A goof-proof recipe for Swedish Gravlax, also known as lox or cured salmon. This approach to curing salmon is simple, traditional, and results in the tastiest salmon with beautiful texture.
Trying out food from other cultures is a hobby of mine.
There are only so many burgers and salad you can eat before your belly goes AWOL and demands more interesting food.
You have seen an abundance of Thai, Indian, Moroccan, and (of course) Mexican-inspired recipes on this site, but never have you ever seen a Nordic recipe.
For this reason, I decided to try my hand at Swedish Gravlax, and lemme just tell you: the obsession is real.
Gravlax….what the heck is it?
What is Gravlax?:
Gravlax is cured raw salmon, also known as lox.
You simply take a high-quality sushi grade salmon fillet, pack it with salt, sugar, and dill, wrap it up all tight like you’re swaddling a baby, then let it sit in your refer for two days.
If you’re using a huge piece of salmon, you can cut it in half, pack the top with the salt/sugar/dill and lay the two pieces on top of each other (with the flesh touching) before wrapping it.
You want to be sure you use a sushi-grade or a previously frozen (at -10 degrees F) salmon fillet in order to ensure there are no funky critters (parasites) in the salmon, because it stays raw.
And that’s it! That’s all it takes for an 1.) Swedish-inspired appetizer 2.) Delicious raw recipe and 3.) Brownie points for being utterly completely awesome for curing your own fish.
I enjoyed my gavlax on crackers with cottage cheese and capers, but you can also go the bagel and cream cheese route, or even add the salmon to your morning breakfast or dinner salad.
There are plenty of ways of enjoying this delish dish!
If you love salmon recipes, also check out my Easy Smoked Salmon and my Grilled Salmon Recipe.
Swedish Gravlax Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 bunch fresh dill stems removed
- 1 lb frozen salmon filet thawed
For Serving
- Fun cracker or rustic crusty bread
- Cottage cheese or your favorite soft cheese
- Fresh dill
- Capers
- slices Lime
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix together the salt, sugar, and ground black pepper.
- Rinse and pat dry the salmon fillet and lay it on a long piece of plastic wrap.
- Sprinkle all of the salt/sugar/pepper mixture on top of the salmon fillet.
- Lay the fresh dill on top and tightly (but gently) wrap the salmon so that there is no air inside.
- Place the salmon on a plate and refrigerate for two days.
- Unwrap the salmon and rinse off the salt and sugar and pat the fillet dry. Discard the dill.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the fillet diagonally so that you end up with the widest and longest cuts. Serve these slices by themselves, or on a cracker with capers, dill, and cheese.
Yes! I could totally eat this every single day!
I love your adventurousness!! I might just have to go grab me a bagel now – but I bet it won’t be half as good as your homemade version. Homemade it the ultimate trump card.
The difficulty in making this homemade is the wait time, though…you mean I have to wait 2 days before I can eat it?? C’moooooooooon! Seriously, gravlax are awesome, but the bagel shop around the corner is great, too! 🙂
Wasn’t it so fun to learn about Nordic food? I had a friend from high school from Sweden. He was the sweetest guy. I wish he would have cooked with us more! Thank you for sharing! Another delicious post and a great start to the week. I hope you had a beautiful Monday!
I could live off gravlax for the rest of my life!! This recipe sings to me!!
I’ve always wanted to go to Sweden. I’m a sucker for salmon and dill together and these crackers sound like the perfect snack.
How long can you keep it stored in the fridge after it is cured?
It will keep for up to two weeks as long as it is well-wrapped and refrigerated 🙂
You can also freeze the cured salmon for several months.
A more traditional way to serve the Gravlax is with Gravlax sauce and a crispy white Swedish bread. A terrific alternative to the bread is Matzoh
which is a Jewish bread found in many countries (as opposed to Swedish “tunnbrod”)
This will obviously be washed down with a very cold beer…
Mums!! (That’s “yummy” in Swedish!)
This is awesome!! Love the little lesson and jeez. these bites are awesome! Love all the dill with the salmon!