Smoked Salmon Smørrebrød (Scandinavian open sandwich)
Smoked Salmon Smørrebrød or Scandinavian-style open sandwich has a perfect combination of flavours and textures. Nutritious, wholesome rye bread, cream cheese with lemon, chives and/or dill, topped with crunchy fresh cucumber and rich smoked salmon. Embellish with a garnish of tangy quick-pickled onion, piquant capers, plus more herbs and lemon, and you’ve something rather special.
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I think smørrebrød, Scandinavian-style open sandwiches, are something more of us in Britain should be tucking into. With many wanting to reduce their carb intake (especially of nutritionally poor, ultra-processed and refined carbs), the thinly cut, good quality rye bread traditionally used can only be a good thing.
Add to that fresh vegetables, raw or cooked, plus moderate amounts of protein and fats, and you’ve a meal that will keep you satisfied for hours.
WHAT IS Smørrebrød?
I love smørrebrød (apparently pronounced smuhrbroht) so much that I wrote a whole post about it, including plenty of ideas for toppings.
The word literally translates as buttered bread: smørre means buttered and brød is bread.
However, as you’d expect from a food popular all over Scandinavia and considered the national dish of Denmark (which has entire restaurants dedicated to it), there’s rather more to it than that. Fish, meats, eggs, and dairy are paired with various vegetables and garnishes to create attractive, substantial open-faced sandwiches.
THE BREAD
The traditional base for smørrebrød is dark rye bread. Full of flavour, it’s also firm textured. This means it’s less likely to disintegrate when you butter it and it can support plenty of those all-important toppings. Obviously, you could buy some good quality rye, but I prefer to bake my own. My Dark Rye Bread recipe is surprisingly easy made with an overnight, no-knead method.
If you don’t have dark rye bread you could buy pumpernickel. Or perhaps buy or make sourdough or try my Light Rye Bread. However, being less firm, you might want to lightly toast those two first. Be sure to cool before buttering though.
BUTTER
The traditional thick layer of butter that’s spread over the rye bread isn’t just there because it’s delicious. It also stops any juices from the topping seeping into the bread and making it soggy. To give you an idea of just how much butter is expected, the Danes have a word for it: tandsmør. This translates as ‘tooth butter’ and means that, after you’ve taken a bite, you should see teeth marks in the butter. Which is pretty much my standard depth of butter anyway!
Because my Smoked Salmon Smørrebrød has a layer of flavoured cream cheese, you might feel you can leave the butter off. But I still think the open sandwich is better with this tasty protective layer.
TOPPINGS: VEG/FRUIT + PROTEIN + GARNISH
A good open sandwich is usually made to the same basic structure. After the butter (which is often followed by mayonnaise, sometimes flavoured with things like mustard, horseradish) comes vegetables and/or fruit (e.g. cucumber, potato, tomato, apple) and a protein (fish, meat, eggs, cheese). The smørrebrød is then finished with garnishes such as chopped herbs and pickles.
They key to great smørrebrød is to be generous with your toppings, as shown above in a retro Scandinavian cookbook. So generous in fact, that these open sandwiches are usually eaten with knife and fork. For me, the key test is: can you pick one up in your hands to eat it? If so, you’ve probably been too mean with your toppings.
SMOKED SALMON Smørrebrød
I think my Smoked Salmon Smørrebrød is a great example of how, with the right combination of ingredients, open sandwiches have the potential to be so much greater than the sum of their parts. Yes, we’re all familiar with the pairing of smoked salmon and cream cheese. But just a few simple little extras can turn it into something rather special.
You’ll find full instructions and ingredient amounts in the recipe card at the end. But I recommend you read the whole of this post first for extra tips and step-by-step images.
The first embellishment is to flavour the cream cheese with lemon juice and zest, plus fresh herbs. I’ve used both chives and dill, but you could stick to one or the other. Stir these into the cheese along with a little black pepper. I add a little salt too, but taste first to see if you think it needs it. Then spread a good thick layer over the butter.
Slices of refreshing, crunchy cucumber go on next. I use a mandolin so they’re nice and even and cut them quite thin. Slice carefully with a knife if you don’t have a mandolin and make them thicker if preferred. Drape some lovely smoked salmon on top of the cucumber.
Now, delicious as this would be, we really can do a lot better.
