Gravlax is fresh salmon that’s been cured with a combination of salt and sugar. It’s arguably the ultimate easy-to-make luxury food in the world! This homemade Cured Salmon Gravlax recipe can be made with a small fillet or whole side of salmon, and costs a fraction of store bought.
The beauty of homemade cured salmon is that you can control the salt so it’s not too salty and it’s got a fresh herb flavour that you’ll never get in a packet! Also, don’t miss the stunning Beetroot Cured Salmon!
Gravlax recipe
I’ve made cured salmon gravlax a bunch of times over the years and my results were varied. Never any epic disasters, they were always edible. But sometimes they were over cured, under cured, and the biggest problem I’ve had is over salted salmon.
If you’ve invested in a beautiful sashimi-grade piece of salmon, it’s almost criminal if it’s so salty that it overpowers the salmon!
If you search around on the internet, you’ll find that the ratios of salmon to salt and sugar and curing times are absolutely all over the place. Some recipes use as much as 750g/1.5lb salt + sugar to 1 kg / 2 lb of salmon. Some recipes use as little as 175g/6oz of salt + sugar. Then curing times range from 12 hours to 3 days.
Now finally, I have Cured Salmon Gravlax Recipe that’s a keeper with the right ratio of salt and sugar:
Salmon Gravlax formula
Equal parts salt + sugar (combined) 50% of the weight of the salmon. Coat, leave 24 hours for lightly cured, 36 hours for medium (this is what I do) and 48 hours for hard cure.
The biggest problem with gravlax recipes is that they are usually far too salty!
What does gravlax taste like?
Gravlax tastes like a cross between salmon sashimi (imagine it with the addition of seasoning from salt plus fresh herb flavour), and the smoked salmon slices you buy at stores – but minus the smokey flavour (because smoked salmon is made by smoking salmon).
This Cured Salmon Gravlax recipe is perfect. It’s not too salty, the flesh is not overly cured i.e. still nice and moist. But it’s cured enough to be easily sliceable into thin pieces (which is virtually impossible with raw fish). It’s salty enough that you’ll want to eat the slices plain, but not too salty that you’ll need to guzzle a glass of water with every bite. <- Problem I’ve had in the past!
Difference between gravlax and smoked salmon
Smoked salmon and gravlax are actually quite similar in flavour and texture in that they both have a moist, silky texture that is “raw-like”, rather than hard like jerky or cooked. But the big difference is that smoked salmon is made by smoking raw salmon at a low temperature which infuses the salmon which smokey flavour which gravlax does not have.
Other than the smokey flavour, they are actually quite similar! In fact, you can use this homemade gravlax in place of smoked salmon in all my smoked salmon recipes, including Salmon Quiche, these Smoked Salmon Appetizer Bites and this Smoked Salmon Dip!
Salmon Gravlax FAQ
Can you make gravlax with frozen salmon?
Yes you can, as long as you use high quality salmon (ie don’t use vac packed salmon from the supermarket that’s been sitting around for days or box packet frozen salmon from Costco or Aldi). Freeze it yourself to -10°F / -23°C for at least a week, or use commercial frozen salmon from a reputable fish monger.
How long does gravlax keep?
It depends on how much you cure the salmon. I would not keep lightly cured salmon (24 hours) beyond 36 hours at most (just to be safe). Medium cured salmon (36 – 48 hour cure) for 2 days to be safe, but 3 should be fine. Hard cured salmon (3 day cure) can be kept for 5 days.
Can you freeze cured salmon gravlax?
Yes you can, just like you can freeze store bought smoked salmon slices. I keep frozen seafood for up 2 2 months, but 3 months should be fine. Do not freeze gravlax if it was made with previously frozen salmon.
What do serve with gravlax?
It’s typically served on crackers or pumpernickel bread with a sauce. I like using toasted baguette slices with a mustard cream sauce (recipe provided below) with extra fresh dill for serving!
Once you get your hands on fresh salmon, it requires less than 10 minutes effort to prepare salmon gravlax – then just leave it in the fridge!
Why make your own Cured Salmon??
