Seeking smoked salmon serving suggestions

January 11, 2009 12:33 PM

SmokedSalmonFilter: My wonderful fiancée gave me two vacuum-packed 1 lb. bags of smoked salmon for Christmas. (Each will keep for a week in the fridge, once opened.) How else should I eat it, beyond with bagels and cream cheese?

I'm not too worried about somehow getting tired of eating salmon everyday, I'm just looking for cooking/serving ideas. Thanks! (FWIW: I generally eat like a pescetarian.)

posted by silentbicycle to food & drink (36 comments total)

Not that long ago I was at a table with 'German' pancakes (they are thin like crepes) and smoked salmon (among other things). And the smoked salmon was really really good rolled up in the pancakes - there was a mustard-y sauce of some kind as well, not heavily mustard-y but most likely mustard based.

It was good.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:44 PM on January 11

It's great in omelets, maybe with onions and/or soft cheese. Probably go good with other kinds of eggs too.
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:45 PM on January 11

Scrambled with eggs and thinly sliced parsley.

In an omelet with feta, maybe some bitter greens to cut the richness.

In a lemony vodka sauce over penne.

In salads, like you might use anchovies.

For breakfast with a bowl of rice, green tea pured over for a kind of improvised ochuzake.

straight from the package, standing in front of the fridge.
posted by peachfuzz at 12:46 PM on January 11 [2 favorites]

I often prepare smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, as well as in a quiche.

Then there are numerous preparations with pasta:

Smoked Salmon with Pasta.

Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta.
posted by ericb at 12:46 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]

Just as a benefit from my experience, if you make eggs (scrambled or omelet) with smoked salmon be sure to put it in as late as possible to prevent it from getting overcooked.
posted by rhizome at 12:50 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]

One of my favorite simple recipes for salmon is simple poaching in wine.

Sprinkle the top of each fillet with dill, all-spice, and a copious amount of freshly-zested lemon. Put the fillets in a pan and fill with white wine to the middle of the fillet. Put over very low heat and cover. After about 10 minutes start checking it with a fork. When the top flakes you're done.
posted by odinsdream at 12:50 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]

If you want to take the plunge into sushi making, smoked salmon is an easy entry.
Smoked Salmon Sushi Roll.
posted by jeremias at 12:51 PM on January 11

With a cream sauce over Farfalle pasta.
posted by Good Brain at 12:52 PM on January 11

I love it on pizza with caprino and capers. Thin "neapolitan" pizza is best, but it's also good on a thick, yeasty crust. Though I like to add grape or sundried tomatoes if using a thick crust.

I love it rolled up in sushi or in onigiri.

I love it eaten with my fingers standing over the sink.
posted by piedmont at 12:52 PM on January 11

I've done variations of ericb's pasta dishes, one of them subtracting flour and adding heavy cream, freshly grated parmesan cheese, roasted bell pepper, chopped fresh cilantro and frozen peas.

Just add the smoked salmon about a minute before the end, just to warm it up. The smokiness and creaminess work well together. The parm thickens the sauce and (along with the fish) adds sufficient salt for the dish. Cilantro is a good fragrant garnish.

I recommend campanelle pasta with this dish, as it soaks up the sauce. The dish goes well with pieces of crusty Italian bread torn from the loaf — those rough edges soak up sauce.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:55 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]

Amazing on rounds of cucumber with horseradish cream and a dill sprig.
posted by amelioration at 1:00 PM on January 11

Here's the recipe I use:

SMOKED SALMON PASTA

For 4 people

1 lb campanelle pasta - your choice

Make the pasta on the side.

