Classic cured salmon is served with a bright mustard-honey sauce in this recipe adapted from Jake Tilson's In At The Deep End (Quadrille Publishing, 2011). Flavored with pepper, cloves, and dill, the fish requires at least 5 days to cure, so be sure to plan ahead, and be sure to use the best-quality salmon you can find.
Ingredients
- 2 1⁄2 cups plus 2 tbsp. finely chopped dill
- 2 tbsp. kosher salt
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 1 tbsp. ground white pepper
- 1⁄4 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 1⁄4 lb. wild salmon, cut as 2 large filets
- 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp. whole-grain mustard
- 1 tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. canola oil
- Rye bread, for serving
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Instructions
Step 1
To make the cure mix: Combine 2 1⁄2 cups dill, salt, sugar, pepper, and cloves in a bowl. Cut a piece of plastic wrap twice as long as the salmon filets and place it in the bottom and up the sides of an 11″ × 17″ baking dish; sprinkle over 1⁄3 of the cure mix. Place 1 salmon filet, skin side down over mix in dish and sprinkle with half the remaining mix; place remaining filet, skin side up, on top or first filet, and sprinkle with remaining mix. Wrap fish in plastic wrap and place a baking sheet on top; weight down with a cast-iron skillet or several heavy cans, and refrigerate, turning once a day, until salmon is cured throughout, about 5 days. Meanwhile, whisk together remaining dill, mustards, honey, vinegar, and oil in a bowl; refrigerate sauce until ready to serve.
Step 2
To serve, unwrap fish and brush off some of the cure mix; diagonally cut 1⁄8″ slices of salmon from the skin. Serve salmon over bread topped with some of the sauce.
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