Making your own Cured Salmon Gravlax costs a fraction of store bought. But regardless of the savings, the thing with store bought – even from the really good speciality stores – is that it just doesn’t have the same fresh dill flavour and it’s usually too salty, presumably to increase shelf life.
Homemade is always best. And in this case, store bought is truly incomparable!
You can get sashimi-grade salmon at most fish mongers here in Australia (at least in the coastal areas). That’s the single most important requirement for this recipe.
Once you have your salmon, it’s 5 minutes of effort.
That’s it. And you’ll have your very own incredible homemade Cured Salmon Gravlax! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Cured Salmon Gravlax recipe video! (You’ll be amazed how easy it is!)
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Cured Salmon Gravlax (it’s so easy!)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp white peppercorns (whole) (Note 1)
- 1 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped (1 big bunch)
- 250g / 8 oz rock salt (Note 2)
- 250g / 8 oz white sugar (Note 3)
- 1 kg / 2 lb salmon, sashimi-grade, bones removed and skin on (Note 4)
Mustard Cream Sauce
- 1/2 cup / 125 ml heavy / thickened cream
- 1/3 cup Dijon Mustard (or hot mustard if you want a kick)
- 2 tsp Mustard Powder
- Salt and pepper
To Serve
- Rye bread slices or other bread/crackers (Note 5)
- Lemon wedges
- 1/4 cup fresh dill, roughly chopped (for garnish)
Instructions
- Crush peppercorns with the side of a knife (or roughly grind using mortar and pestle).
- Combine peppercorns with salt, sugar and dill.
- Place 2 large pieces of cling wrap on a work surface, slightly overlapping. Spread half the salt mixture in the shape of the salmon.
- Place salmon on salt, skin side down. Top with remaining salt mixture.
- Wrap with cling wrap. Place in a large dish. Top with something flat (like small cutting board) then 3 x 400g / 14oz cans (“Weights”).
- Refrigerate for 12 hours. There will be liquid in the dish. Turn salmon over (will be gloopy/wet)), then replace Weights and return to fridge. After another 12 hours, turn salmon over again, replace Weights. After another 12 hours, remove salmon from fridge. 36 hours total for Medium Cure – Perfect Gravlax to my taste (See Note 2 for description and more curing times).
- Unwrap salmon, scrape off salt then rinse. Pat dry. If time permits, return to the fridge for 3 – 12 hours uncovered (dries surface better, lets salt “settle” and permeate through flesh more evenly).
- Sprinkle over the 1/4 cup extra dill – for garnish and flavour.
- Slice thinly on an angle, do not cut through skin (i.e. don’t eat skin). Serve with toasted bread, Mustard Sauce, extra dill and lemon wedges.
!Mustard Sauce
- Mix ingredients, making sure to season with salt and pepper. It should taste like a creamy mustard – a touch of tartness, but mostly to add moisture to the dish. You can add lemon juice and/or zest if you wish – I like to serve with wedges so people can adjust to their taste.
Recipe Notes:
* COARSE SALT / KOSHER SALT: 24 hours = Medium Cure, 36 hours will be between Medium and Hard Cure, 48 hours+ will be Hard Cure. Surface will be cured more (ie firmer, drier surface) than using Rock Salt because finer grains penetrate more. Highly recommend resting minimum 12, preferably 24 hours before serving – saltiness will distribute more evenly. CURING STRENGTH:
* Medium Cure (my preference) = surface is fairly firm and not too salty, inside is lightly cured, still moist (but not raw, it’s cured). Seasoned enough to eat slices plain.
