Cooking with Stinson Studios: Salmon Gravlax
Posted by admin | Filed under Uncategorized
Hello Everyone,
I’m really enjoying the pate boards in my collection! I’ve used them to present appetizers, cheese and bread, and even pate! You can find some recipes for pate from a previous blog. But I found another use for my favorite pate board! I turned it upside down, and now I have a cutting and serving board. I’m careful not to cut anything using a sharp knife, but Don tells me that even if I did make a knife mark on the board it is easily repaired with a bit of fine sandpaper going with the grain of the wood.
We’ve been getting snow recently and as we spend more time inside, Kathy and I have invited friends over for some visiting and celebration. One of the appetizers I really like to prepare is called Gravlax. I think it has a Scandinavian connection in that it is a sugar and salt cured fish. You begin with a full salmon, or you can purchase half a salmon in a fillet form and prepare it using half of the following ingredients. Make sure that all the bones are removed. You may have to use a small pair of tweezers to pick out the fine bones that you can feel when you run your fingers over the fillet. Place two large bunches of fresh dill spread onto one of the fillets. Sprinkle ¼ cup of coarse salt and the same amount of sugar onto the fillet. Scatter two Tablespoons of freshly crushed pepper onto the fillet. Top with the other fillet, skin side up. The fish should now be wrapped in tinfoil and placed in a deep glass dish. Top with a 5 lb weight. Refrigerate for 48 to 72 hours turning the salmon over every 12 hours.
Remove the salmon from the dish and scrape away the dill and marinade. Pat dry. Place a fillet skin side down onto a cutting surface and using a sharp knife, thinly slice on a diagonal angle to create thin pieces of cured salmon. I’ve found that dark pumpernickel bread goes well with this cured salmon, but you can use most any bread or crackers in your presentation on the pate or other cutting board. I’ve also presented a Dill Mustard Sauce to accompany the fish. To make this sauce, mix together 1 cup of sweet mustard, 1 cup of sour cream, and ½ cup of chopped fresh dill.
Gravlax makes a great presentation dish on your turned upside down pate board!
Enjoy!
Bill Stinson
