Wowza. Believe it or not, I actually had to desaturate some of these photos. What a stunner of a dish!
To be completely honest, my original inspiration to make this was based purely on that brilliant sunset of colours. I had seen pictures of beet cured salmon floating around the internet and developed a bit of a visual crush (I am, after all, a graphic designer by trade- aka a sucker for pretty things).
After some poking around on the internet I learned, to my delight, that beet cured salmon is not only beautiful, but also incredibly easy to make and fantastically delicious- a triple threat, if you will. So, it was decided.
Growing up on the coast of British Columbia, salmon has always been a big part of my diet. I tend to have a preference for wild Sockeye, which is naturally brilliant red (again, sucker for pretty things), but we also get some spectacular Coho in our local waters. Actually, come to think of it, Coho salmon tends to have lighter flesh… if I made it with Coho I bet the sunset effect would be even more pronounced…
No, this is fine. This is delicious. (but next time…)
Right. Back to the recipe. I grew up eating a lot of salmon. Grilled, candied, smoked, cedar planked, poached… one salmon preparation I didn’t see too often in my corner of the world however, was salt curing.
Salt cured salmon, or gravlax, is a Scandinavian delight. While this recipe cannot claim to be completely traditional for gravlax purists, the flavours are inspired by a traditional smorgasbord- dill, lemon, salt, a dash of pure white liquor. I used gin in this recipe since I really like the herbal undertones and juniper base (juniper berries also feature in many Scandinavian recipes), but vodka would work just as well.
This recipe is great for guests or parties since it’s about 10 minutes of effort (and, yes, two days of waiting) for something really spectacular. Plus, just think, starting two days before your party means that on the day-of you have extra time for relaxing (and snacking).
I like to serve this with some good dark rye bread- you know the type, the beautiful brick that you slice nice and thin and packs a punch of flavour. You know, this stuff. Maybe a scrape of crème fraîche or some cream cheese, squeeze of lemon, fresh dill or a caper or two, some thinly sliced onion or radish… Breakfast, lunch or dinner- the beauty of this spread is that it works for any hour of the day.
Of course, don’t feel like you have to prep yourself a mini-smörgåsbord to enjoy this, I love eating it straight on it’s own as well!
| Beet Cured Salmon with Dill, Tarragon & Fresh Horseradish | | Print |
- 800 g wild salmon fillet, skin on, deboned
- .
- Beet Cure:
- 2 large red beets, peeled and quartered
- 2 lemons, zested
- 6 Tbsp rock salt (coarse kosher salt)
- 2 Tbsp demerara sugar
- ¼ cup gin or vodka
- .
- Herb Cure:
- 1 small bunch fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 small bunch fresh tarragon, finely chopped
- 4 Tbsp horseradish root, grated
- ¼ cup gin
- In a food processor, whiz together the beets and lemon zest until they become a smooth paste. Transfer the beet mixture to a small bowl and mix in the rock salt, sugar and gin.
- Lay the salmon, skin side down, in a large marinating dish or baking tray. Using a spatula, evenly cover the salmon with the beet mixture. Wrap the salmon in two layers of wax paper and then cover the tray with a tight layer or two of saran wrap- the trick is to give the curing salmon as little air exposure as possible. Place in the fridge for 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, gently unwrap the salmon and use a spoon to slough off the beet mixture. Gently splash the salmon with a bit of water to rinse off any remaining cure and rinse off the marinating tray.
- Mix together the herb cure ingredients in a small bowl, place the salmon (skin side down) back in the marinating tray, and press the herb cure on to the fish. Try and make sure all of the fish is covered with the herb cure- once again, trying to reduce the amount of air getting to the flesh of the salmon. Wrap again in two layers of wax paper, and seal the tray with some saran wrap. Refrigerate for another 24 hours.
- The next day, your cured salmon will be ready to enjoy. The herb mixture does not need to be rinsed off- just thinly slice the salmon and serve it atop some brown bread (or just eat it on it's own, like I do :). Possible sides or condiments include: lemon wedges, fresh dill, crème fraîche, cream cheese, thinly sliced radish, thinly sliced onion, capers... have fun and get creative!
that looks, and sounds, absolutely fantastic .. I have some beetroot in the fridge, and I might even try this tomorrow
Kosher salt, yes. Rock salt, not so much.
Hi Wendy, there might be a gap in our terminology- coarse kosher salt and rock salt are often sold as the same thing in Canada and parts of the UK- similar to the yam/sweet potato confusion (white flesh/orange flesh) in North American grocery stores. In Jamie Oliver’s original recipe, which I adapted this from, he calls for “rock salt” so I used his terminology- what both recipes essentially indicate is a large grain salt. Hope this clears everything up!
Do you wrap the salmon in the wax paper or the dish? It sounds like the salmon but you don’t say to line the dish first with the wax paper so I’m confused.
Ta
Btw have you also tried with ocean trout?
Looks great!
Hi Adam! You don’t have to line the dish with wax paper. I use the wax paper on top of the fish after it has been coated with the curing ingredients. I tuck it in a little around the fish (imagine you’re tucking the fish into bed!) This ensures the fish and cure don’t dry out completely, but also allows sufficient airflow so that the cure is able to work its magic. I haven’t tried it with trout myself, but I’m sure it would be delicious! Since it has a lighter flesh, you’ll be sure to get that beautiful sunrise colour.
What is the bright pink coating ?
What is the bright pink crust?
Hi Kelly, it’s the freshly grated horseradish (white) stained bright pink by the beets! 🙂
Are the beets cooked first?
Nope, the beets are grated fresh. Happy cooking- errr…. curing, Nancy!
Hi! This recipe looks awesome, and I’d love to make it, but I was curious if I could use prepared horseradish instead of fresh? My local grocery store doesn’t have fresh horseradish unfortunately.
Hi Matt, you can certainly use prepared horseradish. It will be a little more watery than fresh so, if possible, I would go for as coarse a prepared horseradish as you can find.
Thank for sharing.
I have a question.
I can cook salmon with pickled beets ?
Hi Andrew, you can use pickled beets but I would try to avoid it if possible. Aside from the fact that pickled beets would give it a much more sour flavour, the acid in the pickle brine would actually expedite the ‘cooking’ process since acids start to ‘cook’ proteins like fish (good example: ceviche)
I’m not a big fan of Taragon. Is there another herb you’d recommend as a replacement?
Just use Dill if Tarragon bothers you.
Thank you so SO much for this wonderful recipe. I’ve made this before according to other recipes and it was missing a certain je ne sais quoi. You nailed it! BTW it doesn’t take a graphic designer to appreciate this stunningly colorful dish 😀