Gravlax - Cold Cured Salmon

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Salmon Filet - variable size, usually 1 pound or more
Sea Salt (or Kosher Salt, but will require increased quantity), White Sugar - see quantities below for lower salt options - for higher salt, and a more firm result, use 1 cup sugar to 1/2 cup salt for a 3.5-4lb fish, scale down as needed for smaller amounts of fish
Lemon or lime, variable numbers of slices
2 tbsp Vodka
A couple bunches of fresh Dill
Plastic wrap or parchment/wax paper
Something heavy, a brick or stones
Other ingredients (optional): freshly cracked black pepper, tarragon, green peppercorns, bay leaves

Here is the conversion amount for different sizes of fish if you want to use LESS salt, may not be as firm this way!:
1.1 lb or 500g fish / 2 tsp Salt / 2 tbsp Sugar / 2 slices Lime
1.7 lb or 800g fish / 1 tbsp Salt / 3 tbsp Sugar / 3 slices Lime
2.25 lb or 1000g fish / 4 tsp Salt / 4 tbsp Sugar / 4 slices Lime
2.8 lb or 1300g fish / 5 tsp Salt / 5 tbsp Sugar / 5 slices Lime
3.4 lb or 1550g fish / 2 tbsp Salt / 6 tbsp Sugar / 6 slices Lime

Unwrap the filet, rinse it gently, and pat it mostly dry with a paper towel.
If there is a very thin part on one side (this is the belly), trim it off. Save it and eat it later, as it is delicious!
If you bought a single filet, cut it in half as precisely as you can.
Place a layer of plastic wrap on top of the plate (or the plastic tray, if you saved it) that you’ll be curing the gravlax on. Then put the salmon filets on the tray.
Sprinkle the vodka over the salmon flesh
Shake the salt and sugar over the thick parts of the filet. Do not try to go all the way to the edge: it will ll soak through as it cures. Use more salt and sugar on the thick end of the filets, and less on the thin end.
Mince the dill. Most recipes tell you to leave it whole, but you can use a lot less if you mince it
Distribute the dill over the filets.
Optional: Cut three thin lime slices. Dice the slices and put them on top of only one of the two filets. If you have a zester, just use the zest
Take the dill off of the other filet and put it on top of the filet with the limes. Remember, you need to keep the lime bits from touching the fish.
Make a big salmon sandwich by putting one filet on top of the other. This is why you put most of the ingredients on one filet: if you try to tip one filet onto the other while it is covered in dill and lime bits, you will make a huge mess
Wrap the filets as tightly as you can in the layer of plastic wrap you put under them.
Wrap the filets in at least two more layers of plastic: one around, one lengthwise. Wrap as tightly as you can: you want the filets to be touching each other at all points, with no air space. The easiest way is to lay a few big sheets of plastic wrap out on the table and roll them up
Put the filets in the refrigerator. Make sure they are on the tray or plate, because they will leak no matter how well you have wrapped them.
Traditional recipes tell you to put a weight on top of the filets while they are curing, and to remove and re-baste them during the cure. This is not necessary if you have wrapped them tightly…but you do need to turn them over a couple times, usually twice per day
Wait 2-3 days, ideally 2 days, but more than 2 is still acceptable
Scrape the dill and lime debris off the top, and slice the gravlax as thinly as you can. For best results, slice diagonally so that you get the largest slices possible.