Norway > Recipes > Norwegian Cuisine > Gravlax

How to grave (brine-cure) a lax (salmon)

What You'll Need

• 1 salmon (fresh from the fishmonger) (the fillets should be appr. one pound each - you can also use trout as a substitute)
• 3 bundles dill weed
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons salt

What to do

• Make two fillets of the salmon. Don't remove the skin, just scrub it to remove fish shells. Wash and dry with a paper towel.
• Mix sugar, pepper and salt and rub the mix into the fish fillets.
• Chop two of the bundles of dill.
• Place one of the fillets, skin side down on a tray and add the dill. Put the other fillet on top,head to tail and skin side up. Put a tray on top and apply some additional weight, corresponding to a couple of pounds. Leave it in the fridge for three to four days, turning it every day adding some of the remaining dill.
• Scrape away the spices and the dill and cut the fish from the skin in slanting, nice thin slices. This might be easier if the fish is slightly frozen.

Serve cold with spinach (dampened with butter or as a stew), scrambled eggs (prepared with chopped chives), and potatoes (boiled or stewed with cream and dill) as a dinner, or alternatively serve as a starter on toast (with a slice of lemon and mustard sauce) or as part of a smorgasbord with wholemeal bread and a mustard sauce.

Cool-Aid is not the proper drink to go with this. Serve a dry, white wine or beer if alcoholic beverages are permissible. If not, apple cider, ice water or a non-sweet lemonade might do the trick.