Helena's Gravlax

 John and I visited Swedish cousin Helena Rudberg and her husband Bengt Nordin in October 2022.  She made this Gravlax recipe for us and it was delicious. She uses honey in this recipe.

Honey-marinated salmon

 8 servings

You need:

 1.5 kg of salmon from the middle piece (skin on)

1 dl salt (0,4 cups)  decilitre (1/10 of a litre)

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons  honey

1 lemon (grated peel only—no white part)

1 lime (grated peel only)- you can be without, if so use 2 lemons

10 white peppercorns, freshly crushed

 Method:

·       Pull out all the small bones with eg. a tweezer

·       Cut the salmon in 2 equally sized pieces

·       Mix together salt, sugar, honey, lemon and lime zest and pepper. Rub the mixture into the salmon.

·       Place the salmon pieces together with the meat sides facing each other (thin against thick)

·       Wrap them tight in plastic foil and put them in a plastic bag. Seal the bag well. (if you wrap it tight in plastic wrap you don’t need to put something heavy on top, but otherwise put something heavy on top)

·       Leave the salmon in the fridge for about two days. Turn it a few times (morning and evening)  in the meantime.

·       Test if salted enough- otherwise let go one more day

·       Pour off the liquid that has formed around the salmon and cut the salmon into thin slices

Often it is recommended to freeze the salmon for 3-4 days, then thaw  before marinating. I seldom do that, instead I freeze afterwards. Most of the time however, I use the farmed salmon without freezing.

 Some alternatives (for parts or the whole)

T       To the above, add approx. 60-70 g peeled grated fresh ginger

2.    To the above- remove lemon and lime and add instead 1 bouquet of dill ( bits and pieces) and 0,75 dl grated ginger

3.    To the above- remove lemon and lime and add instead 1 bouquet of dill ( bits and pieces)  and 2 tbs juniper, crushed (and you can add a shot of gin!)

4.    Add 2 grated raw red beet-roots (gives nice color)

5.    Add fresh rosemary to the base recipe

Gravlax sauce with honey, dill and black pepper

 Good with the traditional gravad lax but also delicious with raw, sliced, fresh salmon and with the Christmas ham.

 Note : 1 cup (US) = 2,25 dl

 6 portions

2 tbsp Swedish mustard

2 tbsp French light mustard (Dijon)

2 tbsp honey, liquid

1.5 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tbsp black pepper, freshly ground (correct amount)

2 dl oil neutral (not eg olive)  -1 cup

1 dl dill, finely chopped            -0,5 cups

Salt

 Method:

Mix together mustard, vinegar, honey and pepper in a bowl, add the oil in a thin stream while whisking. Fold in the dill and finally mix with a stick blender so that you get the maximum flavor of dill in the sauce, season with salt. If you want a slightly thinner sauce, dilute with a few drops of water.