Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches Recipe
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- 20 comments
These tasty small smoked salmon tea sandwiches are jam-packed with flavor and come together in under 20 minutes for the perfect snack or appetizer. You won’t believe how amazing this tastes.
Sandwiches are some of the simplest recipes to make and have an assortment of ingredients, flavors, and variations. You must try my Grilled Cheese or Croque Monsieur if you love a good sandwich.
Tea Sandwiches
Tea sandwiches are the first course in a three-course meal of a traditional afternoon British Tea service. It can have several ingredient variations, but these small, prepared sandwiches are meant for the meal’s first course during this afternoon tea process.
While I’m not sure if these tea services are still popular in the present day, I am aware that these are often served as an amuse at a fine dining restaurant or as appetizers in a course or a buffet style meal. They are quick and easy to make and should pack a punch in the flavor department.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Cream Cheese – I used whipped cream cheese. You can purchase this already whipped or whip a ½ block of cream cheese yourself in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on high speed until it becomes light and fluffy.
- Herbs – I prefer to use a combination of fresh dill and sliced green onions or chives.
- Bread – Brioche is the best bread to use for this. The other option is basic white bread.
- Salmon – For this, you can use either hot smoked salmon that has been chilled and sliced or cold-sliced smoked salmon.
- Vegetables – I use cucumbers and radishes, but you can add things like tomatoes, sliced hard-boiled egg, or roasted bell peppers.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Mix the cream cheese, green onions, dill, salt, and pepper in a medium-sized bowl until combined. Set aside at room temperature.
Thinly slice the radishes. You can keep them in a bowl of cold water to keep them from turning color.
Slice the cucumber.
Remove the outside crust off your loaf of bread.
Slice the bread into ½” to ¾” thick slices.
Spread a thin layer of the herb cream cheese on one side of two slices of bread.
Layer on one slice of the bread with herb cream cheese with sliced cucumbers.
Next, place on a slice of smoked salmon, covering the cucumbers.
Layer on with sliced radishes.
Place on the top slice of herb cream cheese bread.
Slice into 4 smaller slices and serve.
Variations
There are other ways to serve this recipe, including adding or taking off ingredients. In addition, you can make something completely different. Here are other ingredient combinations you can use as ingredients:
- Salmon – Cucumber – Cream Cheese
- Salmon – Radish – Cream Cheese
- Salmon – Cream Cheese
- Cucumber – Cream Cheese
- Cucumber – Radish – Cream Cheese
- Tomato – Cucumber – Cream Cheese
- Tomato – Cream cheese
- Hard-Boiled Egg – Cucumber – Radish – Cream Cheese
- Hard-Boiled Egg – Radish – Cream Cheese
- Hard-Boiled Egg – Cream Cheese
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make these the morning of the day that you plan to serve them.
How to Store: Cover and keep these tea sandwiches in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. These will not freeze well.
CHEF NOTES + TIPS
- When assembling the sandwich, please do your best to ensure the ingredients aren’t hanging over the bread so that it is a tight sandwich after slicing it.
More Sandwich Recipes
Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 4 ounces whipped cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
- 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh dill
- 10 thin slices of crustless brioche bread
- 4 ounces of thinly sliced smoked salmon, or 5 large slices
- ½ thinly sliced cucumbers
- 2 thinly sliced radishes
- sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium-size bowl mix together the cream cheese, green onions, dill, salt, and pepper until combined. Set aside at room temperature.
- Spread a thin layer of the herb cream cheese on one side of two slices of bread.
- Layer on one slice of the bread with herb cream cheese with sliced cucumbers.
- Next, place on a slice of smoked salmon making sure to cover the cucumbers.
- Layer on with sliced radishes.
- Place on the top slice of herb cream cheese bread.
- Slice into 4 smaller slices and serve. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients.
Notes
Nutrition
I lived in London for 25 years, and tea sandwiches are of course, a lovely British tradition. I make the salmon and cucumber sandwiches separately as they are supposed to be rather dainty and not a real sandwich —or meal. (cultural difference between Brits and Americans). I think that using only one main ingredient allows the taste, flavour and texture of it to take center stage. But what I use as the spread is the french Boursin cheese with herbs and garlic…. Available in supermarkets and Trader Joes (at least in California). It is really a staple in France… you can use it in scrambled eggs, or pasta or just about anywhere….
I made this absolutely delicious sandwich because I knew if I followed your recipe with the smoked salmon I would love it and oh boy did I ever. It would be easy to over eat this one.
Thanks Chef Parisi. Wow!
Thank you for giving the recipe a try!
Can I make these using normal cooked salmon? My tea party guests are not fans of high sodium foods.
Possibly. Without testing it myself, I’m not 100% sure.