Snappertuna Gravlax

Making gravlax netted me a fair amount of change in graduate school. I would go to Chinatown or a Chinese fish market in the Mission district of San Francisco, select a good whole fish, argue about the price, have them split it, reserving the head for a salmon chowder (YUM!) and then "grav" or cure, the whole thing and sell it to professors who wanted something special for a party or brunch. This method works with other oily fish as well, including trout, and you certainly don't need a whole fish - any skin-on fillet will do. "Snappertuna" isn't some hybrid fish, but the small village in Finland where I learned to make this recipe from Aunt Ulla.

Snappertuna Gravlax

Skin-on fish fillet, or whole fish, cut in half, backbone removed
Fresh dill - if you don't have fresh, wait til another time to make this
Fresh ground black pepper
Coarse salt - you can go all crazy and use Hawaiian salt, fleur de sel, etc., but I use Morton's kosher salt
Sugar - do not use Splenda; the sugar is a curing agent and not an appreciable source of calories/carbs
Fresh ground allspice
Crushed juniper berries
Vodka/Brandy

Be very fussy about your fish. The flesh should be bright and clean, firm to the touch and with absolutely no "fishy smell". Don't be afraid to send the first fish offered back and ask to see another.

Take the fish and wash it thoroughly. Remove any big remaining bones with a tweezer if you are bothered by them. Put some vodka on a paper towel and "clean" the fish, meat and skin sides, with the alcohol. Make a mixture of almost equal parts of sugar and salt - start with a 1/4 c of each and adjust to the size of the fish. You will want slightly more salt than sugar, but it's not critical. Chop fresh dill. Rub the fish (meat side) with the ground spices. Add the dill to the salt/sugar mix. Rub this mixture on both sides of the fish - very important. Wrap tightly in several layers of plastic wrap. Place on a deep dish and weigh the fish down with another plate and a weight in the refrigerator. Turn the fish every 12 hours or so. The fish is ready to eat after 36 -48 hours, but it is easiest to slice thinly if you put it in the freezer before you eat it. You can also sautee the slices briefly, if you like, but the "gravlax" is good just as it is, with more fresh dill and, traditionally, a mustard sauce.
The gravlax will keep at least a month in the freezer if you wrap it well.