Steelhead Gravadlox

[Tilla]

Has anyone ever done this with Steelhead? We did this once before with steelhead and it turned out well. The recipes are for Salmon but still it works anyway.
We use fresh dill, cognac,sugar,white pepper, allspice, and kosher salt. Turn it twice over 36-48 hrs. Drain at the end.
Get some hardtack crackers, cream cheese, capers, onions and a beverage and you are on a Scandanavian chowfest!
Any other salt cured epicurean treats out there?

[Fishalot]

Tilla where can a guy get a Steelhead ? I don't have any left. I need to get out there and fish :rolleyes: I went in the afternoon on Monday and had one hook up, I am almost sure it was a Nook the leader must of had a nick or the teeth got to it. On the secound run the fish rolled a few times and Bang it was off :depressed: .
Talk to you later.

Fishalot

[Empire]

Yum! Also try halibut gravad. Same recipe for salmon.

I had never thought to try it until they served it on a cruise. I was hooked (no pun intended).

[Snapset]

Steelhead gravlox is a Christmas tradition in our house. After I filet a fish, I can often get a nice long thin slice of meat off the bones above the spine. This piece works great for the salt/dill/white pepper cure.

[fishing is life]

Tilla, would you mind sharing one of your recipes? That sounds like my kind of fare. And have you ever gotten sick? Any other pointers are appreciated. :cheers:

[SailCat]

Here's mine. Four pounds of this stuff vanished at an Easter Brunch. The sweet mustard sauce is excellent. Be certain to use fresh dill all around.

Gravlax:
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 36-48 hours

3 to 3 1/2 pounds center cut fresh salmon (1 salmon, split lengthwise, backbone and small bones removed, skin on)
2/3 cup coarse (kosher) salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons coarsely ground peppercorns
Large bunch fresh dill

Sweet Mustard Sauce:
4 tablespoons seasoned Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dry mustard
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoon finely chopped dill


Place one half, skin side down, in a large dish or casserole in which it can lie flat. Combine the salt, sugar and peppercorns and rub the flesh of the salmon very well with this mixture. Place the dill on top. Rub the rest of the salt-sugar-peppercorn mixture into the flesh of the second piece of salmon and place over the dill, skin side up, re-forming the salmon shape. Cover salmon with foil, then put a board or a large plate on top and weigh this down with canned goods. Refrigerate for 36 to 48 hours, turning the salmon over each day so that it cures evenly and basting with the liquid that accumulated from the curing process. Each time, weigh it down again. About 4 hours before the fish is done, make the sweet mustard sauce. To make the sauce, put the mustards, sugar, vinegar and oil in a small bowl and beat with a whisk until it has the consistency of a thin mayonnaise (the mustard thickens the liquid). Mix in the dill and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours before serving to let the flavors mellow. At the end of the curing time, remove the fish from the liquid, scrape away the dill and the seasonings and dry it well in paper towels. To serve, place on a carving board and slice on the diagonal, detaching the flesh from the skin as you do. Serve with the sweet mustard sauce and buttered rye bread.

~MT
The Guide's Forecast (http://www.theguidesforecast.com)

[JohnB]

My Favorite!!!! Been using this recipe for several years and get rave reivews each time it is served. Also included a recipe for hor d'oerves made with the lox.

This is a slight variation of a Martha Stewart recipe for lox. -- She may be going to jail, but she sure is a great crook....er I mean cook!


Filet one medium sized salmon. Pull out the pin bones with tweezers. Leave the skin on.

Mix
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup salt
1/4 cup vodka
4 tbs of caraway seeds slightly roasted

Lay one salmon filet in a large glass pan. cover with the mix. Then cover that with a generous amount of fresh dill, not dried stuff. Then put the other filet on top of that so you make a "sandwich" with the mixture touching the meat and the skin-side out on top and bottom.

Weigh it down with something like several plates.

Put in refrigerator for 12 hours. Gently take the filet sandwich out of the pan and wrap it in plastic wrap. Clean out the pan. Then flip the sandwich over, re-apply the weight, and put back in the frig for 12 hours.

Flip every 12 hrs for total of 3 days.

When complete, brush off the mix of stuff -- dont rinse with water.

Put the filets in your smoker and run one pan of chips thru. Total smoke time less than 1 hour. and as cool of conditions as possible, (out side and at nite?), so the smoker doesnt get hot.

Slice real thin and you now have some of the best tasting cold smoked salmon Ive ever had!!!

Ive been using this recipe for years and to me the key is the "fresh" dill and the caraway seeds. I particularly like this recipe because it DOESNT use heavy spices which to me tend to overpower the taste of the fish. These subtle flavors with just a hint of smoke flavor, enhance the taste of the fish, not replace it.

One more thing -- How to make great hors d-oerves with the above smoked salmon.

Ingredients:
wheat thins or other thin cracker.
cucumber
Fresh chives
cream cheese
cold smoked salmon sliced very thin (from above recipe)


Makes great finger food as follows;

Serrate the outside of the cucumber, then cut into very thin slices. Place cucumber slice on top of cracker.

Next take a small dab (teapsoon size) of cream cheese and wrap it with the salmon slice.
You can hold the slice together with a toothpick id you like. Place the tube of salmon/cheese on top of the cucumber.

Garnish with two or three 2 inch long spears of chives stuck into the cream cheese.

Very simple to make but has a wonderful taste and rich presentation appearance. Your guests will rave, guaranteed, especially when you tell them that you caught and smoked the salmon yourself!!!

[reeldick]

That did it. I'm leaving work early to go home and put a salmon fillet on the grill. You guys made me really hungry. No gravlax at home so salmon will do.

[Tilla]

FIL-
8 lbs of Salmon (Steelhead)
2/3 cup of Kosher/Rock Salt
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon whole allspice crushed
1 tablespoon whole white pepper crushed
1/2-3/4 cup Cognac
2 bunches of dill
Leave skin on but take bone out. Rub spices on fish. Sprinkle with cognac. Lay down 1/2 dill on bottom of glass pan, place salmon skin side down on dill. Place other 1/2 on top. (Or do two halves facing inward and use dill in 3rds) We put a clean board on top and a large weight on top of that. (Wrapped chunk of concrete) Refrigerate. After 36-48 hours, drain and remove dill and spices. (If it is too salty rinse a bit) Serve with cream cheese, hardtack, capers, chopped onion, etc and or Mustard sauce.
My grandfather used to make salt salmon in a ceramic bowl using layers of rock salt, dill, brown sugar with a weight on top and put it in a back room for a few days. It seems to need rinsing but quite nice on buttered Rye hardtack. I think its one of those lost Finnish arts.

[Jacks or Better]

I knew there had to be a good Scandahoovian recipe out there somewhere. My grandmother always talked about lutefisk, but my dad said he'd never make it after tasting it. Never got to try it, but this stuff sounds good. Had kin from Norway come to a reunion in North Dakota two years ago, so will email a cousin and see what her take is on gravlax. Hope she doesn't tell me it's short for gravlaxative. :wink:

[Jacks or Better]

My mistake Tilla - I see the title is Gravadlox. Somewhere in the replies I read gravlox. My apologies.

[Tilla]

NC- The recipe is spelled Gravadlox, I assume that this salted fish is pretty much the same basic stuff.