For acidity to cut through the rich fish I sprinkle over a few capers (when I have them, I’ll substitute some of my homemade Nasturtium Capers) and some quick pickled red onion. The onion really is quick to do but you’re best to make it at the start or even a few hours before if that’s more convenient. You simply dissolve some sugar, a little salt and pepper in hot water then add a roughly equal amount of mild vinegar such as rice or white wine vinegar. Stir in some chopped or sliced red onion, then set aside to cool and gently pickle.
To finish the open sandwich, sprinkle over more of the lemon zest, your chosen herbs, plus a good grind of black pepper. Don’t you agree that looks so much more appetizing?
SERVING SMOKED SALMON Smørrebrød
I think this open sandwich, serving two per person, makes a wonderful lunch with a wedge of lemon to squeeze over, perhaps with a few rocket leaves mixed with crunchy sliced radish on the side. For a main meal, you can replace the rocket with a big mixed salad.
For me, the combination of flavours and textures is perfect. Nutritious, wholesome bread, creamy and herby cheese with a hint of lemon, fresh cucumber, rich smoky salmon, studded with little bursts of pickle and grassy herbs. No matter how many times I eat it, I’m always surprised at just how good it is with only a few simple embellishments.
Smoked Salmon Smørrebrød would also work as one of a platter of different open sandwiches to share. You’ll find lots of ideas in my Smørrebrød blog post including egg, prawn, salami, or goat cheese.
Have you made this recipe? Leave a comment and rating to let me know what you thought.
Smoked Salmon Smørrebrød (Scandinavian open sandwich)
This easy but delicious open sandwich has a perfect combination of flavours and textures: wholesome rye bread, cream cheese with lemon, chives and/or dill, topped with crunchy fresh cucumber and rich smoked salmon, garnished with tangy quick-pickled onion, piquant capers, plus more herbs and lemon.
If eating as a standalone meal rather than as one of a range of open sandwiches, serve 2 per person.
It's recommended that you read the accompanying blog post before starting the recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 thin slices dark rye bread see Recipe Notes
- soft butter (for spreading on the bread)
- 24 - 32 slices cucumber
- 100 g sliced smoked salmon
- 1 - 2 tbsp capers (drained)
For the quick pickled red onion
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 large pinch salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- 3 tbsp hot water (from a kettle)
- 3 - 4 tbsp mild vinegar (e.g. rice, white wine, or cider vinegar)
- 1 small red onion (skinned)
For the cream cheese
- 4 rounded dsp cream cheese
- 1 rounded tbsp chives and/or dill (chop the chives/tear the dill away from any tough stalks)
- 1 lemon (zest finely grated then chopped)
- black pepper
- salt (optional)
Garnishes to serve (choose any or all)
- chopped chives
- dill with any tough stems removed
- lemon zest
- black pepper
- lemon wedges
- rocket leaves, sliced radish
Instructions
-
Make the quick pickled red onion
Put the sugar, salt and pepper into a heatproof bowl and pour over the hot water. Stir to dissolve the sugar and salt then stir in the vinegar. Taste and add a little more sugar or vinegar to get the level of sweet/tartness you like.
Finely chop the red onion (or slice thinly into rings if preferred) and stir into the pickling liquor. Set aside in the fridge to cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
-
Flavour the cream cheese
Put the cream cheese in a small bowl and add the herbs.
Add ⅔ of the lemon zest, squeeze in the juice of ½ the lemon and add a large pinch of pepper.
Stir together then taste: add more lemon zest, juice or pepper plus a small pinch of salt if you think it needs it.
Set aside the rest of the lemon zest and juice for the garnish.
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Make the open sandwiches
Spread the slices of bread generously with butter.
Divide the flavoured cream cheese between the slices, spreading it over the butter.
Place 6 - 8 slices of cucumber on each piece of bread, on top of the cream cheese.
Divide the salmon between the slices of bread and drape it over the cucumber.
Drain the red onion from its pickling liquor and sprinkle some of the onion over each sandwich along with the capers.
Top with any or all the garnishes (herbs, zest, black pepper) and serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over plus the rocket and sliced radishes on the side.
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Best eaten straight away, although sandwiches should be fine in the fridge for roughly 2 hours.
Recipe Notes
Which bread to use for smorrebrod?
The traditional bread to use for Scandinavian style open sandwiches is thinly cut dark rye bread. A firm rather than soft bread is needed so it can stand the weight of the toppings. If you want to make your own Dark Rye Bread, you'll find my easy no-knead overnight recipe here.
If you don’t have firm dark rye bread you could try pumpernickel, buy or make sourdough or try my Light Rye Bread recipe. However, being less firm, you might want to lightly toast those first. Be sure to cool before buttering.
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