Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Canapés

We’re kicking off the new year with some easy canapé recipes for our DRY January Pairing Party and these Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese canapés are one of our favorites! We’re also sharing a Rosemary Pineapple Mozzarella Canapé recipe, a Gorgonzola, Grape and Honey Canapé recipe, and a Blueberry-Ricotta Tartlet Canapé recipe that pair perfectly with our handpicked zero-proof cocktails from our pairing party or are just as delicious to serve on their own.

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Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Canapés

The Secret to Serving This Recipe

The secret to serving this Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Canapé recipe is to use cold-smoked salmon rather than lox.

Lox is traditionally only made from the belly of salmon (although other parts of the fish are now also used) and is salt-cured or brined but never cooked or smoked. With that, lox has a very silky, rich texture and translucency.

Cold-smoked salmon, on the other hand, can be made from any part of the fish, and starts with salt curing or brining, just as lox does. Additionally, the salmon can be covered in spices or a dry rub after curing, and is then cold-smoked by slowly exposing it to smoke in about an 80°F environment for a few days. Since the salmon doesn’t get cooked, the flesh stays very moist and silky and has a beautiful translucent pink color. Cold-smoked salmon has a similar texture to lox, but has an additional layer of smoky flavor. It is also a common topping for bagels and cream cheese and is usually sold thinly sliced.

Furthermore, we recommend using an English cucumber since their thin skins, undeveloped seeds, and uniform shape are ideal for garnishing appetizers.

How to Serve Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Canapés

While any traditional serving platter works perfectly to serve these canapés, we love serving them on tiered dessert stands to add visual interest to the overall food display. The stands can feature this recipe alone or several you may be preparing. They can be incorporated into your tablescape design or arranged on a self-service station.

The Perfect Pairing

There’s no doubt, these Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Canapés taste great on their own, but they also pair perfectly with DRY Botanical Bubbly’s DRY & Dirty Zero-Proof Cocktail Recipe. The savory flavors of the DRY & Dirty blend well with the refreshing and subtle taste of the salmon and the mildly sweet and slightly tangy cream cheese.

The DRY & Dirty is included in DRY Botanical Bubbly’s The Guide to Zero-Proof Cocktails, along with 49 other zero-proof cocktail recipes. It can also be purchased in DRY’s Mixology Gift Set.

How to Make Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Canapés

Recipe Originally From: EatSmarter!

What You’ll Need

To create this simple recipe, you’ll need the following:

How to Prepare

In a small mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese with the salt, pepper, lemon juice, and chopped dill using the back of a mixing spoon. Spread the mixture onto each half of the mini bagels. Then, rinse the cucumber and slice it into thin round pieces. Place one cucumber slice on top of the cheese mixture in the center of each bagel. Roll the sliced salmon and arrange decoratively on top of each cucumber slice. Garnish with dill tips and serve.