1 tsp olive oil
8 med mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, roasted, chopped to strips
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, chopped roughly
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 1/4 tsp parsley
1/4 cup parmesan, finely grated
8 oz smoked salmon, flaked

Saute vegetables, add seasoning. Once the mushrooms soften, add cream, add cheese, add tomatoes until it thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Add salmon and warm for no more than 2 minutes. Serve immediately atop pasta, garnishing with chopped cilantro.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 1:01 PM on January 11

Make parcels of the salmon with various fillings, such as prawn cocktail, sour cream and chive/spring onion, crab etc.
You can also spread butter on the salmon and roll up with spring onion, then pop in the oven just long enough for the butter to melt.
posted by Jakey at 1:04 PM on January 11

I've done the smoked salmon sushi thing and I thought it was delicious. I'm not a sushi expert, though.
posted by jefeweiss at 1:21 PM on January 11

With some pickled gherkins on rye bread.
posted by PenDevil at 1:34 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]

I've done smoked salmon on bruschetta before--it was really good.
posted by gimonca at 1:48 PM on January 11

Ina Garten's smoked salmon spread is yummy and dead easy. It's wonderful with champagne at parties or before dinner. Or just spread on toast with a bit of sliced cucumber for lunch. I always double the horseradish. I gave some with a nice bottle of something sparkling and good crackers as a gift once. I called it "cocktail hour in a box;" the recipient was just delighted.

Also, I bet smoked salmon freezes well if you want to save some of the bounty for later. Also, what a killer Christmas present!
posted by mostlymartha at 2:04 PM on January 11 [2 favorites]

As strange as it might sound, one great fingerfood I like to make with smoked salmon is to cut the filet into pieces about half the area of my palm, then wrap each piece around a slivers of avocado and strawberry. After you've placed these wraps on a plate, sprinkle them lightly with lime juice and serve chilled.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 2:08 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]

Pasta with leek and smoked salmon is one of my favourite recipes, and it's easy and quick.

For two as a main course: Cut two leeks into 5 cm (1-2 inch) long pieces and then cut them lenghtwise so you get narrow stripes of leek. Sauté them in a pan at medium heat and add almost a cup or so of cream when the leek stripes are soft. Cut about 150-200 g (3.5-5 oz) of smoked salmon into cubes (the shape doesn't matter much, as the salmon will fall apart anyway) and add it to the pan when the leeks are done. Add white pepper to taste. (Salt is not necessary because the smoked salmon is quite salty.)

Meanwhile, cook about 250 g (half a pound) of tagliatelle or vermicelli al dente. Mix everything together in a big bowl when the pasta is done and serve immediately. Buon appetito!

Disclosure: I posted this recipe here previously. It also works great with green asparagus (see my recipe here, but you would need fresh green asparagus, which might be hard to find in January.
posted by amf at 2:21 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]

There are lots of tasty chef's recipes here.
posted by fish tick at 2:28 PM on January 11

Just in case you can't eat all of it, you CAN freeze the smoked salmon. Double bag it in freezer bags, taking care to squeeze out all of the air. I went through 2 pounds of smoked salmon over 6 months this way. Sunday mornings, I would break off a frozen chunk, reseal the rest and thaw the chunk. Delicious!
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 2:34 PM on January 11

Is it lox or smoked salmon (yes there is a difference)?

Assuming it's smoked salmon...

The best novel use I've found for it recently is in quiche with asparagus. Yummy.
posted by Netzapper at 2:53 PM on January 11

Eggs Benedict, but replace the Canadian Bacon with your salmon.
posted by hwyengr at 2:57 PM on January 11 [2 favorites]

(Seems like some people here are giving recipes for cooking fresh salmon.)
So. No lox, no fresh salmon; smoked salmon:

I boil a heap of good potatoes. I take a salt grinder, a pepper grinder, the potatoes, real nice butter (and the salmon, in thin slices - lots of it) to the table and eat.

If you're getting volume issues while eating, dilute with some ice cold vodka, gin, or aquavit. Eat more.
posted by Namlit at 3:11 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]

Seconding eggs benedict. Especially with some asparagus on the side. Now that's a breakfast!
posted by benign at 5:12 PM on January 11

What's the difference between lox and smoked salmon? As a jewish person, i've always just assumed that smoked-salmon was the non-jewish term for lox?
posted by Kololo at 8:07 PM on January 11

Make a risotto with it.
posted by jason's_planet at 8:53 PM on January 11

What's the difference between lox and smoked salmon?

