Gravlax

Miss Suz's Note:

This is my friend Adam's mother's recipe... and it is terrific. Some notes... please do NOT substitute dried dill for the fresh dill, and be sure you buy your salmon fillets with the skin on (take care to remove any little bones with a tweezer). MANY people like to put the soggy onions that you remove at the end of this recipe on their bagels, so bring it along for an extra treat. Also - at the very end, I like to rinse the fillet before I cut it; my dad prefers not to.

• Total Time: 48 hrs
• Prep Time: 48 hrs
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 2 salmon fillets
• 1⁄3; cup salt
• 1⁄3; cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh coarse ground black pepper
• 1 red onion , sliced thinly
• 3 sprigs fresh dill

Directions:

1. Rinse the fish and pat dry.
2. Combine the salt, sugar and pepper.
3. Divide half the salt mixture between the two fillets, rubbing into cut sides.
4. Turn fish and use any remaining salt mixture to rub on the skin sides.
5. Place one fillet skin side down in a Ziploc bag.
6. Top with half the dill and all the onion.
7. Top this with the remaining dill and the other fillet, cut side down.
8. Seal the bag, pressing out the air.
9. Place bag in a bowl; top with a small plate and weigh it down with a couple of 1-lb cans or jars.
10. Refrigerate for 48 hours, turning once or twice a day.
11. When ready to serve, discard dill and onion (or keep the onion - see note above) and pour off the accumulated moisture (there will be a lot of it - do NOT drain this off before the 48-hour period is over because that's the stuff the salmon's curing in).
12. Slice thinly on an angle.