How to Make Salmon Gravlax

Ingredients

• 2 center-cut pieces skin-on boneless salmon, both cut from the wide, thick end of a fillet
• 1/4 cup kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed
• 1 bunch fresh dill sprigs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped, to garnish
• 1/4 cup capers, to garnish
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, to garnish
• Extra dill, to garnish

Directions

1. Check the salmon for pin bones. Lay the fish on a cutting board with the flesh facing up, then run your fingertips over the surface to find any tiny bones. If you find them, ease them out with tweezers, a strawberry huller, or a similar pinching tool.
2. Make the cure by stirring together the salt, both sugars, and the fennel seeds in a bowl until everything is evenly combined.
3. Scatter a little of the curing mixture along the center of a 12-inch glass or ceramic baking dish, then add a little dill over it. Lay 1 piece of salmon on top, skin side down. Cover the flesh with half the cure that remains, then add half the dill that is left. Press gently so the cure clings.
4. Place the 2nd piece of salmon over the first, skin side up. Position it so the thicker end of the top piece rests over the thinner end below, creating a flat, even rectangle. Finish with the last of the curing mixture and dill across the top.
5. Wrap the entire dish in plastic wrap. Put a smaller baking dish over the salmon, then weigh it down with 2 heavy cans, a garden brick, or another heavy weight.
6. Transfer the dish to the refrigerator and let the salmon cure for 2 days. After 24 hours, turn the fish over so the piece that was on top moves to the bottom. This helps the cure work through the fish evenly.
7. When you’re ready to serve, lift the salmon out of the baking dish. You’ll see liquid in the dish; that’s exactly what should happen. Rinse the fish thoroughly with cold water, using your fingers to rub away the cure, then pat it very dry with paper towels.
8. Put 1 piece of fish on a cutting board, skin side down. With a very sharp knife, cut the salmon into the thinnest slices you can, keeping the blade at a steep diagonal. Repeat with the remaining piece of fish.
9. Layer the slices on a platter so they overlap, curling them as you go. Scatter the red onion, capers, and remaining dill over the top, and add the lemon as garnish. Leftovers will keep for about a week.