Our friend and neighbor, Bob Rasner, owner with his wife Marie, of The Inn at 34 graciously shared this recipe with us.

We think it’s perfect for brunch the day after Thanksgiving when overnight and out of town guests can share this elegant, simple to make delicacy. It doesn’t hurt that this Gravlax makes a beautiful presentation either.

One caveat: this is not a spur of the moment recipe… you’ll need to plan ahead…. The salmon takes a few days to cure.

 Gravlax

Rinse the salmon filet gently and pat dry with paper towels.

If there is a thin strip of meat along the belly edge of the filet, trim it off and save for another use.

If your salmon is in a single piece, cut it in half as accurately as possible.  (Not two long pieces but two pieces half the length of the filet.) You should have two pieces almost identical in size.

On your work surface, lay out a piece of plastic wrap about 8” longer than the entire filet. Place the filet halves end-to-end on the plastic wrap.

Distribute the salt and sugar over the filet halves. Use more on the thick portions of the filet than on the thin.

Roughly chop the dill and distribute half of it evenly over one filet half.

Zest the lime and distribute over the dill-covered salmon.

Using the remaining dill, spread over the salmon.

Lay the uncovered piece of salmon, skin side up on top of the dill-covered filet.

Wrap the stacked filets as tightly as possible in plastic wrap and place in a non-reactive baking dish. Place in the fridge. Each day turn the wrapped salmon over at least twice.

Although cure time is not critical, wait at least two days before opening the salmon.

SERVE!  Scrape the dill/lime mixture from the salmon. Bits of dill left are fine. Slice the salmon as thinly as possible and serve with mustard sauce.

Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon ground dry mustard
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Combine the mustards, sugar, and vinegar in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil and stir in the chopped dill. Serve with the Gravlax.