Small plate · Scandinavia
Gravlax
Salmon cured under salt, sugar and dill, sliced thin.
About the dish
Gravlax comes from the Nordic countries. The name joins grav, a pit or grave, and lax, salmon: in the Middle Ages, fishermen salted salmon and buried it in the sand above the high-tide line, where it fermented lightly. Today it is a fresh cure that takes a few days in the refrigerator.
A side of salmon is covered with a mix of coarse salt and sugar, a thick layer of fresh dill and often crushed white pepper, then wrapped, weighted and turned every day or so for two or three days. Salt draws moisture out and firms the flesh; sugar balances the salt and keeps the texture tender; the dill perfumes it. Food safety guides advise using salmon that has been frozen first, since curing does not kill parasites.
The cure is scraped off and the fish sliced very thin on a bias. Salt and sweet sit in balance over the richness of the salmon’s fat. It is traditionally served with a sweet mustard and dill sauce on rye bread or crispbread, or with boiled potatoes.
Written from general cooking knowledge, as background on a dish from the game’s recipe book. It is not a tested recipe.
The flavors it leans on
Gravlax in Night Kitchen
In the game, Gravlax is a small plate in the recipe book. A plate is named Gravlax when it holds these cards and is cooked with exactly this technique, with at most one extra ingredient.
Ingredients
- Salmon
- Brown sugar
Technique
- Cure
How those cards taste
Cooked from just these cards for an average ticket, before tonight’s mood and quirks, it would please Odile (2 stars), Gus (2 stars) and Theo (2 stars) most.
“Salmon buried in salt and sugar for two days. The Swedes understood patience before anyone.”
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