Jump to Recipe

Salmon Rillettes: A French seafood spread that’s perfect for a light lunch or served on cocktail toasts or crackers for a tasty appetizer.

This elegant Salmon Spread comes from Dorie Greenspan and by adding salmon roe or sprigs of dill, it can be the dish that disappears from the buffet first!

Salmon Rillettes on toasts on a white platter.
Table of Contents hide
1 Why You Must Make
2 What Are Rillettes?
3 How to Make
4 Frequently Asked Questions
5 You May Also Like
6 Salmon Rillettes Recipe
7 Salmon Rillettes Recipe

Why You Must Make

  • The time has come for the third and final seafood rillette recipe from Around My French Table. And we saved the best for last.
  • Although I enjoyed the sardine and tuna versions, the salmon rillettes trumped them all.
  • It’s a simple recipe that uses a fork to mash the smoked and poached salmon with lemon zest, chile pepper, chopped onions, then butter to make a thick, tasty spread.

Salmon Rillettes #FrenchFridayswithDorie

What Are Rillettes?

As a quick review,  rillettes is a meat spread similar to pâté. More typically made of pork or goose meat, Dorie Greenspan has shared three scrumptious fish options.

This may be a shocker to some of my Dorista friends, but Bill loved this dish! I had some corn chips on the counter for some mango salsa so I offered him that or the salmon rillettes. Without hesitation, he chose the salmon…then dove in again and again. I should have made a double batch.

Salmon Rillettes on a white tray with a terrine of the salmon spread.

How to Make 

I whipped up a terrine of this tasty seafood spread in no time.

  1. Poach fresh salmon chunks in a bath of white wine, bay, lemon peel, a sliver of chile pepper, coriander seed, white peppercorns, and spring onion greens.
  2. With a fork, mash the freshly poached salmon and mix with diced smoked salmon, lemon zest, minced onion, minced chile, and finally some softened butter.
  3. Pack the rillettes in either a small serving dish or canning jar, this salmon spread then refrigerate for a few hours before serving it with crackers or hearty bread slices.
Salmon Rillettes with a jar of salmon caviar.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are Rillettes?

Rillettes are a meat spread similar to pâté. More typically made of pork or goose meat, Dorie Greenspan has shared three scrumptious fish options. The protein of choice is slowly cooked in seasoned fat, then pounded into a paste, packed in small pots, and sealed with a layer of fat.

How Long Can You Store Salmon Rillettes?

It will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator as long as it’s kept airtight with a seal of fat. If it’s left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, it should be tossed.

How Do You Garnish Salmon Rillettes?

It’s best to garnish with ingredients used in the recipe, so salmon roe is perfect. For a touch of green, dill works well with salmon and since coriander seeds are used in the poaching liquid, a cilantro sprig would be another option.

You May Also Like

Salmon Rillettes in a white terrine topped with dill.
The Recipe:

Salmon Rillettes Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Additional Time 2 hours
Total Time 20 minutes
Yield 8

A tasty spread made with freshly poached salmon, smoked salmon and flavored with onions, wine, lemon, and spices.

Ingredients

  • 1 lemon
  • 1 small red chile
  • 1/2 cup white wine or white Vermouth
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 5 white peppercorns
  • 5 coriander seeds
  • 2 small spring onions, peeled, long green tops removed and reserved, or 1 shallot
  • 1/2 pound salmon filet, skin and bones removed, cut into small (about 1/2 inch) cubes
  • 1/4 pound smoked salmon (you can add up to 2 ounces more, if you’d like), cut into small (about 1/4 inch) dice
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 to 3 pinches of pink peppercorns, crushed with your fingers
  • Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Instructions

