When there are left-overs, especially Salmon I make this for a dinner salad the next day. The flavor is so different from the filet it is hard for people to realize they are eating yesterday’s leftovers. The photo is of Salmon salad lying on fresh butter lettuce with home grown tomato slices. The dark color drizzle is Trader Joes, Balsamic Vinegar Glaze; very tasty.
This is a 2-part recipe. One that will first save you money and second will get you rave reviews.
Part One:
Tartar Sauce – Commercial Tartar Sauce is made with Mayonnaise, dill pickle relish, pickle juice, lemon juice and finely chopped white onion. I’ve got another way to make Tartar Sauce that you may like even better; and homemade is cheaper.
2 Cups Mayonnaise… (Opinion – lite mayo is made with soybean oil (read the label). At least 90% of the soybeans grown are genetically modified i.e. GMO. If you go to the trouble of catching wild fish use real mayo. I use Winco house brand).
2/3 cup of Vlasic Sweet pickle relish… (Opinion – I buy my Vlasic at Winco. It is less than the other brands and taste great).
3-4 tablespoons of finely chopped red onion… (Opinion – if you like onions use more, it won’t hurt anything; if you have or prefer sweet, yellow or white onion; use them).
3-4 tablespoons of coarsely chopped celery… (Opinion – I like the added crunch the celery gives and it doesn’t seem to affect the flavor. I usually use the same amount of celery as I do onion; most often more celery than onion.
I do not add lemon juice and the Vlasic pickle relish is ‘wet’ enough I don’t have to add pickle juice.
Part Two:
Salmon Salad – I’ve made this with left over chicken, trout, rockfish, imitation crab (yum) and tuna. If you make those variations, you’ll have to call your gastronomical delight by its appropriate name i.e. Crab Salad, Tuna Salad, Chicken Salad, etc
With what-ever you decide to create, you’ll need to process the meat first. With cooked fish it is very easy to use two forks to flake the filets apart; sort of like pulled pork.
With other meats, you’ll likely need a food processor. I have an old “little Oscar” by Sunbeam. I’m not sure they are even made any longer, however I found a nice one on E-Bay for my sister. Mine has lots of miles on it and it’s still a great machine. I use it to process the finely chopped onions then after a quick rinse I process the meat. I think the imitation Crab is my favorite, it only take a couple of seconds to process any of the meats. You’ll want it chunked, not ground up like burger meat.
Using the measurements from Part One you will first place 3-4 cups of salmon (or other meat) that you’ve flaked in a large mixing bowl, and then add the pickle relish, onions and celery. The last thing to add will be the mayo and it’s best to do that in stages largely because not all cooked Salmon will have the same moisture content.
Add 1 cup of mayo and fold it into the Salmon and other ingredients, with a spatula. If it seems to dry add more mayo until you’ve got a nice and thick mix that is well covered with the mayo acting as a binder. No worries, if it appears too dry later, simply add more mayo. You just don’t want the mayo to be the number one taste.
After making your ‘Salad’ - refrigerate and chill until ready to serve.
After you’ve added the first cup of mayo, if you’d care to think about calories, it is completely acceptable to add plain (not flavored) Greek yogurt; if you intend to serve this the same day.
If you are making this to serve the following day you’ll find it best to mix in chilled yogurt just before serving.
I like the sweet pickle relish variation with the added chopped celery. Sometimes I will add lemon juice if I happen to have a real lemon available, but most often I just don’t use it and no-one seems to notice (or care).
About that course chopped celery. I find it easiest to first slice the celery stalk lengthwise into three long pieces, and then do the chopping; I believe it make for a better crunch to have those square little pieces.
I rarely use a measuring cup but instead just make the Salad have the consistency I am looking for. You might say my variation on Tartar Sauce, or Salmon Salad is not an exact science. Then again, neither is any of my cooking.
If you are thinking this would be great on bread with a bit of lettuce and tomatoes, you are absolutely right. My favorite is the Crab Salad sandwich, closely followed by Salmon then Tuna.
This is a 2-part recipe. One that will first save you money and second will get you rave reviews.
Part One:
Tartar Sauce – Commercial Tartar Sauce is made with Mayonnaise, dill pickle relish, pickle juice, lemon juice and finely chopped white onion. I’ve got another way to make Tartar Sauce that you may like even better; and homemade is cheaper.
2 Cups Mayonnaise… (Opinion – lite mayo is made with soybean oil (read the label). At least 90% of the soybeans grown are genetically modified i.e. GMO. If you go to the trouble of catching wild fish use real mayo. I use Winco house brand).
2/3 cup of Vlasic Sweet pickle relish… (Opinion – I buy my Vlasic at Winco. It is less than the other brands and taste great).
3-4 tablespoons of finely chopped red onion… (Opinion – if you like onions use more, it won’t hurt anything; if you have or prefer sweet, yellow or white onion; use them).
3-4 tablespoons of coarsely chopped celery… (Opinion – I like the added crunch the celery gives and it doesn’t seem to affect the flavor. I usually use the same amount of celery as I do onion; most often more celery than onion.
I do not add lemon juice and the Vlasic pickle relish is ‘wet’ enough I don’t have to add pickle juice.
Part Two:
Salmon Salad – I’ve made this with left over chicken, trout, rockfish, imitation crab (yum) and tuna. If you make those variations, you’ll have to call your gastronomical delight by its appropriate name i.e. Crab Salad, Tuna Salad, Chicken Salad, etc
With what-ever you decide to create, you’ll need to process the meat first. With cooked fish it is very easy to use two forks to flake the filets apart; sort of like pulled pork.
With other meats, you’ll likely need a food processor. I have an old “little Oscar” by Sunbeam. I’m not sure they are even made any longer, however I found a nice one on E-Bay for my sister. Mine has lots of miles on it and it’s still a great machine. I use it to process the finely chopped onions then after a quick rinse I process the meat. I think the imitation Crab is my favorite, it only take a couple of seconds to process any of the meats. You’ll want it chunked, not ground up like burger meat.
Using the measurements from Part One you will first place 3-4 cups of salmon (or other meat) that you’ve flaked in a large mixing bowl, and then add the pickle relish, onions and celery. The last thing to add will be the mayo and it’s best to do that in stages largely because not all cooked Salmon will have the same moisture content.
Add 1 cup of mayo and fold it into the Salmon and other ingredients, with a spatula. If it seems to dry add more mayo until you’ve got a nice and thick mix that is well covered with the mayo acting as a binder. No worries, if it appears too dry later, simply add more mayo. You just don’t want the mayo to be the number one taste.
After making your ‘Salad’ - refrigerate and chill until ready to serve.
After you’ve added the first cup of mayo, if you’d care to think about calories, it is completely acceptable to add plain (not flavored) Greek yogurt; if you intend to serve this the same day.
If you are making this to serve the following day you’ll find it best to mix in chilled yogurt just before serving.
I like the sweet pickle relish variation with the added chopped celery. Sometimes I will add lemon juice if I happen to have a real lemon available, but most often I just don’t use it and no-one seems to notice (or care).
About that course chopped celery. I find it easiest to first slice the celery stalk lengthwise into three long pieces, and then do the chopping; I believe it make for a better crunch to have those square little pieces.
I rarely use a measuring cup but instead just make the Salad have the consistency I am looking for. You might say my variation on Tartar Sauce, or Salmon Salad is not an exact science. Then again, neither is any of my cooking.
If you are thinking this would be great on bread with a bit of lettuce and tomatoes, you are absolutely right. My favorite is the Crab Salad sandwich, closely followed by Salmon then Tuna.
