One of the quiet rituals of my childhood
Every December, just before Sinterklaas or Christmas, my dad would return from Scotland, clothes still smelling of cold air and peat smoke from his hunting trips. In his bag: smoked salmon, and always, always, a slab of graved lax wrapped like a sacred gift.
My mother took it from there. She made the sauces from scratch, the kitchen filling with the smell of dill, mustard, and the kind of anticipation only December can create. While other families decorated their trees or baked cookies, in our house someone was always in charge of the salmon. Without graved lax for me at least the holiday season hadn’t truly beginning
This recipe is my way of carrying that tradition forward.
It’s simple yes, yet it is the kind of dish that sits quietly on the table but makes everything feel like a small celebration. Slice it thin, serve it with honey mustard-dill or horseradish sauce, rye bread, maybe a glass of wine, a cold beer or a small glass of something you reserve for good moments.
Make it ahead. Let it cure.
Let it become part of your winter, the way it became part of mine.
Graved Lax
Equipment
- 1 Pestle and Mortar
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Oven Tray optional
- 1 Vacuum Bag optional
- 1 Weights optional
Ingredients
- 700 grams Side of salmon Fresh and skin on!
- 75 grams Sugar
- 50 grams Salt
- 50 ml Lime juice
- 15 grams dill
- 20 pieces Juniper berries
- 1 tbsp Lime zest
- 35 ml Gin
Instructions
- Make surethe side of salmon is clear of pin bones*. Dry the fish with a paper towel. Mixthe sugar with the salt and the crushed juniper berries. If you use sea saltand courser sugar you can grind it down in a pestle and mortar adding thejuniper berries a couple at a time whilst grinding.
- Take yourbaking tray, make sure the fish van fit in there fully stretched out. Now addthe sugar, salt and juniper berry mix. Spread evenly over the bottom of the baking tray, add the lime juice and gin and mix it in until everything isincorporated. Now you can add the dill and zest of lime. Take your salmon andplace it skin side up in the baking tray. * if using a vacuumbag skip this step and prepare on the cutting board
- Now takesome cling film or baking sheet and position it over the salmon. Take yourweights and place these on top of the baking tray pressing the salmon down. Youdo not need to exert extra force. *if using a vacuumbag place your salmon carefully in the vacuumbag and vacuumseal it on the manual setting of your sealing machine and place in the fridge without weights
- Now placethe salmon with the weights on, in the fridge for at least 24 hours. Up to 48 hours.
- Aftercuring the fish for 24 hours take it out of the fridge and place it skin sidedown on a cutting board. With a very sharp knife carefully slice thin slicesoff the fish under a slight angle, the fish should release from the skin whenyou reach it.
- Keep slicing, adding the sliced pieces to a plate or serving dish.
- To serve, some fresh dill, crème fraiche with horse-radish or a simple honey mustardsauce.
Recent Comments