There is nothing more beautiful to start a meal than salmon rillettes. This light, creamy, spreadable salmon appetizer features both fresh Norwegian salmon (poached) as well as Norwegian smoked salmon. It has a delicate flavor, a spreadable, paste-like consistency, and is best served room temperature with crackers, bread, or endive leaves. And trust us, it’s deceptively easy to make!
Because rillettes are often an appetizer or snack, we recommend serving this at the beginning of a meal. It’s a perfect light bite to kick off a Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner!
Make sure to allot at least 2 hours chilling time before serving. And be prepared to make a double batch. Though it’s rich and a little goes a long way, it tends to disappear quickly! Truly our favorite holiday appetizer.
But First, What Is Rillettes?
A classic French rillettes is chunkier in texture than a terrine or pâté. Typically the meat (often pork belly, pork shoulder, or duck, but seafood can be used as well) is shredded or chopped and then preserved in its own fat. With duck or pork rillette it’s common to use the animal fat to cook and store it, in but with salmon, we use a mix of butter, sour cream, and olive oil. This helps to achieve the spreadable consistency of a classic rillette and help with preservation.
This is very similar to a French confit. The main difference is that with confit, ingredients are left whole (eg, confit duck legs or cherry tomato confit), whereas with rillettes, the ingredients are chopped or shredded.
Now that you know the background, let’s make the absolute best ever salmon rillettes! You will want to make this every single day, it’s that good!!
Ingredients For Homemade Salmon Rillettes
- Fresh Norwegian salmon, skin removed: Norwegian salmon is a great source of Omega-3 fatty acids and is heart healthy!
- Poaching liquid, made from: white wine, water, lemon juice, a shallot, and whole black peppercorns
- Smoked salmon: In addition to fresh Norwegian salmon fillets, we’re also featuring Norwegian smoked salmon. These are often sold in 4 oz packages near the seafood department. Give the smoked salmon a rough chop. It adds a beautiful and delicate smoky flavor throughout.
- Softened, room temperature butter: A main component of any rillettes recipe is room temperature butter.
- Sautéed shallots: You’ll sauté the remaining shallot in butter for a soft, sweet, delicate onion flavor that isn’t too overpowering.
- Sour cream: Adds a rich, thick, creamy component that is less heavy than all butter.
- Fresh herbs: We add fresh chives and dill, the latter of which is our absolute favorite herb to pair with salmon!
- Drained capers: No need to rinse, just give the capers a rough chop. Their briny flavor cuts through the richness of the salmon and the sour cream.
- Extra virgin olive oil: To help create the the right consistency with the butter and sour cream.
- Sweet paprika: Adds a bright bite!
You may have noticed that there is no Kosher salt in this recipe. That’s because there are a few individually salty components — smoked salmon and capers, specifically — that help to season the other ingredients. You can taste and adjust seasoning as needed before refrigerating, but we think you should try without adding salt to begin.
How To Make Rillettes
Making salmon rillettes at home could not be easier! First, poach a skinless salmon fillet. We like to poach it in a mix of white wine, water, and lemon juice flavored with whole black peppercorns and a halved shallot. This provides so much more flavor than if you had just poached the salmon in water.
After 10 minutes or so, the salmon should be ready! Transfer to a plate and allow to cool slightly before flaking into bite size pieces.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients: room temperature butter, sour cream, smoked salmon, thinly sliced chives, fresh dill, chopped capers, extra virgin olive oil, and sweet paprika. Use a small spatula to combine thoroughly, then very gently stir in the poached salmon flakes. Yes, the pieces will break up a bit, that’s totally fine. You just don’t want the entire thing to become mush.
Once combine, divide into glass jars (or store in one larger container), then seal and refrigerate. Salmon rillettes need about 2 hours in the fridge to firm up and allow the flavors to meld. Though if you’re like us, you won’t be able to resist a bite beforehand. Even freshly mixed, salmon rillettes are unbelievably good!
Best served at room temperature (yes, even after the crucial chilling step!).
Tips For The Best Salmon Rillettes
- Use room temperature butter! Do not attempt to microwave the butter to soften it, as this gives it a different consistency. And on that note…
- Allow the poached salmon to cool slightly before adding it to the softened butter and sour cream mixture. If it’s too hot, it’ll melt the butter, which will also give the rillettes a totally different texture and consistency.