    1. Using a vegetable peeler, remove a strip of zest from the lemon and toss it into a medium-sized saucepan; finely grate the rest of the zest and keep the lemon at hand.  With a small knife, cut away a sliver of the red chile, discard the seeds and toss the sliver into the saucepan; seed and finely dice the remainder of the chile and hold on to it for the moment. 
    2. Pour the wine or Vermouth and water into the pan, add the bay leaf, peppercorns, coriander, onion tops (if you’re using spring onions), and 1/2 teaspoon salt and put the pan over medium heat.  Bring the mix, essentially a court bouillon, to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
    3. Drop the cubes of fresh salmon into the pan, cover and poach the fish for just 1 minute.  Turn everything into a strainer, drain, and then transfer the salmon, minus whatever seasonings have stuck to it, to a mixing bowl.
    4. While the salmon is cooling, finely chop the spring onions or peel, trim and finely dice the shallot.  If you’re using a shallot, rinse the dice under cold water and pat dry. 
    5. With the back of a fork, lightly mash the poached salmon, then toss the smoked salmon, lemon zest, diced chile and chopped onion into the bowl.  Season with salt and pepper and give everything a good stir.  A
    6. dd the softened butter and use the fork to stir and mash it into the mixture until it’s well incorporated and you have a thick spread.  Squeeze about half of the lemon’s juice into the bowl, stir it in and season the rillettes with salt and pepper.  Taste and add more lemon juice (it’s nice when it’s lemony), salt and pepper, if you’d like, then stir in the pink peppercorns.
    7. Pack the rillettes into a jar (a canning jar is traditional) or bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface and chill for at least 2 hours – you want it to be firm – or for up to overnight.
    8. Serve with bread, crackers or toasts.  If you’d like to dress it up, top with salmon roe.

Notes

Makes 2 cups.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 149Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 378mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 10g

Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.

HOW MUCH DID YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

© Liz Berg
Cuisine: French / Category: Appetizers
frenchfridayswithdorie
Salmon Rillettes in a white terrine topped with dill.
The Recipe:

Salmon Rillettes Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Additional Time 2 hours
Total Time 20 minutes
Yield 8

A tasty spread made with freshly poached salmon, smoked salmon and flavored with onions, wine, lemon, and spices.

Ingredients

  • 1 lemon
  • 1 small red chile
  • 1/2 cup white wine or white Vermouth
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 5 white peppercorns
  • 5 coriander seeds
  • 2 small spring onions, peeled, long green tops removed and reserved, or 1 shallot
  • 1/2 pound salmon filet, skin and bones removed, cut into small (about 1/2 inch) cubes
  • 1/4 pound smoked salmon (you can add up to 2 ounces more, if you’d like), cut into small (about 1/4 inch) dice
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 to 3 pinches of pink peppercorns, crushed with your fingers
  • Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Instructions

    1. Using a vegetable peeler, remove a strip of zest from the lemon and toss it into a medium-sized saucepan; finely grate the rest of the zest and keep the lemon at hand.  With a small knife, cut away a sliver of the red chile, discard the seeds and toss the sliver into the saucepan; seed and finely dice the remainder of the chile and hold on to it for the moment. 
    2. Pour the wine or Vermouth and water into the pan, add the bay leaf, peppercorns, coriander, onion tops (if you’re using spring onions), and 1/2 teaspoon salt and put the pan over medium heat.  Bring the mix, essentially a court bouillon, to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
    3. Drop the cubes of fresh salmon into the pan, cover and poach the fish for just 1 minute.  Turn everything into a strainer, drain, and then transfer the salmon, minus whatever seasonings have stuck to it, to a mixing bowl.
    4. While the salmon is cooling, finely chop the spring onions or peel, trim and finely dice the shallot.  If you’re using a shallot, rinse the dice under cold water and pat dry. 
    5. With the back of a fork, lightly mash the poached salmon, then toss the smoked salmon, lemon zest, diced chile and chopped onion into the bowl.  Season with salt and pepper and give everything a good stir.  A
    6. dd the softened butter and use the fork to stir and mash it into the mixture until it’s well incorporated and you have a thick spread.  Squeeze about half of the lemon’s juice into the bowl, stir it in and season the rillettes with salt and pepper.  Taste and add more lemon juice (it’s nice when it’s lemony), salt and pepper, if you’d like, then stir in the pink peppercorns.
    7. Pack the rillettes into a jar (a canning jar is traditional) or bowl, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface and chill for at least 2 hours – you want it to be firm – or for up to overnight.
    8. Serve with bread, crackers or toasts.  If you’d like to dress it up, top with salmon roe.

Notes

Makes 2 cups.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 149Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 378mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 10g

Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.

HOW MUCH DID YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

© Liz Berg
Cuisine: French / Category: Appetizers
Today, I am on an 8-hour road trip to Iowa for my high school reunion. I’m sure we’ll pretend we are 18 again and can endure late lights of  cocktails, laughter and reminiscing. We’ll be remembering our dear friend, Steve Gradwohl, who unexpectedly passed away last May.