No offense taken - it was a pretty simple error of too much salt and waiting for too long, which produced quite edible salt cured salmon, but it was super dry (and gravlax is not supposed to be dry).
Grandma does it perfectly every time, just have to be patient and follow her directions :)
This comment and the parent between them strongly suggest to me I'm going to end up with salmon jerky at least once but I should seriously consider trying it anyway.
Salmon jerky is pretty good in its own right!
Yeah salmon jerky is not bad and the one I made was eaten fully. That said, gravlax is sooooo much better than jerky!