Recipe found on allrecipes.com

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients:

Directions:

Stir the kosher salt, sugar and cayenne together in a bowl. Line a dish with cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel. Sprinkle 1/3 of the salt-sugar mixture over the bottom. Place the salmon skin side-down in the dish. Grate the beet over the salmon and spread evenly to cover. Sprinkle the remaining salt-sugar mixture on top, varying the amount according to the thickness of each section.

Fold the cheesecloth over the salmon and cover the top with plastic wrap. Wrap a brick in aluminum foil and place on top of the salmon. (If you don’t have a brick handy, a book with some soup cans on top will do just fine) Let cure in the refrigerator until the salmon is firm to the touch and translucent when sliced, about 36 hours. You can carefully unwrap and poke to test and then rewrap and let cure longer if need be.

Transfer the salmon to a paper towel-lined plate. Scrape off the grated beet. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, about 18 hours more. Slice salmon thinly at a 45-degree angle, gliding knife back and forth and turning it up and away from the skin.

*This will need to cure for 1-3 days depending on the thickness of the salmon. These times and measurements should work for 6 to 10 ounces of salmon.

*Feel free to cure fish with fresh dill springs on top and/or substitute cayenne with black pepper if desired.