Last Updated on October 28, 2025 by Kymberley
Smoked Salmon Spread
Smoked Salmon Spread – A nutritious snack or healthy indulgence; however you justify it, I’m betting this smoked salmon spread will have you finding excuses to mix up some more…
ABOUT THIS RECIPE (per serving)
Gifts of food...
Homemade foods are the best gifts a girl or guy could ever ask for when family and friends stop by. In my kitchen, it’s no different, and each year, the last week of July, I can always count on a bounty of delicious, unique food gifts arriving during brother’s week.
As I’ve aptly named it, Brother’s Week is a week-long tradition that began several years ago when my husband’s two eldest brothers decided it would be fun to visit us each year during the week of the EAA AirVenture.
The fly-in convention held yearly during the last week of July in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, attracts more than 500,000 people and 10,000 airplanes. Of course, the brothers asked us first. We agreed, and so it became the tradition.
A pretty predictable routine
The brothers (my brothers-in-law) arrive early in the week to spend their days at the AirVenture in aviation bliss among other enthusiasts who descend on the EAA grounds and Wittman Regional Airport, turning the small regional hub into the busiest airport in the world for a week.
At the end of those busy, event-filled days, the weary and sun-parched brothers return to Lac du Nibiinaabe (our place) for a bit of R&R, home cooking, and a whole lot of great conversations, stories, and BS-ing well into the evening until the next day when they do it all over again.
A week to reunite
Over the years, it’s also become the week for our crew of kids, grandkids, and spouses to reunite with the brothers (the Uncles) from afar when we all gather for a BBQ on the weekend. During such occasions, we may also receive drop-ins of cousins, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and even more families from nearby Wisconsin towns and adjoining states.
Busy days ending in good spirits
It’s a wildly busy and fast fly-by week that’s filled with cooking, entertaining, visiting, and lots of busy days that end in good spirits yet leave everyone who comes with a heaping dose of having been filled with enough family closeness to tide them over until the excitement builds to do it again in the coming year.
Food enough to feed an army
Early in the week, as our guests arrive, my fridge and freezer, and I welcome them and their bounty—vegetables fresh-picked from gardens, great-lakes-caught salmon, lake trout, and whitefish, venison from last year’s hunt, homemade wines, smoked jerky, and other yummy homemade foodstuffs.
The standing joke this past year was, “How many carbs does all that have?”
And, as the week winds down, it’s time to get creative in the kitchen with all the little food bits left over in the fridge.
Most meat, chicken, and fish spreads include spicy and interesting flavors that compliment but don’t overwhelm the type of protein, offering modern-day cooks a multipurpose, low-carb, high-protein choice for snacks or meals no matter how you spread them.
Gifts of salmon and whitefish...
This year, my Lower-Upper-Michigan brother-in-law gifted me an exceptional bounty of salmon and whitefish he’d caught and prepared in his smoker.
He’s been smoking fish for years. A retired Charter Captain and avid fisherman, this brother can catch, gut, clean, and place a full day’s catch in a barrel of brine in the time it takes most people to finish a cup of coffee. A day later, that same day’s catch is smoked, ready to eat and enjoy.
How to smoke a fish Northern Michigan Fashion
The fish, smoked in true Northern Michigan fashion, are hot-smoked, skin on, over a hardwood fire. When finished, the tasty smoked fish begs for no forks or condiments. Take your fingers, lay open the carcass, dig in, and flake off the meat from the bones.
Chiding him just a little, I learn that the recipe for smoking the catch is his secret. However, I’m sure my taste buds can detect a bit of sweetness from the brown sugar he adds to his brine, although he declines to say either way.
He offered this recipe for Smoked Salmon Spread in response to my pestering, although he credits his son, my nephew from Ishpeming, with the flavorful blend of ingredients.
His salmon spread recipe
He listed each ingredient from memory, giving a general reference to quantity like equal parts of this and that, throwing in a dab of such-n-such, a splash of you-know-what, and a pinch of this for the measure.
