flipExpedition Gravlax with Sugar, Salt, and Dill
Expedition Gravlax with Sugar, Salt, and Dill
Why this dish? Lehmann conducted seismic surveys as far as Greenland (Nuuk) and New Zealand. Salt-sugar cured salmon, preserved without cooking, is exactly the kind of Nordic provision that keeps and travels, suited to long field missions far from towns.
A salmon fillet coated with a blend of salt, sugar, and dill, cold-marinated for several days, then sliced into thin translucent slices. A fireless preservation, mild and briny.
In the field, far from Copenhagen, you learn to rely on what keeps. The fish buried in salt and sugar, under a press, keeps for days and nourishes a man. I sliced it as thin as possible, on a hunk of rugbrød—and for a moment we forgot the cold and the fatigue of the measurements.
- •Very fresh salmon — a nice fillet with skin (base)
- •Coarse salt — equal parts with sugar (preservation)
- •Sugar — equal parts with salt (balance, preservation)
- •Dill — a large bunch (signature)
- •Cracked pepper — a little (aroma)
Expedition Gravlax with Sugar, Salt, and Dill
A salmon fillet coated with a blend of salt, sugar, and dill, cold-marinated for several days, then sliced into thin translucent slices. A fireless preservation, mild and briny.
Why this dish? Lehmann conducted seismic surveys as far as Greenland (Nuuk) and New Zealand. Salt-sugar cured salmon, preserved without cooking, is exactly the kind of Nordic provision that keeps and travels, suited to long field missions far from towns.
In the field, far from Copenhagen, you learn to rely on what keeps. The fish buried in salt and sugar, under a press, keeps for days and nourishes a man. I sliced it as thin as possible, on a hunk of rugbrød—and for a moment we forgot the cold and the fatigue of the measurements.
Ingredients (period version)
- Very fresh salmon — a nice fillet with skin (base)
- Coarse salt — equal parts with sugar (preservation)
- Sugar — equal parts with salt (balance, preservation)
- Dill — a large bunch (signature)
- Cracked pepper — a little (aroma)
Ingredients
- Salmon fillet with skin, very fresh — 600 g (base)
- Coarse salt — 60 g (preservation)
- Sugar — 60 g (balance)
- Fresh dill — 1 large bunch (signature)
- Cracked white pepper — 1 tsp (aroma)
Method
- Mix salt, sugar, and pepper. Line a dish with a layer of dill.
- Rub the salmon with the salt-sugar mixture, place skin-side down on the dill, cover with more dill and the remaining mixture.
- Cover with plastic wrap, place a board and a weight on top, refrigerate for 48-72 hours, turning the fish once a day.
- Rinse quickly, pat dry, remove excess dill.
- Slice very thinly on the bias, without skin. Serve on rye bread.
How it was made : Gravlax ('buried salmon') descends from a medieval Scandinavian technique where fish was salted then buried to lightly ferment. By Lehmann's time, the milder salt-sugar version had become a prized cold buffet item.
The contemporary twist : A mustard-dill sauce (rævesovs) on the side, and a shot of juniper in the marinade for a Nordic forest aroma.
Inge Lehmann · Charactorium
