Making Your Own Salmon Gravlax Is Stupid-Easy and Cheap, Too

Remember summer? If you weren't sucking down mimosas and cheap rosé all day and then waking up with sunburnt shoulders and punishing wine headaches, well, we don't know what you were up to. But now it is only a distant memory as we once again clench our teeth and brace ourselves for another punishing winter.

That's OK, though. Even if you still have to wait a few more months before you can once again spend every Sunday getting hammered on your rich friend's terrace, you can treat yourself to other earthly luxuries, like piles of cured fish, right now.

While you may be accustomed to paying $12.99 for a scant little package of the stuff from the gourmet grocer, there's no need. Gravlax is absurdly easy to make yourself. Just get a big old salmon fillet; brine it for a couple of days in a mix of sugar, salt, alcohol, lemon, and spices; and chill for a couple of days while it cures. (Did we mention that it's easy to infuse with weed?)

Start now and you'll be good to go for this weekend. Slice it so very thinly that you could read the newspaper through it. Top it with a squeeze of lemon, serve it with a nice bagel and your favorite booze slushie or cheap wine, and pretend that summer never ended… even if you're wearing a parka and two pairs of socks.