* Hard Cure = surface is quite firm (like a soft jerky) and quite well seasoned, inside is slightly firmer and pretty well seasoned. Contrast between surface and inside more prominent. I find this a touch salty for my taste but is still way less salty than store bought. 3. Sugar, like salt, draws moisture from the flesh and cures it but makes it sweet rather than salty. Using normal sugar rather than superfine / caster sugar ensures that the salmon doesn’t get too sweet (i.e. caster sugar penetrates salmon quicker). The right salt and sugar combination is key to controlling the saltiness of Gravlax while still achieving the “cured” effect and without making it too sweet! 4. Please ensure you use SASHIMI-GRADE salmon. I always ask, even if the sign says that! Nowadays in Australian coastal areas, sashimi-grade salmon is quite common at local fish mongers. Skin-on salmon means that the skin side is cured slightly less, however, for me, I prefer skin-on for this exact reason plus it’s easier to carve. SMALLER FILLETS: The beauty of this recipe is that a little goes a long way! So you don’t need to use a whole side of salmon, you can make this with a small fillet. However, if you get one smaller than 500g/1lb, then you’ll need to increase the salt/sugar ratio to the weight of the salmon to ensure there’s enough to cover the surface area. For a 300g/10oz piece, rather than using 150g/5oz combined salt/sugar, use around 210g/7oz (this is what I measured when I did a test using a smaller piece). I don’t recommend going smaller than 300g/10oz because the width of the salmon will become too narrow and it will probably end up too salty. 5. Rye bread is the classic type to serve with Gravlax but it suits any bread or plain crackers. While some recipes recommend Pumpernickel Bread, I personally find that the flavour overwhelms the salmon. 6. EXTRAS: Some Gravlax recipes use lemon. Just add the zest of 1 – 2 lemons to the salt cure. This recipe is a classic one that doesn’t use zest. 7. STORAGE: With the 36 hour cure, this salmon keeps for 3 days. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container. 8. SERVINGS: A little goes a long way with this recipe! It will comfortable serve 10 people as a starter. That’s generous! 9. Nutrition is difficult with homemade Gravlax because I have no way of determining how much salt is infused into the flesh. So I’ve used a store bought Gravlax nutrition which is no doubt saltier than this recipe makes!
10. Recipe adapted from salmon curing guidance courtesy of Chef Massimo Mele. With my thanks for enduring my endless questions!!!Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Fishing for salmon. Not. (There was a stick floating in the water. 🙄 And also a twig hanging off his privates???!!?)
Hi Nagi. How sweet is the finished product? If I am to achieve the fresh, briney, and savory taste of well cured grav laks, what is the recommended sugar and salt ratio? Thank you.
I think it’s a matter of personal taste. I prefer less sugar so the ratio I used for 1lb of salmon was 175g salt to 150g sugar. It was still on the sweeter side so I will be experimenting further. I hope this helps!
so delicious! i cured sashimi-grade scottish salmon for about 45 hours, and added a bit of smoked maldon salt to himalayan rock salt in the mix. turned out perfect. thank you for this simple and beautiful recipe! will try adding juniper berries next time
Hi Nagi!
Thank you for this lovely recipe – uncomplicated and yet allows me to serve up some posh nosh to guests!
Thank you for this lovely recipe
Thank you. Love this equally proportional recipe. Used wild Alaska salmon, and added some crushed juniper berries. Served with a dusting of Meyer lemon zest and wedges on side, ooh la la! Your recipe is delicious.
Excellent result first time!
I used your recipe to make grav lax, but the end product was not salty enough. I have some left and want to “rescue” it. Can you help me?
Love your take on gravlax!
My secret tip for weighting is to buy a 10 lb barbell weight. They are round and cover the salmon well and are much easier to remove for turning than several heavy cans.
I make gravlax twice a month so this purchase made sense for me-perhaps it will as well for some of your readers.
Thanks!
My mom was from Sweden, and we used to have gravlax on occasion, but always something she got from a Scandinavian store. I really grew to like it, and decided to make this for Christmas Eve this year since we don’t have any Scandinavian food stores around here.
First time I’ve tried making anything like this, and the result was perfection! No hidden “gotchas”, just follow the recipe as written and you won’t go wrong.
how many cups is 8oz of salt and sugar? thank you!!
8oz = 1 cup.
Easy to follow recipe and the result was perfect! I had 500g of salmon and used the same amount of salt-sugar-dill as the recipe and it still worked. Great to find a recipe that doesn’t use alcohol and tastes just as good 🙂
So delicious, highly recommend, thank you!
