Smoked Gravlox/gravlax

[Swe.Smoker]

Hi ppl.

I am a new guy here who use the bradley and am qutie pleased with it :)

I am a fishdude so i mainly smoke that. Now i have begun to piece together my late fathers recipie as he wrote down very little of what he knew.

Anyway, he made an awsome hot smoked gravlox. My friends over here says i´m nutty to make something like that but they have never tried it either.

This means you make ordinary gravlox first, rinse ande apply whatever you like to it and smoke it very gently up to temp.

The first batch is going in within the hour and i´ll report back on the result. My question is if anyone here have ever made it and if so could come with a few hints along my way?

Btw great forum and the ppl here seem very nice.

//Swe

[TestRocket]

Welcome Swe,

I don't do fish but there are several members that do. So you should be able to get help before too long.

Welcome again and good luck!

[3rensho]

Hi Swe,  Welcome to the forum.  I make gravlax and cold smoked salmon regularly but have never hot smoked the gravlax.  Next time I might cold smoke some.  Looking forward to your results and the pictures.

[Smokeville]

Hi Swe.Smoker;

I make lots of gravlax, but I have never smoked it. I tried cold smoking the salmon before I cold cured it, but that was an experiment I wouldn't repeat.

Please let us know how it turns out. I'd love to try it if you don't mind sharing your father's recipe.

Also, is there anything extraordinary about your gravlax? I take it you are from Swedish background and I'll bet you know a lot about it! My recipe is just plain old salt, sugar and dill for 3 days in the fridge turning every 12 hours....

Regards, Rich

[Swe.Smoker]

Thanx to all for the quick replies.

And yes i am from sweden to clarify some future "wierd" tastes and such :)

Well extroardinary is all a matter of what we are used to isn´t it?

The most common recipie for curing a Gravlox in sweden are equal amounts of sugar and salt. crushed white peppercorns and lots of dill. Dill is an ingredient that is used for many of "our" specialities like crawfish, them we boil in salt,sugar,water,beer and a ton of dill :)

Regaarding this recipie i will gladly share it as i imagine there are not that many swedes on here. And the pictures is coming very soon, i imagine 2-3 hours more now as the finished product will be somewhere between grav/smoked and i dont want any of them to overpower the other.

Thanx again everyone.

[KyNola]

You might want to check out the recipe website.  There are several renditions of smoked gravlox on there. www.susanminor.org

Welcome to the forum BTW!

[beefmann]

welcome to the forum and there is a lot of good information here

[mikeradio]

Welcome  Swe.Smoker

I made Lox all the time, It is cold smoked and turns incredible.  If you add any heat to Lox
it changes the Lox into smoke salmon with more of a cooked salmon texture.

Enjoy the fourm

Mike

[Smokeville]

Yes, my version of gravlax is the same, except for black peppercorns instead of white. I'll have to try that.

I also do trout gravlax as I am allergic to salmon.

BTW, do you put weights on the fillets as they cure? Some say yes and some say no. I have done that, and it makes the gravlax somewhat dense. This time I'm trying it without weights.

[RAF128]

My recipe is basically the same.   Only other thing I put on the fish is several oz. of Vodka.

[Swe.Smoker]

Well ppl first batch out and second on cure to enhance som issues.

Yes the whole idea of adding the heat is just to chance the structure of the meat thats the only reason i am adding that element. This if made properly will be a product somewhat in between the both.

To how i do the curing, i prefer to add weights on the fish as i am always aiming for a pretty dense structure. I find it to my liking over the slices of fish that was not weight down.

So what did i think about the first batch? The test panel (4 friends) prefered this version to my regular hotsmoked salmon by far. I wasnt really pleased with the structure and have added a little more weight and arranged the fish dirrent in the container this time. The taste however was just a split hair from what i wanted so call me lucky and hand me a lottery ticket :)

No pictures though, the wife couldnt find the camera while there was still anything to take a picture of. On the other hand, the second batch aint far away so i´ll do that a little more serious with a secuence of photos so you can see how crazy i am :)

[Gizmo]

Welcome Swe.Smoker,
Well I am not Swedish but my dad had the nick name of "The Tall Swede" when he was in Office for the VFW.
Even though we are with you, I suspect your local countrymen are few on the site.

My recipe is basically the same.   Only other thing I put on the fish is several oz. of Vodka.

I just bought a used cook book with a Ginger Gravlox recipe in it using Vodka.  Haven't tried it yet but looking forward to it.

[Smokeville]

My recipe is basically the same.   Only other thing I put on the fish is several oz. of Vodka.

Hi RAF128;

How many ounces per pound do you use?

What happens to the taste and texture?

Thanks, Rich

[RAF128]

I've never measured.    I just carefully pour it on the flesh and try to cover it all without washing off the spices.   If I had to guess it 2 - 3 oz.  for a couple of fillets.

[azamuner73]

I've only done the non-smoked gravlox myself.  A 1:1 ratio of sugar and salt works nice but you can alter it if you like it more sweet or saltier.  The 3 days of turning it in the fridge and then it comes out like candy.

Dang it!  Now I have to go and make some cuz I'm craving it  :D

Looking forward to seeing your results there Swe.Smoker