River Cottage's Gravad Max (Mackerel Gravlax)

Name: River Cottage's Gravad Max (Mackerel Gravlax)
Prep time: 2 d
Cook time: 2 d
Total time: 2 d
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Nordic, Scandinavian, European
Ingredients: 75 grams about 1/3 cup coarse salt; 6 Tbsps crème fraîche; 1 large bunch A of dill, coarse stems removed, finely chopped; 2 Tbsps chopped fresh dill; 4 teaspoons light brown sugar; 4 teaspoons English Mustard; 100 grams about 1/2 cup superfine sugar; 2 teaspoons wine vinegar

River Cottage's Gravad Max (Mackerel Gravlax) might be just the Scandinavian recipe you are searching for. Watching your figure? This gluten free and vegetarian recipe has 60 calories, 0g of protein, and 2g of fat per serving. This recipe serves 10. This recipe covers 1% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes roughly 48 hours. Head to the store and pick up brown sugar, wine vinegar, an of dill, and a few other things to make it today.

Instructions

The quickest way to prepare the mackerel is to take the fillet from either side of an ungutted fish, bait-cutter style – i.e., slicing from head to tail as close as possible to the backbone. Wipe any blood or guts from the board you are working on as you go. The whole frames (i.e., skeletons with heads and tails still on and guts attached) from which the fillets have been taken can be kept and frozen, then used later for pot bait.

Ingredients you will need

Mackerel

Fish

Equipment you will use

Pot

Mix together all the ingredients for the cure.

Sprinkle some cure lightly over the bottom of your chosen tray, box, or dish, then place the first layer of fillets on it skin side down, with the thin edges just overlapping. Then sprinkle another, slightly thicker layer of cure over. Arrange the next layer of mackerel skin side up and sprinkle over another layer of cure, then place the next layer skin side down (as shown, above left). Keep going until you’ve used all your fish, or filled the dish.

Ingredients you will need

Mackerel

Fish

Put the board/lid/plate on top of the final layer and weight it down with a brick, storage jar, or whatever comes to hand.

Place in the fridge. You can eat the gravad max after 24 hours, but 48 is best. For really big fillets, you could wait for 72 hours.

Remove the board and lift out the fillets carefully, one at a time. Give them a very quick rinse and then pat dry immediately with a clean cloth or paper towels.

Equipment you will use

Paper Towels

You could serve whole fillets, leaving the problem of cutting it away from the skin and avoiding the pinbones (which are still there, running down the middle of each fillet) to your guests. Or, you could be kinder and trim the fish before serving. So, place the cured fillet on a board, skin side down, and run a flexible filleting knife between the flesh and the skin. Alternatively, you can sometimes just start the process with the knife, then peel the skin off with your fingers.

Ingredients you will need

Fish

Equipment you will use

Knife

Now slice the skinless fillet off either side of the pinbone line to give you 2 long fillets – and a very thin waste piece in the middle with the pinbones in it, which you should discard. The belly-side fillet may require a final trim to remove the fine belly bones.

For the sauce: mix the mustard, sugar, and vinegar together.

Ingredients you will need

Mustard