Of course, I tweaked things just a little bit to be able to call it my blog recipe. Nonetheless, this easy Smoked Salmon Spread is a great way to use up a bounty of smoked fish.
My salmon spread recipe
Is delicious as a cracker or baguette spread, appetizer (stuffed in baby tomatoes), or slathered on a gluten-free bagel. Whip some up for your next get-together, special occasion, tailgate, card party, or whatever the heck, nosh down on the whole bowl full all by yourself. Ya-dare-eh, it’s really, really that darned good! I-N-D-U-L-G-E-N-C-E all the way…
Thanks, brother!
I can’t wait till next year when (hopefully, hint, hint) smoked fish will again be on the menu.
everything you ever wanted to know about spreads but were afraid to ask...
What is a spread?
Spreads are foods generally “spread” with a knife onto foods like bread, crackers, and other foodstuffs. In my kitchen, we’ve also become accustomed to using spreads to stuff into foods like tomatoes, cucumbers, and celery for entertaining. Nonetheless, the stated purpose for using spreads is to enhance, intensify, and ramp up the texture and flavor of foods that may be considered bland without them.
In the category of spreads are butter, spreadable creams, cheeses, prepared mayonnaise, mustard, and ketchup. Among other variations are dressings like Green Goddess, Russian Dressing, and Thousand Island, to name a few.
Also included in the spread spectrum are honey, jams, jellies, hummus, and even yeast spreads (vegemite and marmite). Meat and fish-based spreads, including pâté and even Braunschweiger (sausage), are considered spreadable condiments. And, who else has eaten the canned ham meat spread, Deviled Ham, produced by the American food company Underwood since 1870?
About the actual deviling...
Oddly enough, the devil or the technique of “deviled or to devil in food preparation,” as in preparing deviled meats, has much to do with culinary history and spicy dishes. Like the canned deviled ham, many spreadable condiments fall into the deviled foods category.
A brief history of deviled foods
Deviled foods (aka deviled dishes) are highly seasoned, including hot ingredients. The culinary term is rooted back to Great Britain in 1786, referencing dishes that were highly seasoned and broiled or fried. By 1800, preparing foods in the “deviled” way or to “devil” them became a verb to describe the method of making food spicy.
Nearly 70 years ago, the cooking method of deviling foods became popular in America. At that time, foods made this way were made and eaten regularly, which, coincidently, was the height of their popularity in the United States.
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries,
American menus, including deviled foods, continued to grow, especially in fish and seafood preparations and some appetizers, with deviled beef bones leading the procession. The technique became even more popular as American palates widened after Vietnam. Following that era, just about everything from fish and lamb to beef and chicken was being deviled.
A new century
In the 21st century, we’re all probably guilty of deviling foods whether we know it or not. For instance, when was the last time you prepared deviled eggs?
But, getting back to meat, chicken, and fish spreads, the method of adding spicy and exciting flavors to complement but not overwhelm the type of protein offers modern-day cooks a multipurpose, low-carb, high-protein choice for snacks or meals no matter how you spread them.
Still can’t get enough?
Learn more by reading Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Deviled Ham but Were Afraid to Ask. In this article, Gena Philibert-Ortega searches old newspapers to discover and learn about deviled ham and other deviled foods, including recipes. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book “From the Family Kitchen.”
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Homemade Smoked Salmon Spread
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Ingredients
Equipment
Nutrition
Method
- In a small bowl, cream the cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Add the sour cream, lemon juice, and horseradish, and blend until smooth.
- Stir in the salmon, shallot, chive, and salt and pepper.
- Chill until ready to serve* with gluten-free crackers, spread on a bagel, or use as a filling in vegetables for a healthy snack.
Kitchen Notes
Personal Notes
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(Nutritional values are an approximation. Actual nutritional values may vary due to preparation techniques, variations related to suppliers, regional and seasonal differences, or rounding.)
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