Hovmästarsås - Gravlaxsås (Gravlax Mustard)

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   This is a recipe for hovmästarsås-gravlaxsås, or Swedish mustard, is meant to pair up with Gravlax. It comes from a Swedish food website, and translated via google translator from the Swedish, so the grammar is a little clunky.

NOTE: right now, the recipe is posted as I received it. A friend in Sweden has recommended that the sugar be cut back until it is the same amount as the salt. I am going to try this modification soon, and will most likely amend the recipe below. When I do, I will change the amount of sugar, make a note at the bottom of this topic and delete this note.

 This classic was one of the most important sauces in the Swedish restaurant kitchens during the 1900s. It was served not only for gravlax - cold and grilled - and other marinated fish, but also to the shellfish cooked lobster and crab, as well as pickled herring. Now has the reputation, but at certain times and many have seen the bottom of this a bit extreme sauce. It was among other master chef Auguste Escoffier who found the tomb of the salmon delicious but despised hovmästarsåsen and instead proposed a tartar sauce as an accessory. A Danish version also contains egg yolks, and some lace sauce with a little brandy or honey. Sometimes excluded and dill sauce is then called simply the mustard. "

This recipe calls for decilitres. 1 decilitre is equal to .4 cup measure, or slightly less than half a cup.

2 tablespoons granulated sugar 
1 to 2 pinches of salt 
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill 
1/2 dl Swedish sweet mustard (a light honey-mustard could be substitued wig good results)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar 
1 dl neutral oil
salt and white pepper from the mill 

Mix sugar, salt and dill (it is said that the dill flavor arrives best this way). 
Mix the mustard and vinegar. 
Stir in oil, little by little so that the sauce does not crack. Season with salt and pepper. let stand awhile before serving.
Here's a complete tutorial on this outstanding condiment, based on the recipe above. 

The goods:

It is "best" with fresh, chopped dill; however, dried dill (NOT SEED) will work fine, providing you cut the amount used in half, since it is more conentrated than fresh.

For this preparation, I chose a great sweet mustard that had just a hint of spice in combination with the dijon mustard normally used:

After measuring the salt, sugar and dill:

I added the mustards and the red wine vinegar:

I then mixed everything together and began to slowly drizzle in the olive oil:

The recipe calls for "neutral" oil, but after trying this a couple of times, I prefer the flavour imparted by extra virgin olive oil, so that's what I use.

The trick is to add the oil slowly, and stir it in completely, a little at a time:

This way, the oil doesn't separate from the rest of the mustard sauce.

When all the oil had been incorporated into the mustard sauce, I added a pinch of salt and a grinding or three of black pepper to taste:

And that's pretty much it:

This mustard sauce is absolutely the thing to use for gravlax, and is also good on other fish dishes. I haven't tried it yet, but based on the flavour profiles, I think it would also be great for chicken, and possibly pork. One thing I can vouch for is that it works very well for potato salad, as well!

Easy, delicious, and, for the most part, home-made ~ give it a go and see if you like it.