Gravlaxsos

[Boybach]

Hi folks have breathed in deeply and am taking the liberty although a mere Newbie to smoking, of posting a recipe for you all to try. For years a lot of my business has been conducted with Norway and every year for 20 odd years we rented a summer house there when our children now 28 and 35 were growing up.
Without fail on our arrival an old local Norwegian fisherman would present us with a wild salmon he would have caught in the local river a couple of 100 yards away. He taught me how to Gravadlax it and how to make a delicious traditional sauce to accompany it. I would like to share this recipe with you as I swear it will be the nicest sauce to accompany either smoked or gravadlaxed salmon you will have ever tasted. It also goes with lots of other smoked fish.
Here goes -

Recipe for Gravlaxsaus

4Tbs Dijon Mustard
4 Tbs Castor Sugar
2 Tbs White wine vinegar
Half tsp Salt and ground pepper
4 Fld ozs Olive oil or mild veg oil
6 Tbs fresh dill roughly chopped but thick stalks removed

Place Mustard Sugar Vinegar Salt and Pepper into processor/liquidiser switch on medium speed and slowly add oil When thickened add Dill  and continue processing until dill is mixed through and finely chopped.

That's all there is to it.(although he told me that before the advent of kitchen processors it would take him about half an hour to make.)
Place a spoonful or so with either your smoked or gravad laxed salmon and just savour the taste, and enjoy with fresh buttered brown bread.

This recipe he told me was at least 150 years old in the 1980's as he was taught it by his grandfather who was still fishing in 1910 at the age of 84 and goodness only knows who taught him.
Hope you like it
Happy eating ;D
Boybach

[manxman]

Looks marvellous BB, perhaps one for the recipe site?  :)

[3rensho]

That does look tasty.  BB, any chance of you parting with your recipe for the gravadlax itself?  I'd love to make some.  I know there are zillions of recipes for it but one from the far north would be great to have. 

Tom

[Boybach]

3Rensho
Certainly but as you said there are zillions of recipes out there all based on the same ingredients. This is the one that the now late Knut Gomnaes taught me all those years ago.

Take either a whole salmon split and boned or a good length of middle cut filleted.
3 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons Castor sugar
3 teaspoons white pepper

Mix together and add a couple of large measures of brandy

Sprinkle quarter of mixture onto a large piece of cling film which will totally cover salmon when wrapped up. Lay one side of salmon skin side down and put three quarters of remaining mixture on top of salmon together with 2 large bunches of dill roughly chopped including. Place other side of salmon on top flesh side down (if using a whole fish lay head to tail) and finally cover with remaining mixture. Wrap tightly in cling film and then wrap in foil. Place in fish kettle or similar and weigh down lightly (I use fish kettle insert with three large cans of baked beans or tomatoes evenly spaced and placed on top of fish)
Leave in refrigerator for three days turning once a day. There is no need to remove any juices which accumulate. After three days unwrap wash off dill salt mixture and dry with paper towel.
At this stage you have made gravad lax and I suggest you slice one up and eat with the sauce given below.
With the other fillet leave to air dry for 2- 3 hours and then oak cold-smoke for 3 hours in BS.
But the essential is to eat either with the sauce. :-*

[Habanero Smoker]

Looks like a good recipe. I had to look up castor sugar to see what that was. Here in the states we call it superfine sugar.

[Boybach]

Hi Habs
Two countries divided by a common language.
superfine sugar I must admit is more graphic and descriptive than castor sugar

[3rensho]

Hi BB,

Many thanks for the recipe.  Here in Switzerland I have no chance to obtain fresh caught salmon >:(  but the next time I see some non-farmed salmon on sale I'll give it a go.  I like the idea of cold smoking a piece too.  I'm getting set up for cold smoking with my OBS.  In the short term I'll make up some of your sauce and buy some gravadlax in the local deli and try it.  Sunday brunch here we go.  ;D ;D


Tom

[Boybach]

Tom
Frozen salmon works a treat, as does ordinary bought fillets. In fact any salmon you can get your hands on. I must admit to using only farmed salmon myself or when I get it freshly caught trout. Should be some of that around in Switzerland eh? Wild salmon is prohibitively expensive in London. Also at risk of making a fool of myself don't forget for real cold-smoking with the OBS you need to follow the John Watkins equipment set-up
Cheers and have a good week-end ;D
BB

[LilSmoker]

Thanks for posting the recipes Boybach, i'm very partial to salmon in all shapes and forms, and various recipes, so next time i get some salmon which should be very soon, i'll definately give this a go. ;)

Thanks..........LilSmoker

[3rensho]

BB,
Thanks for the info on the frozen fish.  May give that a shot although farmed salmon is always available.  I used to catch a fair number of salmon when I lived in the US and regularly vacationed in BC, Canada (camped on Quadra Island)   Yes, we do get trout here that I hot smoke fairly often.  My Dad used to make Swedish sild with excess cutthroats we'd catch.  That's worth looking into as well.  Thanks again.

Tom

[tsquared]

I used to make gravlax fairly often but for some reason have got out of the habit--I don't know why as it is excellent stuff! Thanks for reminding me of an great way to do fish! If you want to try a different way to eat it, I grilled a piece of it after it cured and that was excellent too. (My Norwegian grandfather is turning over in his grave as I write such sacrilege!)
3rensho--I took my boat to Quadra Island a few years ago and camped at the Spit--it blew for a whole week! Couldn't get out to properly give the area a try. Sure is a pretty spot, tho.
T2

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Habs
Two countries divided by a common language.
superfine sugar I must admit is more graphic and descriptive than castor sugar

I missed this post earlier. I enjoy finding out about, and learning new terms for common items we both share.

[coyote]

Looks like a good recipe. I had to look up castor sugar to see what that was. Here in the states we call it superfine sugar.

Thanks for looking that up Habs...I had no clue  :-[ But I think I'll call it castor when I can , and the wait for the..
What the hell is castor response. ;D :D

Coyote

[Boybach]

Hi HS
I concur
I was once presented with the following statement in an English class at about 12 years of age at school in Wales. I was asked to firstly translate it into English and then into Welsh (at that time my first language)
'I took the sidewalk to a drugstore and purchased a popsicle'
I could not do it - it may just as well have been double Dutch
We would have said and indeed would still say
I walked along the pavement to an Ice-Cream Seller and bought an ice lollipop
Purely for your education in Welsh it is
Cerddyd fi i'r siop Is ac prynar ni'r lolli
I also enjoy the idiosyncrasies of our common language and long may they continue.
BB

[Boybach]

Coyote
Don't mix up Castor Sugar for Castor Oil. The latter is a fairly good laxative. sorry I confused you'all ??? ???