Are you looking for the perfect appetizer to wow your guests this holiday season? I have just the thing: gravlax. Gravlax is salmon that has been lightly cured in salt and sugar. Once cured, you slice the gravlax are paper-thin and top them with a dill mustard sauce. Serve on slices of buttered pumpernickel. It sounds fancy, and it looks fancy, but I’ll tell you a secret: it is not even a little bit difficult. The catch? You have to plan in advance — three days in advance to be precise.

To make gravlax at home, you need three pounds of sushi-grade, center-cut salmon filets. Ideally, the two halves would come from the same fish because they will fit together better. But if the two sides are from different fish, it is not the end of the world.

After one day of cure.

Then, make a cure of salt, sugar and peppercorns and sprinkle it over the fish. Add dill and then cover and weight down the fish before refrigerating. Each day, check the fish once, turn it and baste it with the liquid that the fish has thrown off. Then cover and weigh down again. If your fish is not giving off liquid, add more weights. After three days, the salmon is ready to serve.

The next task is to slice the gravlax paper-thin and arrange it on slice of cocktail-sized buttered pumpernickel. My late father used to be the one to slice the gravlax in our family, and he made a bit of a production of it. I would stand next to him as he wielded his salmon knife ready to transfer the translucent slices of fish to the waiting pieces of bread. I always looked forward to this little ritual which we would perform once on Christmas Eve, with the first salmon half, and again the next day, with the second half.

Now that my father is gone, I both slice the salmon – with my father’s voice in my head cautioning me to slice even thinner — and assemble the canapés. I take pride in carrying on the tradition and hope that my father would be proud.

A salmon knife, which has a 10 to 12-inch, thin, flexible blade and a rounded tip will make the task of slicing the salmon much easier. This kind of knife also comes in handy for slicing ham, turkey breast and roasts.  Wüsthof makes a particularly nice version. If you don’t want to invest in a salmon knife, use a sharp carving knife and go slow.

The traditional accompaniment to gravlax is a dill mustard sauce. You can often find jars of this sauce at the fish counter. We make our own using honey mustard, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, a little oil, sugar and chopped fresh dill. I would give you a recipe, but we just do it to taste. The sauce should be sweet and sharp.

Gravlax makes an outstanding hors d’oeuvres for any party, especially a special occasion such as Christmas or New Year’s Eve. You still have enough plenty of time to make your gravlax before the holiday season begins, so why not get started? I guarantee that you will have very impressed guests.

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Holiday Appetizer: Gravlax

Ingredients

Gravlax
• 2 center-cut salmon filets, weighing a total of 3 lbs, deboned
• 1 TB white peppercorns, crushed
• 1/4 cup each salt and sugar
• 1 bunch dill
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 loaf cocktail-sized pumpernickel
Dill mustard sauce
• 6 TB honey mustard such as Honeycup
• 3 TB apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup neutral oil like canola
• 1/4 cup chopped dill

Instructions

1. Check the salmon carefully for bones.
2. Mix the crushed peppercorn, salt and sugar in a small bowl.
3. Sprinkle the mixture over the top of one of pieces of salmon. Roughly chop the dill and place it on top of the same piece.
4. Place the second piece of salmon on top of the first piece. The skin of both pieces should be on the outside.
5. Place the fish in a baking dish. Place heavy objects such as canned goods on top of the fish to press down on it. Cover with foil and refrigerate for 72 hours.
6. Once a day, uncover the fish, and turn it over. The fish should give off liquid, which you should use to baste it. Replace weights and cover and return to refrigerator.
7. On the third day, take the fish out and uncover it. Scrape the salt off the top of the two pieces.
8. Slice the salmon into thin slices. The best way to do this is to use a salmon knife and slice the salmon lengthwise using a slow, back and forth motion. You are aiming for translucent, paper-thin slices.
9. Continue slicing until you reach the skin.
10. To make the dill mustard sauce, combine the honey mustard, vinegar and salt in a small bowl. While whisking, slowly pour in the oil in a slow stream.
11. Add the chopped dill. Refrigerate until needed. (Best is made a few hours prior to serving to allow flavors to develop.)
12. To serve, butter slices of pumpernickel and top each with a piece of salmon. Serve with dill mustard sauce.
13. The gravlax with last for several day in the refrigerator. But because the fish is only lightly cured, it is fairly perishable.

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