INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Put the peppercorns in a spice mill and crush to a coarse grind. In a
bowl combine the pepper, sugar and salt and blend well together.  Place
the bunches of cilantro, dill, and scallions together in the  bowl of a
food processor and process until finely chopped. Rinse some  cheese
cloth under cold running water. Unfold the cheese cloth and  lay a
large piece out on your work surface. The cloth will have to be  large
enough to wrap completely around the salmon several times.  Choose the
freshest salmon possible for this dish as this is a cured  but not
cooked dish and fresh really counts. Cut the fish fillet into  two
equal pieces and lay it, skin side down, in the center of the
cheesecloth. Spread the sugar, salt, and pepper mixture evenly over
the salmon flesh. Spread the chopped herbs in the same manner and  then
sprinkle the tequila over the herbs. The flesh of the salmon  should be
totally coated in this curing seasoning. Once all the  tequila has been
absorbed, sandwich the two fillets together,  flesh-to-flesh and
skin-sides-out. Position the fillet "sandwich" in  the center of the
cloth and wrap as you would a gift, pulling the  cloth as tightly as
possible around the fillets. Lay the package on a  cake cooling rack
set over a cookie sheet. The rack allows air to  circulate for more
efficient drying, while the cookie sheet will  catch the liquid
extracted during the three-day curing period. Put  the weight in a
second, smaller cake pan and place it on top of the  fish. The weight
must be properly and evenly distributed so as to  press out the
unwanted water. Place the entire curing setup in the  bottom, the
coldest area, of your refrigerator and begin the 3 day  curing process.
Remove the weight and flip the fish package over  every 24 hours,
replacing the weight each time. Drain off and discard  any liquid that
collects in the pan when you do this. At the end of  the 72 hours the
fish must be cleaned. Remove the cheesecloth and  discard it. Drain any
accumulated liquid, scrape off all of the used  herbs and salt and
pepper. Rinse the fish under cold running water  and pat the fish
totally dry. The salmon is now fully cured and as  entirely edible as
smoked salmon but must be kept refrigerated. To  serve, finely chop one
cup of fresh cilantro and cover the flesh side  of the fish. Using a
very sharp knife, slice the salmon as thinly as  possible, at a 45
degree angle. Your first slices may look a bit  rough, but be patient.
With a little practice you'll soon be turning  out elegant green-edged
red ribbons of gravlax. Mix the mustard and  confectioner's sugar and
serve with pumpernickel and wedges of lime.  This recipe yields 8 to 10
servings of appetizer size, more if served  as an hors d'oeuvres.
Recipe Source: MICHAELS PLACE with Michael Lomonaco From the TV FOOD
NETWORK - (Show # ML-1B24 broadcast 09-29-1997) Downloaded from their
Web-Site - http://www.foodtv.com  Formatted for MasterCook by Joe
Comiskey, aka MR MAD -  jpmd44a@prodigy.com ~or- MAD-SQUAD@prodigy.net
11-29-1997  Recipe by: Michael Lomonaco  Converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.

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Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
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Calories: 878
Calories From Fat: 122
Total Fat: 13.6g
Cholesterol: 74.1mg
Sodium: 4664.8mg
Potassium: 697.9mg
Carbohydrates: 134.4g
Fiber: 5.5g
Sugar: 17.9g
Protein: 51.4g