At a glance
You're looking at a hands-off curing project that takes just 15 minutes of active work but needs a couple of days in the fridge to transform salmon into something special. The main effort is mixing up a salt-and-sugar crust and flipping the salmon a few times during its 48-hour cold cure – then you'll be slicing thin, delicious gravlax to enjoy however you like.
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Tip:
Cure the salmon whole, boneless (buying a fillet is ideal, of course), but with the skin left on. Leave it in the salt-and-sugar mixture in the fridge for 48 hours. After that it should be ready, and you can slice it into very thin slices.
For this step
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The spice crust
Mix the salt and sugar together. Add the pepper and roughly chopped dill. Spread half of this mixture over the bottom of a deep dish. Lay the salmon on top, skin-side down, and press down firmly. Cover the salmon with the remaining mixture and press down again.
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Turn it over during curing
Cover the dish with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for 48 hours. Turn the salmon over about four times during this period. If you leave it to cure for a day or two longer, that's fine too – just make sure it stays in the fridge the whole time.
