Cured Salmon Gravlax Crazy Easy

The beauty of homemade cured salmon is that you can control the salt so it’s not too salty and it’s got a fresh herb flavour that you’ll never get in a packet! Also, don’t miss the stunning Beetroot Cured Salmon!

Gravlax recipe

I’ve made cured salmon gravlax a bunch of times over the years and my results were varied. Never any epic disasters, they were always edible. But sometimes they were over cured, under cured, and the biggest problem I’ve had is over salted salmon. If you’ve invested in a beautiful sashimi-grade piece of salmon, it’s almost criminal if it’s so salty that it overpowers the salmon! If you search around on the internet, you’ll find that the ratios of salmon to salt and sugar and curing times are absolutely all over the place. Some recipes use as much as 750g/1.5lb salt + sugar to 1 kg / 2 lb of salmon. Some recipes use as little as 175g/6oz of salt + sugar. Then curing times range from 12 hours to 3 days. Now finally, I have Cured Salmon Gravlax Recipe that’s a keeper with the right ratio of salt and sugar: The biggest problem with gravlax recipes is that they are usually far too salty!

What does gravlax taste like?

Gravlax tastes like a cross between salmon sashimi (imagine it with the addition of seasoning from salt plus fresh herb flavour), and the smoked salmon slices you buy at stores – but minus the smokey flavour (because smoked salmon is made by smoking salmon). This Cured Salmon Gravlax recipe is perfect. It’s not too salty, the flesh is not overly cured i.e. still nice and moist. But it’s cured enough to be easily sliceable into thin pieces (which is virtually impossible with raw fish). It’s salty enough that you’ll want to eat the slices plain, but not too salty that you’ll need to guzzle a glass of water with every bite. <- Problem I’ve had in the past!

Difference between gravlax and smoked salmon

Smoked salmon and gravlax are actually quite similar in flavour and texture in that they both have a moist, silky texture that is “raw-like”, rather than hard like jerky or cooked. But the big difference is that smoked salmon is made by smoking raw salmon at a low temperature which infuses the salmon which smokey flavour which gravlax does not have. Other than the smokey flavour, they are actually quite similar! In fact, you can use this homemade gravlax in place of smoked salmon in all my smoked salmon recipes, including Salmon Quiche, these Smoked Salmon Appetizer Bites and this Smoked Salmon Dip!

Once you get your hands on fresh salmon, it requires less than 10 minutes effort to prepare salmon gravlax – then just leave it in the fridge!

How long does gravlax keep?

It depends on how much you cure the salmon. I would not keep lightly cured salmon (24 hours) beyond 36 hours at most (just to be safe). Medium cured salmon (36 – 48 hour cure) for 2 days to be safe, but 3 should be fine. Hard cured salmon (3 day cure) can be kept for 5 days.

Can you freeze cured salmon gravlax?

Yes you can, just like you can freeze store bought smoked salmon slices. I keep frozen seafood for up 2 2 months, but 3 months should be fine. Do not freeze gravlax if it was made with previously frozen salmon.

What do serve with gravlax?

It’s typically served on crackers or pumpernickel bread with a sauce. I like using toasted baguette slices with a mustard cream sauce (recipe provided below) with extra fresh dill for serving!

Why make your own Cured Salmon??

Making your own Cured Salmon Gravlax costs a fraction of store bought. But regardless of the savings, the thing with store bought – even from the really good speciality stores – is that it just doesn’t have the same fresh dill flavour and it’s usually too salty, presumably to increase shelf life. Homemade is always best. And in this case, store bought is truly incomparable! You can get sashimi-grade salmon at most fish mongers here in Australia (at least in the coastal areas). That’s the single most important requirement for this recipe. Once you have your salmon, it’s 5 minutes of effort. That’s it. And you’ll have your very own incredible homemade Cured Salmon Gravlax! – Nagi x