Think about gravlax and then consider grocery store salmon. One is firm and well-flavored; the other has a dubious texture and not a lot of flavor. Why not learn from the former when cooking the latter?

That is the inspiration for drybrined salmon. We borrow a technique from London chef Gary Lee, applying a dry-brine of brown sugar, kosher salt, citrus and fresh dill. The cure transforms a dull piece of fish into something that’s firm but tender and seasoned throughout, with a better ability to brown.

Salt and sugar work in tandem, drawing out excess moisture via osmosis. (Osmosis is a process that moves water from higher concentration areas to lower concentration; in this case, from the interior of the fish to the exterior and then back again.) The dissolved salt penetrates the fish, altering its texture directly by denaturing some of the proteins in the muscle fibers. It happens quickly, too. A mere 15 minutes dramatically alters the firmness of the fillets. You can have too much of a good thing, however. About forty-five minutes is the sweet spot for thick fillets; longer cure times can lead to dry salmon, especially after cooking.

Sugar tempers any aggressive salinity, but it also softens the cure, moderating the tightening effects of the salt. Sugar doesn’t just attract water, it holds on to it, keeping things firm but pliable. For the best flavor, we opted for brown sugar over white. The molasses adds a subtle depth.

Nailing the exact ratio of salt to sugar took some testing. Salmon that was treated with more sugar than salt was overly sweet and gelatinous, while the fillets treated with a saltheavy cure were unpleasantly salty and firm. Using a ratio of 3:2 with more sugar than salt gave us the results we wanted. The salmon was firm but tender, with a balanced flavor that was neither distractingly sweet nor overly salty.

Claire Lower

Claire Lower is the Digital Editor for Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street, with over a decade of experience as a food writer and recipe developer. Claire began writing about food (and drinks) during the blogging boom in the late 2000s, eventually leaving her job as a lab technician to pursue writing full-time. After freelancing for publications such as Serious Eats, Yahoo Food, xoJane and Cherry Bombe Magazine, she eventually landed at Lifehacker, where she served as the Senior Food Editor for nearly eight years. Claire lives in Portland, Oregon with a very friendly dog and very mean cat. When not in the kitchen (or at her laptop), you can find her deadlifting at the gym, fly fishing or trying to master figure drawing at her local art studio.