Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches Recipe

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.

These started for me as a way to use up the second half of a side of my smoked salmon the day after the smoke, and they have turned into the appetizer my wife asks for whenever someone is coming over. If you keep cold smoked salmon, a homemade salmon dip, or a side of gravlax on hand, the rest of the tray is just bread, cream cheese, and a couple of cold vegetables sliced thin. Twenty minutes from cutting board to platter, and they look like they came off a hotel pastry trolley.

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.     

The way I make them at home runs the same way: whip cream cheese with dill and green onion so the spread is lighter than a block of cream cheese, slice the cucumber and radish on a mandoline so they lay flat, slice good thick brioche and trim the crusts off all four sides, and build each sandwich with the salmon as the middle stripe. A handful of pickled radishes tucked in is the move when I want a sharper bite. I recommend you to cut each sandwich into small rectangles, fan them out on a platter, and the room takes care of the rest.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Five things to buy and a few small choices that change the whole sandwich. Here is what I use for his smoked salmon tea sandwiches recipe:

• Cream Cheese – I use 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.

How to Make Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches

Whip the herb cream cheese: I drop the whipped cream cheese into a medium bowl with the minced dill, the sliced green onions or chives, a pinch of sea salt, and a turn of cracked black pepper. I stir it with a small spatula until the herbs are spread all the way through the cream cheese, taste it, and adjust the salt. I leave the bowl on the counter so the spread stays soft enough to layer thin.

Slice the radishes thin and hold them in water: I trim the tops and tails off the radishes and run them across the mandoline as thin as I can get them, or hand-slice with a sharp knife if I am only doing a handful. I drop the slices into a small bowl of cold water as I go. The cold water keeps the slices crisp and stops the red rim from bleeding onto the white bread.

Slice the cucumber thin: I trim the ends off the English cucumber and run it crosswise across the mandoline into thin rounds. I lay the rounds out on a paper towel, set another paper towel on top, and press gently to pull surface moisture off. Wet cucumber soaks the bread faster than anything else on the sandwich.

Trim the crust off the bread: I stack two slices of brioche at a time on the cutting board and slice all four crusts off in a single pass with a long serrated knife. I square the slices up so they all match before I start building. I save the crusts for breadcrumbs. Slice the bread into ½” to ¾” thick slices.

Build the bottom layer of the sandwich: I lay two trimmed slices of brioche on the board and spread a thin layer of the herb cream cheese on one side of both slices, all the way to the edges, with a small offset spatula or the back of a butter knife.

Layer the cucumber: I lay three or four overlapping cucumber rounds on one of the cream-cheese-coated slices, covering the whole surface in a single layer, and hit it with a tiny pinch of sea salt.

Layer the smoked salmon: I drape one full slice of smoked salmon over the cucumber so it covers the layer without hanging over the edge. I tuck any overhanging pieces back into the sandwich; nothing should stick out past the bread.

Layer the radish and close the sandwich: I pull the radish slices out of the cold water, pat them dry on a paper towel, and fan 5 or 6 rounds across the salmon in a single layer. I flip the second slice of brioche over and press it cream-cheese-side-down onto the radish.

Slice and plate: I slice each finished sandwich into four small rectangles or triangles with one steady draw of a long serrated knife, not a sawing motion, and wipe the blade between cuts so each face stays clean.

Serve: I plate the small sandwiches on a board or platter with the cut edges showing, so the layers of cucumber, salmon, and radish read at first glance.

Serving Suggestions

These Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches show up on the counter for baby showers, Mother’s Day brunches, holiday open houses, and any weekend my wife has friends coming over for tea. I set a tray of these next to a plate of classic deviled eggs, a basket of warm blueberry scones with clotted cream and jam, and a small bowl of fresh fruit, and the spread looks like a proper tea service without me losing an entire morning to lots of work.

For a brunch table where I want something heartier next to the small bites, I will plate these alongside a bowl of easy egg salad on toast points and a board of cheese, fruit, and crackers. The smoked salmon sandwiches are elegant, the egg salad is homey, and the table covers anyone walking in the door, hungry or just stopping by.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: The herb cream cheese can be whipped up to 3 days ahead and held covered in the fridge. The cucumber and radish can be sliced the morning of, held in cold water, and patted dry before building. Assembled sandwiches are at their best within 4 hours of building, but they hold the morning into the afternoon if I wrap them tight.

How to Store: Cover the finished sandwiches with a damp paper towel and a tight sheet of plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 3 days. The damp towel keeps the bread from drying out without making it soggy.

How to Freeze: Do not freeze. The bread turns gummy, the cucumber and radish weep, and the cream cheese breaks on the thaw.

More Sandwich Recipes

• Ribeye Steak Sandwich
• Reuben Sandwich
• Monte Cristo
• BLT
• Crab Cakes Sandwich