As summer slowly leaves us it takes with it all kinds of beautiful ingredients like red onions and fresh herbs. Thankfully we figured out a long time ago how to preserve summer’s bounty. I normally like to do gravlax at Christmas but by that time my dill will be long gone. There is also nothing like a bit of pickled red onions to go with it, and as you may have noticed, red onions aren’t available in the supermarkets here after August. So its time for a little pickling and curing to take full advantage of the last of my herb garden and the last of the red onions. Whole sides of salmon can be found at Costco and are usually fresh enough for curing but check the date and give it a good sniff to make sure. If it smells fishy, don’t buy it. Pickling spice can be found at some supermarkets and at Hannam Market in Seoul (see our Seoul map). You can also use any combination of the spices that you have as long as they are whole. Dill is also available at Hannam Market but you can use any fresh herb you can find. Last year I used “미나리” or Water Dropwort and some dried dill. Curing the salmon takes three days and the pickling takes at least one so plan ahead.

Pickled Red Onions

1 pound red onions, thinly sliced
1 cup red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons of pickling spice (allspice, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, ginger, mustard seeds and peppercorns)
1 Bay leaf
6 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of sugar
1.5 teaspoons of salt

Put the onions in a saucepan and pour in enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil for a few seconds and then remove from the heat. Strain the onions and set them aside. Add all the remaining ingredients to the saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the blanched onions and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a sterilized (wash well and fill with boiling water) preserving jar , cover and refrigerate at least a day before serving. Pickled onions will keep in the refrigerator up to three months.

Gravlax

1 side of salmon, fresh
2-4 tablespoons of salt (depending on the size of the salmon)
2-4 tablespoon of sugar  (depending on the size of the salmon)
2-4 tablespoons of ground black pepper and/or allspice (depending on the size of the salmon)
1 bunch of fresh dill or parsley, celery leaf, chive, tarragon, chervil or water dropwart.
2 ounces of vodka

In a large bowl mix the salt, sugar and ground spices making sure you have enough to cover the whole piece of salmon completely.

Rinse the salmon and pat it dry with kitchen paper. Run your finger along the center of the fillet feeling for tiny bones. Use a pair of clean scissors or pliers to pull them out. Cut the side of salmon in half so you have two fillets roughly the same size.

Lay out a long swath of cling film, twice the length of the salmon pieces, and sprinkle about a quarter of the salt and sugar mixture in the centre, about the size of the pieces of salmon. Lay one half of the salmon down on it and sprinkle it with another quarter of the salt and sugar mixture.

Lay your dill or whatever fresh herb you are using on top of the salt and sugar mixture on the salmon and carefully drip the vodka over the dill making sure not to add so much as to wash away the salt and sugar mixture.

Sprinkle another quarter of the mixture on one side of the other piece of salmon and lay that on the dill. Sprinkle the rest of the mixture on the top and all around the salmon making sure its totally covered

In these photos from years ago I used cheesecloth instread of cling film.

Wrap the works up in the cling film and then double and even triple wrap that.

Put the package in the fridge on the bottom shelf with a dish under it to catch the liquid that will come out.

Rotate the package every twelve hours for three days.

After three days, unwrap the package and wipe off the salt and sugar with a dry towel. I even give it a rinse with vodka to get all the salt off.

Shave the salmon into thin pieces and garnish with the pickled red onion and a squeeze of lemon and serve on crackers or toast with sparkling white wine.

You can also make of simple sauce by combining equal parts of yellow mustard and mayonnaise with a teaspoon of espresso and salt and pepper to taste.

Check out this link that shows a similar way to do it with clearer photos.

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