Julia Child's Traditional Gravlax

"According to Julia, she first ate Gravlax in the Grand Hotel in Oslo and starting making it then. This recipe easily doubles and will keep (after the cure) for a week in the frig or can be frozen. It's easy to do; the hardest part is the slicing. You can serve it with sauce or, my favorite, just plain with cucumber and good bread, and, if you're adventurous, with some ice cold aquavit. Cooking time is curing time. Servings are estimated for appetizers."
 
Download
photo by Mme M photo by Mme M
photo by Mme M
Ready In:
96hrs 30mins
Ingredients:
5
Serves:
15-20
Advertisement

ingredients

Advertisement

directions

  • Trim the salmon fillet, cutting away any thin uneven edges and the thin end of the tail (which can be reserved for something else).
  • Make sure all the pinbones are removed--run your fingers up the fillet; if you feel any bones, remove them with a tweezer or a needle-nosed plier.
  • Cut the fillet in half crosswise so that you have two pieces of the same length and roughly the same width.
  • Mix the salt and sugar together.
  • Sprinkle half the mixture over each fillet and rub it in with your fingers.
  • Place one fillet in a glass (or other non-reactive) baking dish big enough to hold it.
  • Drizzle about two tablespoons of cognac over each half, rubbing it in with your fingers.
  • Spread the dill over the salmon half in the baking dish.
  • Lay the other half fillet on top (skin side up).
  • Align the two halves.
  • Cover closely with a sheet of plastic wrap.
  • Place a board or pan on top of the fillets.
  • Make sure it is resting on the fish and not on the sides of the baking dish.
  • Weight the top with something heavy (a large can of tomatoes for example).
  • Place in refrigerator.
  • After one day of curing, remove weights and board and turn fillets over(so the top fillet is now on the bottom) and baste with the liquid that has accumulated in the dish.
  • Replace weights and board and return to frig.
  • On the second day, turn and baste again and slice off a tiny piece to taste.
  • If it doesn't taste like it's getting there, add a little more salt and/or cognac on the fish.
  • Return to the fridge.
  • Cure for a third day, turn and baste again.
  • On the fourth day, you can serve the gravlax.
  • To serve, clean the dill away and wipe the fish dry with paper towels.
  • Use a long thin-bladed slicing knife (sharpened) and start slicing a few inches from the narrow end of the fillet.
  • Cut with a back and forth sawing motion toward the narrow end to remove a thin slice of fish.
  • Start each succeeding slice a bit farther in from the narrow end; always cut at a flat angle to keep the slices as long and thin as possible.

Questions & Replies

Got a question? Share it with the community!
Advertisement

Reviews

  1. I love this recipe.
     
  2. This is truly outstanding. It takes a few days of turning, and perhaps requires adding to the initial sugar/salt/cognac blend, but the results are better than anything you could buy commercially! The taste is magic, but it's a straightforward recipe!
     
Advertisement

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I have always loved to cook. When I was little, I cooked with my Grandmother who had endless patience and extraordinary skill as a baker. And I cooked with my Mother, who had a set repertoire, but taught me many basics. Then I spent a summer with a French cousin who opened up a whole new world of cooking. And I grew up in New York City, which meant that I was surrounded by all varieties of wonderful food, from great bagels and white fish to all the wonders of Chinatown and Little Italy, from German to Spanish to Mexican to Puerto Rican to Cuban, not to mention Cuban-Chinese. And my parents loved good food, so I grew up eating things like roasted peppers, anchovies, cheeses, charcuterie, as well as burgers and the like. In my own cooking I try to use organics as much as possible; I never use canned soup or cake mix and, other than a cheese steak if I'm in Philly or pizza by the slice in New York, I don't eat fast food. So, while I think I eat and cook just about everything, I do have friends who think I'm picky--just because the only thing I've ever had from McDonald's is a diet Coke (and maybe a frie or two). I have collected literally hundreds of recipes, clipped from the Times or magazines, copied down from friends, cajoled out of restaurant chefs. Little by little, I am pulling out the ones I've made and loved and posting them here. Maybe someday, every drawer in my apartment won't crammed with recipes. (Of course, I'll always have those shelves crammed with cookbooks.) I'm still amazed and delighted by the friendliness and the incredible knowledge of the people here. 'Zaar has been a wonderful discovery for me.</p>
 
View Full Profile
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Find More Recipes