River Cottage's Gravad Max (Mackerel Gravlax)

You can never have too many Scandinavian recipes, so give River Cottage's Gravad Max (Mackerel Gravlax) a try. This side dish has 60 calories, 0g of protein, and 2g of fat per serving. This recipe serves 10. For 18 cents per serving, this recipe covers 1% of your daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. A mixture of mustard, crème fraîche, fresh dill, and a handful of other ingredients are all it takes to make this recipe so scrumptious. 27 people were glad they tried this recipe. It is brought to you by Serious Eats. From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes around 48 hours. It is a good option if you're following a gluten free and lacto ovo vegetarian diet. Overall, this recipe earns an improvable spoonacular score of 1%. If you like this recipe, you might also like recipes such as Gravad Laks (Aka Gravad Lax, Gravlax, Grav Lax, Gravlaks), Mackerel Gravlax with Roasted Red Pepper Puree, and River Cottage's Seared Squid.

Servings: 10

 

Ingredients:

about 1/3 cup (75 grams) coarse salt

6 tablespoons crème fraîche

A large bunch of dill, coarse stems removed, finely chopped

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

4 teaspoons light brown sugar

4 teaspoons English Mustard

about 1/2 cup (100 grams) superfine sugar

2 teaspoons wine vinegar

Equipment:

pot

paper towels

knife

Cooking instruction summary:

Procedures 1 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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 For the sauce: mix the mustard, sugar, and vinegar together. Add the dill, mix well, and leave to macerate for a few minutes. Mix again, then stir in the crème fraîche. Serve the mackerel – 2 whole fillets or 4 trimmed pieces per person – with the creamy sauce on the side and plenty of brown bread and butter.

 

Step by step:


1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

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

9. Add the dill, mix well, and leave to macerate for a few minutes.

10. Mix again, then stir in the crème fraîche.

11. Serve the mackerel – 2 whole fillets or 4 trimmed pieces per person – with the creamy sauce on the side and plenty of brown bread and butter.


Nutrition Information:

Quickview
60k Calories
0.25g Protein
1g Total Fat
11g Carbs
0% Health Score
Limit These
Calories
60k
3%

Fat
1g
2%

  Saturated Fat
0.83g
5%

Carbohydrates
11g
4%

  Sugar
11g
13%

Cholesterol
3mg
1%

Sodium
2936mg
128%

Get Enough Of These
Protein
0.25g
0%

Selenium
0.93µg
1%

Calcium
12mg
1%

Vitamin A
60IU
1%

Phosphorus
10mg
1%

Manganese
0.02mg
1%

covered percent of daily need
Widget by spoonacular.com

 

Suggested for you

Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cook the Book: Mac and Cheese with Soubise
BB Monday: Brownie Cookies
Green Bean Casserole
Vegan Tomato, Chickpea, and Sweet Potato Soup
Red Wine Marinated Flank Steak #grassfedmoms
Blueberry Lavender Jam Ice Cream
Pork Chops in Orange Sauce
Semisweet Chocolate and Peanut Bars
Stuffed Eggplants in Garlic Sauce
Food Trivia

The largest item on any menu in the world is the roast camel.

Food Joke

John invited his mother over for dinner. During the meal, his mother couldn't help noticing how attractive and shapely the housekeeper was. Over the course of the evening, she started to wonder if there was more between John and the housekeeper than met the eye. Reading his mom's thoughts, John volunteered, "I know what you must be thinking, but I assure you, my relationship with my housekeeper is purely professional." About a week later, the housekeeper came to John and said, "Ever since your mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find the beautiful silver gravy ladle. You don't suppose she took it, do you?" John said, "Well, I doubt it, but I'll write her a letter just to be sure." So he sat down and wrote: "Dear Mother, I'm not saying you 'did' take a gravy ladle from my house, and I'm not saying you 'did not' take a gravy ladle. But the fact remains that one has been missing ever since you were here for dinner." Several days later, John received a letter from his mother which said "Dear Son, I'm not saying that you 'do' sleep with your housekeeper, and I'm not saying that you 'do not' sleep with your housekeeper. But the fact remains that if she were sleeping in her own bed, she would have found the gravy ladle by now. Love, Mom"

Popular Recipes
BBQ Chicken Kebabs

Mels Kitchen Café

Almond Coleslaw

Taste of Home

Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken

Foodista

Fish Taco Salads with Sriracha Lime Dressing

Neighbor Food Blog

Minty salmon & broccoli frittata

BBC Good Food