Citrus Cured Salmon (Gravlax)

By Foodiewife

I don't eat much sushi, because I have a fear of eating raw fish. This recipe is a whole different animal. A whole piece of salmon is cured with salt, sugar and citrus zest (with added dill for more flavor). After 24 hours, the salmon has been cured and is perfectly safe to eat. It's also delicious. More details on my blog, "www.AFeastfortheEyes.net". Recipe very slightly adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 1 cup coarse salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon orange zest, freshly grated
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest, freshly grated
• 1 teaspoon lime zest, freshly grated
• 2 tablespoons dried dill (optional but this is key for gravlax)
• 1 (2 to 3-pound) skin-on salmon fillet, pin bones removed and very thin pieces of flesh trimmed NOTE: buy quality and fresh salmon. I used one pound of salmon

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 1455mins
Adapted from afeastfortheeyes.net

Preparation

Step 1

In a small bowl, stir salt and sugar to combine. In another small bowl, combine orange, lemon and lime zest; set aside. NOTE: I'd mix all of these ingredients together, as adding the zest separately made it stick to the fish. No biggie, but one extra step that I felt was necessary.

Place a sheet of parchment paper-lined aluminum foil, large enough to extend beyond the length of the salmon, on work surface. Spread one-third the salt mixture in center of parchment-lined foil; place salmon skin-side down on salt bed. Sprinkle zest mixture evenly over salmon (see note above) and top with remaining salt mixture; salmon should be completely covered.

Fold foil up to contain salt; place a second sheet of parchment paper-lined aluminum foil over salmon and firmly crimp sheets together to form a tight package in which salt mixture is in contact with all surfaces of salmon. Transfer salmon packet to a baking sheet. Set a pan or large dish on top of salmon; top with cans or bricks to weight down. Transfer to refrigerator; refrigerate for 24 hours.

Unwrap salmon and remove it from salt mixture. Rinse salmon and pat dry using paper towels. Set salmon on a rack or paper towel-lined tray and refrigerate 8 to 24 hours more.

To serve: slice very thinly. Make canapés of piped cream cheese over a thin slice of cucumber, top with salmon and chives. Or, enjoy with a bagel and cream cheese.