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BEER AND CROISSANTS

Home > Cook With Me > Easy salmon rillettes recipe

Easy salmon rillettes recipe

Published on May 25, 2020 Updated on June 10, 2020

What are rillettes?

Traditionally, rillettes hail from France and are pronounced “ree-yet”. They are a staple in French cuisine and are often accompanied by bread.

Usually, rillettes is made from poultry (duck, goose), meat (pork, sheep) and fish. The meat is chopped up finely and combined with salt, pepper and complementary spices. The meat is cooked slowly in its own fat (confit).

This salmon rillettes recipe follows a slightly similar process, however, they are not cooked in their own fat. In this recipe, the salmon is poached and cured/smoked.

When we are travelling around France in a motorhome, a jar of rillettes (or three) is always our constant companion in our fridge.

Staying at France Passion sites with local farmers means we get spoilt for choice with their locally produced rillettes. I honestly have to just put the lid on and walk away sometimes for fear of eating the entire jar.

Gorges du Verdon

How do you eat salmon rillettes?

Salmon rillettes are usually eaten on bread or toast. In France, they might add a cornichon to the top. This dish is perfect for a charcuterie board, as an aperitif, or just a snack. Some will use it as a salmon dip. Alternatively, it can become a more complete meal for dinner or as part of a picnic lunch.

We keep a jar of it in the fridge for eating whenever we feel like it.

salmon rillettes bowl

Ingredients

  • 1 x 200g skinless salmon fillet
  • 100g smoked salmon
  • 1/2 French shallot or 1 large spring onion
  • Zest of one lemon
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • White pepper
  • 2 tsp chopped capers
  • 80g creme fraiche
  • 2 tbsp chopped chives
  • 1/2 bunch dill or dill paste

Additional ingredients

  • Baguette
  • Butter
  • Garlic

Method

Poach the salmon fillet until just cooked. We like to keep ours so it it medium and the flesh is opaque and still looks orange.

  • poached-salmon
  • poached-salmon

Allow to cool.

Dice the smoked salmon. Flake the cooked salmon and put both into a bowl.

chopped smoked salmon

We cured and smoked our own salmon but using salmon from the supermarket is perfectly fine.

TWO TYPES OF SALMON easy salmon rillettes recipe

Add the creme fraiche, chives, capers and dill and fold through. If you are using dill paste, just add it in small amounts as it can be overpowering.

Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and fold through again.

Cook’s tip: Be gentle when folding through the ingredients as you want to retain as much of the salmon flakes as possible.

Season with pepper. We don’t add any extra salt as the capers are usually salty enough.

easy salmon rillettes recipe

The beauty of this recipe is that whilst there are ingredient measurements, they should be used as a starting point or guide. Capers and dill in particular can be adapted according to your own tastes and can be reduced or increased depending on the impact you want to have on your tastebuds.

This recipe is perfect picnic food. It might sound fancy, but it’s simple and quick to make and is easily transportable. It’s a no-fuss picnic recipe and can be made a day in advance.

Make the salmon rillette just a lit more special by grilling up some baguette to spread it on. Once again, this can be made in advance.

We make our own baguettes, but you can buy baguettes or any other bread you like from a shop. Ciabatta or Pane di Casa would also work well.

Make up a quick mix of melted butter and garlic. Toast the baguette/bread or even better, if you have a cast iron grill pan, use it to get some beautiful char lines on it.

Spread the salmon rillettes on the toasted baguette for a wonderful snack or picnic treat.

Like to cook more French recipes?

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW

French Onion Confit

Classic French Boeuf Bourguignon

Making Quiche Lorraine in a motorhome

Making French Croissants at home

French Bouillabaisse from scratch

custard croissant
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salmon rillettes bowl

Salmon Rillettes

Yield: 1.5 cups
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Additional Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Cook this delicious French recipe at home to impress your friends. It sounds fancy but this recipe is very simple and quick to make. Make it for a picnic or a cheese platter.

Ingredients

  • 1 x 200g skinless salmon fillet
  • 100g smoked salmon
  • 1/2 French shallot or 1 large spring onion
  • Zest of one lemon
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • White pepper
  • 2 tsp chopped capers
  • 80g creme fraiche
  • 2 tbsp chopped chives
  • 1/2 bunch dill or dill paste
  • Baguette
  • Butter
  • Garlic

Instructions

  1. Poach the salmon fillet until just cooked.  We like to keep ours so it it medium and the flesh is opaque and still looks orange.
  2. Allow to cool.
  3. Dice the smoked salmon. Flake the cooked salmon and put both into a bowl.
  4. Add the creme fraiche, chives, capers and dill and fold through. If you are using dill paste, just add it in small amounts as it can be overpowering.
  5. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and fold through again. 
  6. Season with pepper.  We don't add any extra salt as the capers are usually salty enough
  7. Make up a quick mix of melted butter and garlic. Toast the baguette/bread or even better, if you have a cast-iron grill pan, use it to get some beautiful char lines on it.
  8. Spread the salmon rillettes on the toasted baguette for a wonderful snack or picnic treat.  

Notes

We cured and smoked our own salmon but using salmon from the supermarket is perfectly fine.

Be gentle when folding through the ingredients as you want to retain as much of the salmon flakes as possible.

The recipe can be made a day in advance and will store in the fridge for a week.

Recommended Products

Beer and Croissants is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites worldwide.

  • Calphalon Contemporary Hard-Anodized Aluminum Nonstick Cookware, Square Grill Pan, 11-inch, Black
    Calphalon Contemporary Hard-Anodized Aluminum Nonstick Cookware, Square Grill Pan, 11-inch, Black
  • Curing And Smoking Fish
    Curing And Smoking Fish
  • PolyScience Breville Gun Pro Smoke Infuser, Commercial, 0.5 Oz, Black
    PolyScience Breville Gun Pro Smoke Infuser, Commercial, 0.5 Oz, Black
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1.5 cups Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 2035Total Fat: 84gSaturated Fat: 37gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 38gCholesterol: 281mgSodium: 4581mgCarbohydrates: 222gFiber: 13gSugar: 51gProtein: 103g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Facebook

© Kerri McConnel
Cuisine: French / Category: Cook With Me
HOW-TO-MAKE-SALMON-RILLETTES
Kerri_McConnel Beer and Croissants

About the author

Kerri McConnel

Kerri left her corporate career to pursue a different lifestyle, establishing the successful travel website, Beer and Croissants.

Kerri and her husband Stirling now regularly travel the world, where eating great food, sampling local beverages and cooking international foods are integral to their adventures.

You also won’t find them too far away from an epic road trip either, with motorhomes their speciality.

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