Why Hot Smoked Salmon is Key
55sReveals the crucial difference between hot and cold smoked salmon, a surprising tip that changes the dip.
▶ Play Clip"Delivers exactly what the title promises – a unique and delicious-looking dip recipe for game day."
Chef John from Food Wishes demonstrates how to make a viral candied salmon dip, a unique party appetizer inspired by the candied salmon craze. The recipe combines hot smoked salmon with a spicy-sweet syrup and a creamy herb base, broiled to perfection. Ideal for game day spreads.
Use 8 oz of hot smoked salmon, not cold smoked. Hot smoked salmon has a firmer texture and smoky flavor, while cold smoked is too delicate for this dip.
Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, Sriracha, and cayenne. Simmer until thickened, about 2 minutes. The syrup coats the salmon and adds sweetness, heat, and a glossy finish.
Mix room-temperature cream cheese with chopped dill, capers, green onions, and lemon zest. The base provides a creamy, tangy foundation that balances the sweet-spicy salmon.
Mix the cooled syrup into the flaked salmon, breaking it into small pieces but not a paste. Spread the mixture gently over the cream cheese base to maintain texture.
Cover the dip with plastic wrap, smooth the surface, then broil on high for a few minutes until browned and slightly charred. The plastic prevents small pieces from burning.
This dip is best served cold or at room temperature, not hot. Top with additional green onions and pair with sturdy crackers like Finncrisp rye crisps.
This candied salmon dip is a bold, flavorful appetizer that balances sweet, spicy, smoky, and creamy elements. It's easy to make ahead and perfect for Super Bowl parties or any gathering.
What type of salmon is used for this dip?
Hot smoked salmon.
00:17
What are the syrup ingredients?
Brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, Sriracha, cayenne.
01:23
Why use lemon zest instead of lemon juice?
For lemon flavor without extra liquid and acidity.
02:58
Why should cream cheese be at room temperature?
It mixes more easily and evenly.
03:12
Why cover the dip with plastic wrap before broiling?
To smooth the surface and prevent small salmon pieces from burning.
04:35
Should this dip be served hot or cold?
Cold or at room temperature, not hot.
05:46
Hot Smoked Salmon
Clarifies the key ingredient difference from lox, crucial for texture and flavor.
00:17Soy Sauce in Syrup
Adds umami and deep color to the sweet glaze, a surprising but effective twist.
01:23Lemon Zest Over Juice
Common cooking wisdom: zest adds flavor without altering consistency.
02:58Plastic Wrap Trick
Prevents uneven burning and gives a smooth, professional finish.
04:35Serve Cold
Surprising recommendation that enhances the dip's texture and flavor balance.
05:46[00:02] foodwishes.com with candied salmon dip. That's right. This incredible new party dip was inspired by the recent candied salmon craze. And whether you're rooting for that city in the great Northwest
[00:17] known for its incredible salmon or not, this would be perfect for your game day spread. And to get started, let's meet the star of the show which would be 8 oz of hot smoked salmon. No, not cold smoked. That is the stuff
[00:31] we put on bagels, and that's not really going to work here. with some black pepper, which is very common. will work. And what we're going to want to do is
[00:44] break this up and peel it off the skin. And we'll simply crumble that into a And we can do that in pretty big pieces at this point, since this is all going to get broken up when we mix in the rest of the ingredients. And this is supposed
[00:57] to be boneless, but sometimes they miss one or two. So, pay attention while you And fair warning, the hardest part about this step is not eating half the salmon while you do it. So, maybe buy an extra piece, but please
[01:10] And then once that's been accomplished, we can move on to make the syrup that's going to turn our hot smoked salmon into simulated candied salmon. And that starts with some brown sugar to which we will add a little bit of
[01:23] And once those are in, believe it or not, we're going to add a tablespoon of which is also going to add a little bit of sweetness. And it will also help give And then we'll also add a couple tablespoons of vinegar
[01:38] before we spice this up with a generous squeeze of Sriracha. Plus last but not least, way more than a few shakes of cayenne. And yes, I'm making mine pretty spicy. And if you want to add less, feel free.
[01:51] I mean, you guys are after all the Seattle Seahawks of making sure this dip rocks. But in any event, we'll place that on and we'll turn on the heat and adjust that to about medium.