Hi Nagi,
It is in the fridge now, cant wait to have this on Christmas morning. Gravalax is my favourite, besides it being expensive to buy I also find it difficult to find. So excited about this! Thanks again. Merry Christmas x
Hi Nagi,
What BRAND of rock salt do you use? This IS first time I came across This term.
Thanks, and Merry Christmas!
Hi Ben, I use Saxa brand but any brand will be fine. N x
Hi Nagi,
Loved your recipe and made it several times over. One quick question: What’s your method of thickening the heavy cream for the sauce?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Hi Harry, I’m not sure what you mean – the sauce is slightly runny – all you need to do is combine the sauce ingredients together 🙂 N x
In the measurements it mentioned heavy/thickened cream so I thought it had to be
thickened by simmering, adding starch etc.
Thanks a bunch again and keep up the great work Nagi. You’re my #1 chef! 🙂
I loved the simplicity to make this recipe. For me, it was a bit too sweet. Do I’m trying to experiment with a different salt-sugar ratio. I also had only half of the salmon as in the recipe. It was a flatter piece already before starting. I also put it in the backup fridge for the first 12 hrs., which tents to freeze the portion closest to the back wall. I also used regular salt. Nevertheless the outcome was pleasant and definitely recommended to make yourself, whether for holidays, special occasions or just because.
Love your recipes! This week used your Chow Mein at school; worked a treat. And here I am , a Viking in NZ, using your recipe for gravlax! Hilarious! but thank you!
I want medium cure. I read that this is 36 hours. Do I understand correctly that I should use rock salt and not coarse or kosher salt for this?
Hi Ken, yes 36 hours with rock salt for medium cure (as per the recipe) or if using COARSE SALT / KOSHER SALT: 24 hours = Medium Cure, 36 hours will be between Medium and Hard Cure, 48 hours+ will be Hard Cure. N x
Thanks!
Your gravlax sounds interesting, but am curious why you don’t use gin, vodka or aquavit? I thought it’s an essential ingredient.
Couldn’t get to store for fresh dill.so I used dill seed I use for bread..trust it will work.Also added liquid smoke .simply recipe I’ve made many times. Thoughts about seed.
Hi Frederick, I prefer fresh dill for the light, fresh flavour it gives. I’m sure you could use dill seed, you’d need to grind it down though. N x
Does it have to be skin-on? I just bought some and mistakenly, it’s skinless.
Hi Jessica, I prefer skin on as it’s easier to carve but skinless will work fine too! N x
I’ve always cured my salmon skin off to enable me to get a really good cure but more importantly, to enable me to easily get rid of the metal tasting boodline in the salmon.
Awesome! Can’t wait to make it tomorrow!
I started cooking this about 2 months ago. It is AMAZING and SOOOOO easy!
Another brilliantly articulated recipe with no skill or experience required.
The key is obviously sourcing super fresh salmon and ideally have the fish filleted in the shop. As a tip I ask for a whole side of salmon with belly and tail off. This usually results in a 1.2-1.4kg side. The benefit of asking for a whole side of sashimi grade is that they will most often fillet a new fish for you.
A chef friend tells me that Thursday is the best day to purchase from the fish wholesalers because they are getting in fresh fish for the restaurant weekend trade.
Very little effort in and a great result at the other end.
Congratulations again Nagi on a superlative recipe.
Hi Nagi! How do I use frozen salmon?
Also are rock salt and Pink Salt #1 The same? If not can we still use the recipe as is with Pink Salt #1?
Thank you so awesome a website!
Hi Lo, if you live somewhere where you are confident the salmon is flash frozen so it’s really fresh, then it’s fine to use! I know you can get high quality fresh frozen salmon from Canada and Scotland but it’s not available here where I live, Here in Australia, I only recommend using frozen fish for curing and raw purposes (like ceviche, tartare, poke bowls) ONLY if the fish is specifically labelled as “sashimi grade” (which you can get at Japanese grocery stores and some high end fish shops). Also, pink salt comes in different forms (just like regular salt – so as long as it’s in rock salt form, it will be fine to use. Hope that helps!