- Don’t skip the chill time! While it’s perfectly fine to eat the rillettes after mixing everything together, it really needs to chill in a fridge for a couple hours to get the ride spreadable consistency.
- Can be made in advance and stored in a fridge for up to 3 days.
- If not using immediately, pour a bit of melted butter on top of the packed rillettes to help preserve flavor and lock in freshness before sealing.
How To Serve Rillettes
Rillettes is typically meant to be spread, and this salmon rillettes recipe is no different! Serve at room temperature on crackers, baguette, or filled into trimmed endive leaves for a gluten-free option (also how beautiful and elegant does it look?!). Traditional pork rillettes or duck rillettes are often served with those cute little cornichons (small French pickles). Not necessary here, as the capers sort of work in the same way adding a tart contrast to the otherwise rich salmon!
Salmon rillettes would make a great addition to a charcuterie or appetizer board any night of the week, but we are featuring it as part of a Feast of the Seven Fishes Christmas Eve meal. A few bites for everyone will go a long way in a 7 course tasting menu!
This recipe is truly over the top delicious. It’s rich, luxurious, and so completely satisfying. If we had to describe the flavor in one word, it would be delicate. You absolutely must make room for this on your holiday spread, it is a showstopper for sure!
If you make this Salmon Rillettes recipe, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
Our Remaining 2021 Feast Of The Seven Fishes Menu:
- Crab Stuffed Shrimp
- Moules Marinières
- Baked Cod With Panko
- Broiled Scallops With Garlic Butter Sauce
- Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Lemon Beurre Blanc
- Baked Crab Legs
And make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow along on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Facebook for more Well Seasoned recipes! DON’T FORGET to tag us on social channels when you make a recipe at #wellseasonedstudio !! We LOVE seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
More holiday appetizers we love!
- Spiced Nuts
- Whipped Feta Dip
- Antipasto Skewers
- Cucumber Slices with Salmon
- Phyllo-Wrapped Feta with Truffle Honey
*This post was sponsored by the Norwegian Seafood Council. All opinions are my own. I only support and promote brands that I believe in and use in my own kitchen – I hope you’ll check them out! Thank you for supporting the brands that make Well Seasoned possible.
Recipe inspired by and adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Everyday Dorie.
Salmon Rillettes Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz (½ lb) salmon fillet skin removed
- 2 medium shallots divided
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 lemon zested and juiced
- 4 oz (¼ lb) smoked salmon roughly chopped
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter room temperature, divided
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- 2 Tbsp chives thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp fresh dill or parsley
- 1 Tbsp capers finely chopped
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp sweet paprika
Instructions
- Prepare the poaching liquid. Combine 1 cup white wine, 3 cups water, 1 halved, peeled shallot, and 1 tsp peppercorns in a medium saucepan. Zest the lemon, then reserve and set aside. Slice the lemon in half, squeeze the juice directly into the pan, then place lemons halve inside. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Poach the salmon. When boiling, add skinless salmon fillet to the poaching liquid. Cook for 10 minutes, or until fully cooked through. Gently remove the cooked salmon to a plate and discard the poaching liquid. Allow to cool slightly, then flake the salmon into small pieces.
- Sauté the shallot. While the salmon is cooking, heat 1 Tbsp butter in a skillet over medium heat, no higher. Mince the remaining shallot, then add to the warm pan. Cook until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Set aside.
- Mix remaining ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, combine remaining 3 Tbsp butter, 2 Tbsp sour cream, chopped smoked salmon, 2 Tbsp chives, 2 Tbsp chopped dill, 1 Tbsp capers, 1 Tbsp olive oil, ¼ tsp sweet paprika, reserved lemon zest, and the cooked shallots. Use a spatula to gently combine.
- Add cooled salmon. Add the poached salmon to the bowl, then stir to gently combine.
- Chill the rillettes. Transfer the salmon rillettes to 1 or 2 glass containers, then seal with a tight fitting lid or wrap well with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to firm up.
- To serve: Take out the fridge about 15-20 minutes before serving (easier to spread at room temperature), then serve on crackers, sliced baguette, or endive leaves.
Notes
- Can be made in advance and stored in a fridge for up to 3 days.
- If not using immediately, pour a bit of melted butter on top of the packed rillettes to help preserve flavor and lock in freshness before sealing.
Let us know your thoughts!