[02:04] simmer. And once it does, we'll give it a good And once everything's been combined and it's boiling like this, we will let that cook for a couple minutes or until it reduces down and thickens
[02:17] All right, not super thick, but something that looks just about like And once we get to that point, we'll simply turn off the heat and we'll let that sit and cool for a few minutes while we move on to make our dip space,
[02:31] which like so many other party dip starts with cream cheese, which of salmon, as are the rest of these ingredients, chopped dill, some drained and roughly chopped capers,
[02:46] as well as some finely and freshly sliced green onions. And then we'll finish up with one lemon's worth of freshly grated zest. And if you're sort of new to cooking, we use lemon zest when we want lemon
[02:58] flavor, but we don't want the extra liquid and acidity of the juice. And once we have that grated in, we'll grab a spatula and we'll give this a thorough mix, which really is fast and easy if you remember to take your cheese
[03:12] out of the fridge and it's room temp, which I almost never do. But anyway, eventually I got that mixed. And once we do, we'll transfer everything into a shallow casserole dish and we'll clean off our spatula with a
[03:25] And then we'll use that spoon to spread this out as evenly as we can. dish where once we have our cream cheese in and we've topped it with our salmon, much to the top, since that's going to give us the best looking final
[03:40] appearance. But anyway, once our dip base is done, we will grab our freshly made syrup off the stove and dump it into our salmon. thorough mixing. And as we do this, those chunks of
[03:54] salmon are being broken up into nice small pieces, which is exactly why we don't want to crumble it up too small when we break it up into the bowl. something closer to a paste. And I don't want a candied salmon paste.
[04:08] And that's it. Once mixed, we can transfer that over the top, possible. And I said spread. I didn't say press So, I want you to be a little bit gentle here.
[04:21] of the spoon. And once we have our salmon evenly distributed, we have to perform a very important maneuver before we put this in And that would be to place over a piece of plastic wrap. And we'll press that
[04:35] down very gently with our hands, so that the surface is nice and smooth. those little tiny pointy pieces of salmon are going to burn before the rest of the surface is caramelized, which is just not going to look or taste as good.
[04:50] And by the way, if you're making this ahead, just leave that plastic on and transfer this into the fridge until you're ready to party. But, I am ready So, we'll go ahead and place this under our broiler,
[05:02] which I have set on high, which is my oven's only setting. And for best results, I think we want that about 7 or 8 in below the heat. And we'll let that broil until the top is nicely browned and beautifully
[05:16] And I would have showed you more of these shots, but unfortunately, my broiler turns off if I open the oven. But anyway, like I said, we'll broil that for a few minutes, or until the top is beautifully browned, and it's almost
[05:31] starting to char in a few spots, and it hopefully looks like this. I know that is gorgeous. And that surface is nice and shiny, and sort of And then, as far as service goes, I don't think this is a great hot dip. All
[05:46] right, I think it's much better at room temperature cold. So, I think we should serve it up. But, once we are ready, I like to top this with some more sliced green onions, which is going to make the colors of
[05:58] more. And that's it, our candied salmon dip is ready to enjoy. Which I think we're going to want to do next to some kind of cracker. And for me, I think Finncrisp
[06:10] are the best, which is a Finnish sourdough rye cracker that are pretty And while this would be good on lots of different things, this, my friends, is a marriage made in heaven. And when I say this dip has it all, I
[06:23] mean that almost literally. All right, this is sweet, it's spicy, it's savory, it's salty, it's smoky, of course, it's creamy, it's herbaceous. And if you are a fan of candied salmon,
[06:36] there is no way you're not going to absolutely love this. Oh, and as far as the ratio goes here, I went with one part salmon to two parts our cream cheese mixture. But, if you did want something a little
[06:48] meatier, you could do equal parts. And if you are wondering exactly how sweet this is, okay, it's probably less sweet than something like a candied bacon, and maybe about the same as those cocktail meatballs that we toss in the
[07:00] grape jelly and the chili sauce. But, if you make this nice and spicy like I did, I think we end up with something nicely balanced, not to mention extremely addictive. Oh, and if you're wondering why I'm
[07:12] serving this with two knives instead of just the one, well, go ahead and put have your answer. After they take the first bite, people back into this. But, no matter how many knives you use,
[07:26] or whether you're rooting for the team from the Pacific Northwest, or for that team back east who prefer their balls slightly deflated, I think this is an incredibly delicious, interesting, and unique party dip, and I really do hope
[07:39] you give Give a try soon. So, please follow the links below for the ingredient amounts, a printable written recipe, and much more info as usual. And as always,
[07:51] And as always, enjoy.
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