Last weekend my parents and sister came over for our first get together in our new house! My sister Mary LOVES smoked salmon, so I decided to please “the people” and make a smoked salmon appetizer. I honestly wasn’t expecting these Smoked Salmon Cucumber Bites to be such a hit, but they were scarfed down in a mere 5 minutes!
Why were they so delish, you ask? I used cucumber rounds as the base, then add smoked salmon, a dollop of sour cream, little garlicky pumpernickel croutons, a dash of lemon zest, chives, and cracked black pepper. The freshness of the cucumber, along with the creaminess of the sour cream, the touch of citrus from the zest, and the sweet rye crunch of homemade croutons was really delicious – and so beautiful on a big platter!
The pumpernickel croutons make it. If you haven’t tried pumpernickel and smoked salmon, these bites are the perfect excuse to try this crazy good combo.
My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!
Makes: ~3 dozen smoked salmon cucumber bites
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
The Ingredients
8 ounces smoked salmon
1 English cucumber, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
4 slices soft pumpernickel bread, crusts removed & cut into small ¼ inch squares
1 large garlic clove, sliced
Small handful chives, snipped
1 lemon
3 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Black pepper
The Steps
For mini croutons: In a large skillet, add olive oil, slivered garlic, and pumpernickel bread. Over medium-high heat, toss croutons for 6-8 minutes until they are toasted and just crunchy. Remove pan from burner and set aside.
To assemble: Place cucumber rounds on a large serving platter. Slice smoked salmon into thin pieces, twisting each piece into spirals. Each spiral should fit nicely on a cucumber round. Place one spiral on each cucumber round.
Add a small dollop of sour cream on top of each piece of smoked salmon. Place a crouton in the center of each dollop.
TIP: lemon zest is the yellow outer part of the lemon, not the inner white part! The white part is bitter!
Use a vegetable peeler to peel tiny pieces of lemon zest. Place one piece of zest on top of the sour cream dollop, on each smoked salmon bite.
Sprinkle each cucumber round with chives and cracked black pepper.
To serve: for best results, chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.
If you need to prepare these bites ahead, you can keep these in the fridge 12 hours before serving!
The Steps With Video
My STEP-BY-STEP VIDEO below will help guide you through the recipe. Subscribe to my YouTube channel for recipe videos every week!
