugar
2 Dill bunches

SWEDISH RECIPE II
One fourth cup Salt
3 tablespoon Sugar
2 tablespoon Pepper, white
4 teaspoon Allspice
3 tablespoon Gin
2 Dill bunches

ENGLISH RECIPE I
2 tablespoon Salt
2 tablespoon Sugar
3 tablespoon Peppercorns, white
2 Dill bunches

ENGLISH RECIPE II
2/3 cup Salt
One half cup Sugar
20 Peppercorns, white

MAITRE'D SAUCE
3 tablespoon Mustard, dark,
French, coarseground
1 tablespoon Sugar
One half teaspoon Salt
1 pn White pepper, ground
1 tablespoon Vinegar
6 tablespoon Olive oil
6 tablespoon Dill

Get a whole fish, clean it and remove the head. Split into two filets,
removing the backbone but leave the skin on. Dry off the filets and remove
all the little bones.

Crush the peppers and seasonings in a mortar, add the salt and sugar. Mix
well and press the mixture into the filets.

In a glass or ceramic dish, put some dill on the bottom, then one of the
filets, skin side down, then more dill, then the other filet, skin side up.
Put the thick side of one filet against the other's thin side. Cover with
plastic wrap (NOT ALUMINUM FOIL) and put a cutting board or similar on top
with some weight on it (e.g. a couple of beer cans).

Put it in the refrigerator for a day or so. (Thin filets are ready in 1
day, thicker in 2 days.) Turn the filet over once or twice during this
time. Pour off the brine, otherwise the fish will be too salty. The fish
will keep for a week in a refrigerator after pouring off the brine.

Make the sauce, Maitre'd sauce. Mix together the mustard, sugar, salt,
pepper and vinegar. Add the oil drop by drop as if making a mayonnaise. Add
the dill. Let the sauce sit for about 10 minutes.

Cut off either thin (nearly horizontal) slices, or thick vertical slices,
to taste. (Don't cut through the skin). Serve as an appetizer on thin
slices of buttered rye bread (with a little lemon juice and some finely
chopped dill), or as a main dish with boiled new potatoes and Maitre'd
sauce.

NOTES:

* Swedish dillcured salmon Gravlax uses a saltsugar mixture to cure
the fish. The fish is flavored by dill and whatever else is handy. (I've
used gin, Julia Child has used cognac).

I've gathered these versions of the recipe from several sources. From "Ver
Cokbok" (the Swedish equivalent of "Joy of Cooking" or "Mrs. Beeton.") From
a brochure published by the Swedish Information Service. From a booklet
written by Tore Wretman, who owned a major restaurant and has published
several cookbooks of his own. Gravlax is like barbecue, a process that you
follow, but can vary considerably.

Don't skimp on the salt. The proportion of salt to fish is important to
preserve the fish. Here are several variations on a single basic recipe.
Yield: Serves 34.

* You can broil or grill thick slices of gravlax. After you've eaten the
salmon, you can also cut the skin in thin strips, sear them briefly on the
skin side, and serve them as a garnish.

: Difficulty: easy once the fish is prepared.
: Time: 5 minutes preparation, several days aging.
: Precision: measure the ingredients.

: Martin Minow
: Digital Equipment Corporation, Maynard, Mass., USA
: Minow@thundr.dec.com minow%thundr.dec@decwrl.dec.com

: Copyright (C) 1986 USENET Community Trust

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini