Curing salmon is surprisingly easy, leaving time to enjoy Christmas day
The effort is minimal, leaving you only to slice and serve on the big day.
Gravlax is fresh salmon or ocean trout cured with a combination of salt and sugar, a process that helps preserve the fish and bring out its natural flavours. Though curing might seem daunting, it’s surprisingly simple. Yes, it requires a little planning – you’ll need to start two days ahead – but the effort is minimal, leaving you only to slice and serve on the big day.
For a festive twist, I flavour my cure with gin, using juniper berries to enhance the flavour, perfectly balanced with dill and lemon. If you’d prefer to skip the gin or avoid alcohol, you can leave it out and add extra juniper berries for added aroma.
For the freshest fillets head to your local fish market; it’s significantly cheaper, and they will fillet and de-bone it for you. Just make sure they keep the skin on. Serve the gravlax in the centre of the table with horseradish crème fraîche, pickled red onions, caperberries and bread for everyone to help themselves. Alternatively, for an elegant canapé, use savoury pikelets – simply top them with horseradish cream, a slice of gravlax, and garnish with dill. Leftovers? Gravlax can last up to five days in the fridge.
Try too my simple Christmas tree cake.
Gin-cured Gravlax
You need to use rock salt here – fine salt will make the fish too salty. If you prefer a lighter cure, leave the cure on for 24 hours, turning the fish over at 12 hours. Here I leave the cure on for 36 hours, which is how I prefer it.
Ingredients
- 1 x 1kg ocean trout or salmon fillet, skin on, trimmed and pin-boned
- 250g rock salt
- 200g white sugar
- 2 bunches of dill
- 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon juniper berries
- ¼ cup gin
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Horseradish cream
- 200ml crème fraîche
- 1 tablespoon horseradish
- Lemon juice and salt, to taste
To serve
- Pickled red onions, cucumbers, caperberries, lemon wedges, bread
Method
- Ask your fishmonger to prepare the fish fillet. In a bowl, combine the salt, sugar, 1 bunch of finely chopped dill, zest of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, juniper berries, and gin. Mix until the texture resembles wet sand.
- Lay two pieces of plastic wrap long enough to wrap your fish, slightly overlapping. Spread half of the salt mixture onto the wrap in a fish shape, then place the fish skin-side down. Cover with the remaining salt mixture, ensuring the entire fillet is evenly coated.
- Wrap the fish tightly in the plastic wrap and place it in a deep-sided tray, flesh side down. The fish will release moisture as it cures. Place something flat, like a chopping board, over the fish, then weigh it down with cans of beans or tomatoes (or a 2L milk bottle wrapped in foil).
- Refrigerate for 24 hours, then remove the weights, turn the fish over, replace the weights, and refrigerate for another 12 hours.
- After the curing time, unwrap the gravlax and wipe off the salt mixture. Pat the fish dry with a kitchen towel. Brush the flesh side with a thin layer of mustard. Finely chop the remaining bunch of dill, press on to flesh and zest over the remaining lemon.
- You can serve the gravlax immediately, but I prefer to wrap it back in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour, so the dill stays intact and forms a lovely crust when sliced.
- To make the horseradish cream, combine crème fraîche, horseradish, a spritz of lemon, and season with salt and pepper. Taste and adjust as needed.
- To serve, thinly slice the gravlax at an angle, making sure not to cut through the skin. Serve with pickled onions, cucumbers, lemon wedges, caperberries and bread.
Serves 10