Gravlax (cold smoked)

[Caneyscud]

I'm with 3rensho and KyNola - like it with a splash of gin.  And as 3rensho says, I think it is the juniper taste that it brings.  Have been wanting to do my next batch with juniper berries, but afraid of ruining $20 of salmon with too much juniper.  I recall seeing some recipes that also use lemon added or garlic added or with cilantro or rosemary sprigs or thyme sprigs.  The lemon or the garlic I'd buy off on, but not sure on the cilantro or the rosemary.  

The origins and the country of origin of lox and gravlox are different.  Lox the word is simply Yiddish for salmon - Lachs is German for salmon.  Lox is generally wet cured while gravlox is usually dry cured.  Lox, likely started life as a way to ship Pacific Salmon to the East Coast.  In the days of train transportation, or slower forms, the salmon had to be preserved.  So the packers would pack the salmon in barrels in brine.  When the Delis of the East Coast received it, they just washed it, sliced it and sold it.  For some reason the Nova Scotians did somewhat the same, to get their Atlantic Salmon to the markets in New York.  Their technique included a lighter brine and smoking - Nova Lox.  In the British Isles they had a Scotch cured "lox" - the scotch in the name cure meaning the addition of sugar in the cure.  

The origins of Gravlox is much less lip smacking. It's pre anglicized name is Gravad Laks.  Gravad means grave.  Supposedly, fishermen of Northern Europe in the Middle Ages would bury their catch in holes on the beach and let it ferment before eating - yummy!  Sure glad someone changed the technique!  Usually dry cured with herbs and not smoked.  

Hot smoked or smoke cooked salmon and the dried and smoke salmon are different things altogether.  

Oh and you ain't lived until you've eaten a lox quiche.  

[Paddlinpaul]

Smoked lox and any thing egg is great. I add it to egg salad sandwiches, puree it with the egg yokes in deviled eggs. My all time favorite breakfast is eggs benedict made with the back bacon subbed with smoked salmon. The hollandaise sauce goes great with it.

[azamuner73]

Scandinavian style lox uses Akvavit instead of vodka.  I'd like to try it but they don't sell Akvavit around here.

For me, I've only tried it cured and not smoked.  I use a 2:1 ratio of sugar to salt since I like it a little sweet.
It tastes great with a little cream cheese on a cracker or fresh baquette.

[3rensho]

Lox chopped up in scrambled eggs is terrific!  The company I used to work for had an offices in Stockholm and Oslo and I've downed my share of Akvavit - but, personally I'd just as soon drink paint thinner.  It helps to be drunk when you start drinking it.   ;D ;D ;D

[azamuner73]

Lox chopped up in scrambled eggs is terrific!  The company I used to work for had an offices in Stockholm and Oslo and I've downed my share of Akvavit - but, personally I'd just as soon drink paint thinner.  It helps to be drunk when you start drinking it.   ;D ;D ;D

That bad is it?  I guess I won't worry about it then.   :D

[3rensho]

Well, it's not a hit with me but that may be a simple matter of taste.  It you can get your hands on a pint don't hesitate to give it a try.

[dribron]

I enjoy making it with orange, lemon and lime zest in addition to the dill salt and sugar.

[RAF128]

Akvavit.....I remember some 35 years ago.   We had just moved into out new house and were putting in the turf.   I had just broken my leg and a bunch of neighbors pitch in to help.   When we were done we went in to have a few drinks.   The neighbors from across the street were Swedish.   He went home and came back with an ice cold bottle of Akvavit and a big jar of pickled hearings.    Head and inerds off but the rest whole.  The Akvavit was stored in his freezer and looked thick and sweet(it wasn't ;))   He explained that what you do is pop the hearing in your mouth, hold the tail and bite the rest off.   Flip the tail in the air and then wash the hearing down with the Akvavit.   At first I wasn't sure about this but after a few got into.    My wife too :D.   Everyone in the house was doing it.    The next morning I walked into the dining room and the ceiling was covered in fish tails.   The stuff he had was Swedish and all I could find was Norwegian.   Didn't seem the same.   That's the last time I ever drank that.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

The Dutch do about the same Herring thing with their national distilled beverage, Jenever (the J is soft).  Jenever is basically gin but the Juniper and other flavorings are much more pronounced.  There's usually a bottle or two lying around here that the inlaws have brought over.  One of these days I am going to have to try curing Gravlax with it.  with Jenever you distinguish between the young, colorless stuff (jonge) and the golden aged old stuff (oude).

[Quarlow]

And if you drink too much Jenever want to wake up cause your head is pounding like someone is crushing juniper berries on your skull, right. The J is soft till you get enough in ya. :D :D :D

[BuyLowSellHigh]

And if you drink too much Jenever want to wake up cause your head is pounding like someone is crushing juniper berries on your skull, right. The J is soft till you get enough in ya. :D :D :D

Been there, done that.   8)  Sounds like you have too!   ;D

[Quarlow]

Yeah on the fishboats. When we got a harbour day cause of the weather as many boats as could fit into a tiny little bay would cram in and you would think someone opened a liquor store and restaurant. We had this one place called Freeman pass and you could comfortably put ten boats in it moored normally. But on a harbour day we would have 60 boats all rafted together to where you could walk from one boat to the next and bow to stern also. It was always flat calm in there so no worries about boats bumping around. Most of the fun was on the Swedes or Norwegians boats. If you were lucky the storm would last a couple of days and the party never stopped.

[BuyLowSellHigh]

The drinkenest (is that a word ?) folks I ever spent time with were the Finns.  I tried to keep up with them for two days in Finland.  That was about 16 years ago.  I think my liver may be back to near normal about now, but I 'm still not sure.

[jacldog47]

My wife made a great Gravlax for Christmas Brunch, and we saved half for New Years. I simply cold smoked the uneaten half for 40 minutes in my Bradley with Alder Biscuits a couple of days later. It added a very subtle smoky favor. Next time, I will try the cold smoking maybe twice as long. Any suggestions.

[Smokeville]

My wife made a great Gravlax for Christmas Brunch, and we saved half for New Years. I simply cold smoked the uneaten half for 40 minutes in my Bradley with Alder Biscuits a couple of days later. It added a very subtle smoky favor. Next time, I will try the cold smoking maybe twice as long. Any suggestions.

Welcome to the forum!

I've never had success with cold smoking cured salmon. It tastes so good without the smoke I gave up trying....

However, if you want a treat, use rainbow trout instead of salmon when you make gravlax. Technically, it is no longer called gravlax (buried salmon) but Gravørred (buried trout).... pronounced grav-urrrd.

Rich