Recipe Notes Freezing the gravlax is important because it has to be nearly frozen in order to slice. 1 hour before you are ready to serve, remove the fish from the freezer, let it rest at room temperature 1 hour, then, using a filet knife, slice into paper-thin slices diagonally. This recipe is courtesy of Pim Kovach. During the Middle Ages, gravlax was made by fishermen, who salted the salmon and fermented it by burying it in the sand above the high-tide line. The word gravlax comes from the Scandinavian word grav, which literally means "grave" and lax (or laks), which means "salmon", thus gravlax means "buried salmon". Today fermentation is no longer used in the production process. Instead the salmon is "buried" in a dry marinade of salt, sugar, and dill, and cured for a few days. As the salmon cures, by the action of osmosis, the moisture turns the dry cure into a highly concentrated brine, which can be used in Scandinavian cooking as part of a sauce. This same method of curing can be used for any fatty fish. © Galley Chef All Rights Reserved