Michael Weiss’s Gravlax
A professor of wine and spirits at the Culinary Institute of America, Michael Weiss is part of our Workshop “faculty.” He teaches a wine and food pairing seminar for the participants every year and selects appropriate Cakebread Cellars wines for the evening meals. That’s no small challenge given how complex many of the chefs’ creations are, but we give Michael carte blanche in the cellar. When entertaining at home, he and his wife, Jenny, often serve their own gravlax as a first course. In place of the fresh dill that perfumes traditional gravlax, the Weisses season the fish with coriander seed, fennel seed, and lemon. The method works beautifully on farmed Arctic char, a more sustainable choice than farmed salmon. You can serve the translucent slices with toast and condiments, as described here, or on cucumber slices with a dab of crème fraîche.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 16
Ingredients
Garnishes
Preparation
Step 1
With needle-nose pliers or tweezers, remove the fish’s fine pin bones. (You can feel these by running your fingers over the thickest part of the flesh in the head-to-tail direction.) In a small bowl, stir together the salt and sugar. Lightly crush the coriander and fennel seeds together in a mortar.
Step 2
Line a tray with plastic wrap. Sprinkle the tray with 1/4 cup of the salt-sugar blend, making an evenly thick bed as large as the fillets will be when placed side by side. Arrange the fillets on the bed of seasoning, skin side down. Sprinkle each fillet with 1/4 cup of the saltsugar blend and with half of the pounded seeds and half of the lemon zest. Sandwich the fillets, flesh sides together, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Put a tray on top and a 5-pound weight on the tray. Refrigerate for 24 hours, turning over the package halfway through.
Step 3
Unwrap the fish and inspect the flesh. It should feel firm but not leathery. If it still feels flaccid, rewrap, replace the weight, and marinate for a few hours longer.
Step 4
To serve, unwrap the fish and scrape off the spices. Rinse the flesh briefly in cold water, then pat it dry. Using a thin-bladed slicing knife, carve the fish as thinly as possible on a strong bias to make wide slices. Arrange the slices on a platter or on individual plates and pass the garnishes separately for guests to add as desired.
Step 5
Enjoy with Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc or another medium-weight, brisk white wine.