"Traditionally, Lox refers to salmon, which has been cured in a very salty brine. Sometimes called belly lox, it is not smoked at all." (see here)

In practice the terms are often used interchangeably.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 9:09 PM on January 11

What's the difference between lox and smoked salmon? As a jewish person, i've always just assumed that smoked-salmon was the non-jewish term for lox?

It's my understanding that lox is salmon that's been deeply brined and then cold smoked--so that the temperature never rises above 115*F or something like that.

Smoked salmon is a fresh, unmolested fillet of salmon that has been smoked in the regular way that one smokes anything. It usually is cooked in the smoking process, as the temperature is much higher than with lox. Basically, you just hang the fillet above a very smoky fire and maintain low humidity.

The difference in texture and taste is night and day. Lox tends to be floppy, chewy, oily, and fishy tasting. Smoked salmon tends to be rigid, flaky, drier, and the smoke flavor takes the edge off the fishy taste--it also tastes cooked.

In practice the terms are often used interchangeably.

Much to my undying pain. Lox tastes, to me, like spoiled sashimi. On the other hand, I love smoked salmon.

I also think it's somewhat regional. When I was back east, nobody had any idea what smoked salmon was, and the term was used as the goyish word for lox. I suspect this was because you couldn't actually get smoked salmon. I'm on the west coast now, and people know the difference, although you can get both.
posted by Netzapper at 10:00 PM on January 11

Thirding Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon instead of ham / bacon. Yum... and can be made lighter by doing a yogurt-lemon sauce instead of Hollandaise.
posted by deCadmus at 10:06 PM on January 11 [1 favorite]

I also think it's somewhat regional. When I was back east, nobody had any idea what smoked salmon was, and the term was used as the goyish word for lox.

I think it's regional but the other way around, smoked salmon means salt cured and cold smoked in the US at large. I checked a few meat cookbooks, Charcuterie has one recipe labeled smoked salmon and it's cold smoked, the CIA textbook Garde Manger has 3 recipes for smoked salmon and they're all cold smoked, and Great Sausage Recipes and Meat Curing has 3 for cold smoked, 1 for hot that's specifically labeled as hot smoked or barbecued salmon.
posted by TungstenChef at 10:54 PM on January 11

One night I replaced the beef in my burrito with salmon and really fell in love with the taste. Maybe try it that way?
posted by Zarya at 11:11 PM on January 11

Fourthing (?fourthing?) eggs Benedict, asparagus on the side. See it often on restaurant menus, have enjoyed it many a time.
posted by From Bklyn at 12:52 AM on January 12

In Sweden, they distinguish between cold smoked salmon, hot smoked salmon and gravad lax. These are roughly the kinds available elsewhere whatever you call them.

-- Cold smoked has a salty smoky flavor and a raw texture
-- Hot smoked has a smoky flavor and a texture more or less like cooked fresh salmon
-- Gravad lax, gravlax, is salt-cured, has a raw texture but no smoke flavor at all.

Lax is the Scandinavian word for salmon (in German it is Lachs, pronounced the same). Go guess where 'lox' came from.
My previous way of eating smoked salmon works for all three, btw.
posted by Namlit at 2:05 AM on January 12

Toast, cooked to however you like it. A little bit of butter. The salmon. And just a teeeny bit of thinly sliced garlic on top.

Have that with some eggs and good coffee and the day could not get off to a better start.
posted by slimepuppy at 2:50 AM on January 12

Butter some nice wholewheat brown bread, put on a layer of the salmon, then on top a slice of mandarin or your favourite orange like fruit. Sounds strange, but tastes great.
posted by nfg at 5:50 AM on January 12