Smoked Salmon Mousse

Here's a simple recipe that really stretches your smoked salmon supply and is an elegant way to serve a crowd.

Smoked Salmon Mousse

• 1 lb cream cheese

• 1 lb smoked salmon, crumbled

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 2-4 Tbsp heavy cream, for consistency

• Dill to taste

You can present the mousse in a bowl for self-service, or, for a more elegant presentation, spoon or pipe onto water crackers or cucumber rounds and garnish with sprigs of dill. This smoked salmon mousse recipe also makes an elegant crepe filling.

Smoked Salmon Chowder

The cooler weather gets us in the mood for a warming soup, and smoked salmon works especially well in a white chowder. There are countless adjustments you can make in a chowder recipe, but don't scrimp on the smoked salmon - it's the best part!

Smoked Salmon Chowder

6 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons oil

1 cup small-diced carrots (about 1 large carrot)

1 cup small-diced onion (about 1 onion)

½ cup small-diced celery with leaves

½ cup chopped green pepper

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

6 cups good quality clam juice

2 cups milk

2 bay leaves

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic (2 large cloves)

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of nutmeg

1 16 oz. can tomatoes

1 ½ cups diced, cooked potatoes, such as Yukon Gold

1 lb. boneless smoked salmon

6-7 slices cooked, crisp Pancetta for garnish

Flake and strip skin from the smoked salmon. Reserve 1/4 cup for garnish. The rest of the smoked salmon will be added to the chowder and brought to temperature.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, melt butter with oil.  When oil is hot, add vegetables except for tomatoes and potatoes.  Stir and cook until they are softened and aromatic.  Stir in flour, reduce heat to medium, and cook briefly, about 3 minutes.  Do not let the flour brown.

Pour in stock and milk and increase heat to medium-high.  Stir well and bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low.  Add seasonings and simmer gently, uncovered for 15 minutes.

Stir in smoked salmon pieces, potatoes and tomatoes.  Cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender but not mushy.

Ladle into soup bowls, garnish with Pancetta and smoked salmon, and serve at once.

Yield:  2 quarts

Recent Press

Holy Moly! September has been pretty foodrock-star.

Our salumi got a terrific write-up in Minnesota Monthly, with writer Rachel Hutton's most flattering summary of our salami:

"Salami is considered the most complicated of charcuterie, but these taste like Goerdt has cracked the code of the artisanal curing process."

CBS Minnesota posted an excellent blurb about our shop and smoked fish in their Getaway Guide: Weekend Roadtrip to Duluth blog. Here's our favorite part of the write up:

"Owner and meat-smoker extraordinaire Eric Goerdt spent decades studying and honing the craft of fish smoking, and it shows."

Finally, we made an appearance on local television with the lovely and talented Courtney Godfrey on NBC's Northland's News Center. Catch the segment at the end of this post.

We sure are grateful for all the great publicity!

... And We're Back

Alright, it was a little rocky for about 24 hours, but our email seems to be working like a charm once again. The internet is fragile, it seems, but smoked fish is rock solid ... metaphorically, of course, because our smoked salmon is as tender as a baby powder ad on the Hallmark channel. Resume emails to our tried and true sales@nwsmokehaus.com. We love hearing from you.