Dill-cured Norwegian salmon with a sharp mustard sauce, cucumber ribbons, radish, and leafy greens
Gravlaks, or gravet laks, is Scandinavian salmon cured with salt, sugar, dill, and often white pepper or aquavit. Norwegian recipes from Matprat and traditional-food collections use a dry cure, light pressure, several days of refrigeration, and thin diagonal slicing. The small sugar quantity is functional as well as flavoring: it balances salt and helps draw moisture from the fish. This low-carb version uses the restrained ratio of 30 g salt and 15 g sugar per kilogram of salmon recorded by Matprat, while the mustard-dill sauce contains only 10 g sugar across six servings. Cucumber, radish, and leafy greens replace rye bread, flatbread, and potatoes. Curing does not reliably kill parasites, so source salmon that your supplier confirms is suitable for raw or cured consumption and follow the food-safety rules where you live.
- Prep
- 45 mins
- Cook
- PT0M
- Marinate
- 3 days
- Total
- 3 days 45 mins
- Serves
- 6
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
The recipe
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Before you start
Confirm that the salmon is suitable for raw or cured service, then keep it at 4°C or below throughout preparation. Remove every pin bone and dry the flesh. Weigh the cure accurately. Prepare a tray that fits the fish, plastic wrap, and a clean 1 kg weight. Make the sauce with pasteurized yolk and keep it chilled.
Ingredients
For the gravlaks
For the mustard-dill sauce
For serving
Quantities change with servings; cooking times stay the same.
Equipment
- Non-reactive curing tray paid link
- Plastic wrap paid link
- Clean board and 1 kg weight paid link
- Fish tweezers paid link
- Long slicing knife paid link
- Large mixing bowl paid link
- Balloon whisk paid link
- Instant-read refrigerator thermometer paid link
- Digital kitchen scale paid link
- Chef’s knife paid link
- Cutting board paid link
Method
Inspect the salmon. Check freshness, remove pin bones with fish tweezers, trim the thin belly flap if needed, and pat the fillet dry.
Mix the cure. Combine salt, 15 g sugar, and white pepper until evenly blended.
Season the fish. Spread half the dill in a non-reactive tray, set the salmon skin-side down, rub the cure over the flesh, drizzle with aquavit, and cover with the remaining dill.
Wrap and press. Cover the salmon tightly with plastic wrap, set a clean board or tray on top, and add approximately 1 kg of weight.
Cure under refrigeration. Refrigerate at 4°C or colder for 3 days, turning the fillet every 12 hours and spooning the released brine back over the flesh.
Finish the cure. Remove the salmon, scrape away the dill and cure, wipe the surface clean with damp kitchen paper, and pat dry. Do not rinse under warm water.
Make the sauce base. Whisk pasteurized yolks, both mustards, vinegar, 10 g sugar, salt, and white pepper until smooth.
Emulsify. Add the rapeseed oil in a thin stream while whisking, then fold in dill and enough cold water to make a spoonable sauce.
Slice. With a long sharp knife, cut the salmon very thinly on a diagonal, leaving the skin behind.
Serve chilled. Arrange with cucumber ribbons, radishes, bitter leaves, lemon, and a measured spoonful of mustard-dill sauce.
Chef’s notes
Purchase salmon specifically approved by the supplier for raw or cured consumption. Ordinary freshness alone does not address parasite risk.
Use a digital scale for the salt and sugar. Volume measures are unreliable for curing.
Turn the salmon twice daily so the brine and pressure act evenly.
A long, narrow slicing knife produces broad thin slices without sawing.
Add oil very slowly at the start of the sauce emulsion. If it splits, begin with a fresh yolk and whisk the broken sauce into it.
Tips and variations
Omit aquavit for an alcohol-free cure; the salt, sugar, dill, and pepper remain the essential base.
Trout suitable for raw consumption can be cured by the same method.
Add 3 g crushed juniper berries for a forest-like Nordic variation.
For a lighter sauce, replace half the oil with full-fat sour cream after the initial emulsion forms.
Do not replace sugar with a non-nutritive sweetener in the fish cure; the small measured amount supports the curing balance.
Serve with
Overlap the gravlaks in loose folds on a chilled platter. Keep the sauce in a small bowl so diners can control the quantity, and arrange cucumber and radishes around the salmon. Finish with fresh dill and lemon immediately before service.
Storage
Keep gravlaks continuously refrigerated at 4°C or below and use within 4 days after curing. Store the sauce separately and use within 3 days because it contains egg yolk. Freeze unsliced cured salmon tightly wrapped for up to 2 months if the fish supplier’s guidance permits; thaw in the refrigerator. Discard fish left above safe refrigeration for more than 2 hours.
Nutrition per serving (estimated)
- 520 kcal
- Calories
- 36 g
- Protein
- 12 g
- Carbohydrates
- 37 g
- Fat
- 3 g
- Fibre
Allergens
Contains fish, egg, and mustard. Standard Dijon and wholegrain mustard may contain sulfites; check labels. Aquavit or brandy contains alcohol. The fish is not heat-cooked, so it is unsuitable for pregnant, elderly, immunocompromised, or very young diners unless their medical guidance specifically permits it.
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Questions
Is gravlaks cooked?
No. It is salt-and-sugar cured, so correct sourcing, refrigeration, and handling are essential.
Does curing kill parasites?
Not reliably. Use salmon the supplier confirms is suitable for raw or cured consumption and follow local freezing requirements.
Why include sugar in a low-carb recipe?
Only 15 g is used for 1 kg salmon, much of the cure is discarded, and it balances the traditional cure.
Can I omit the aquavit?
Yes. It is optional flavoring and not necessary for the cure to work.
How thin should the salmon be sliced?
Slice it nearly translucent on a long diagonal for the classic silky texture.
