Gravlax is salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill for 48 hours then sliced thin and served with mustard-dill sauce, rye bread or boiled potatoes. The Stockholm classic of the smörgåsbord.

The word gravlax means buried salmon: medieval Baltic fishermen buried salted salmon in shore sand to ferment slowly through preservation. The dill version codified in the 17th-century Stockholm court kitchens and standardised in Cajsa Warg's 1755 cookbook. By the early 20th century gravlax was the bourgeois holiday-table dish. Today every Stockholm saluhall counter sells it: Lisa Elmqvist at Östermalms Saluhall cures the reference version daily.

Where to eat Gravlax (dill-cured salmon) in Stockholm

5 editor picks for Gravlax (dill-cured salmon) in Stockholm, ranked by editorial score. All Stockholm signature dishes · Gravlax (dill-cured salmon) across every city.

Make it at home

Serves 848 hrEasy

Ingredients

  • 1 kg fresh salmon fillet, skin on, pin bones removed
  • 100g granulated sugar
  • 100g coarse sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons crushed white peppercorns
  • 2 large bunches fresh dill, chopped
  • For the mustard-dill sauce: 4 tablespoons Swedish sweet mustard
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 6 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • 3 tablespoons chopped dill
  • To serve: dark rye bread, boiled new potatoes, lemon wedges

Method

  1. Combine the sugar, salt and crushed white peppercorns. Place half on a tray. Lay the salmon skin-down on the cure. Cover with the remaining cure and the chopped dill, pressing the dill into the flesh.
  2. Wrap tight in cling film, place on a tray and weigh down with a board and tins. Refrigerate 48 hours, turning every 12 hours.
  3. Unwrap, rinse the cure off under cold water, pat completely dry. Wipe off remaining dill.
  4. For the sauce, whisk the two mustards, sugar and vinegar. Drizzle in the oil whisking. Stir in the chopped dill.
  5. Slice the salmon thin, on the diagonal, leaving the skin behind. Serve with the mustard-dill sauce, rye bread, lemon and boiled new potatoes.

Editor tip. The salmon must be sushi-grade. Use a sharp long knife for slicing; cuts should be paper-thin.

Common allergens: Fish.