5 Smoked Fish Recipes to Serve on Christmas

Can you believe that Christmas is only a couple of weeks away? We know that it happens every year, but once again the holidays have snuck up on us. If you’re entertaining and want to work some seafood into the menu, we’ve cooked up some smoked fish recipes for you. Whether you need something special for a family breakfast or an appetizer to hold you over until the big meal, you’ll find a delightfully suitable suggestion among these five smoked fish Christmas recipes.

Pastrami Smoked Salmon Festive Bites

A few of us at Acme Smoked Fish decided to put together a little snack before we got together in the test kitchen to brainstorm recipes. We had a few tart shells laying around from making another one of our favorite Acme recipes (the Honey Maple Smoked Salmon Mini-Tart Flambé), so we topped them with a little pastrami smoked salmon, a schmear of goat cheese, and some pomegranate seeds we had around. As easy as that, we had a snack to get us started. It wasn’t long though before we realized that we didn’t just have a delicious snack, we actually had our first recipe of the day!

Sweet and tangy pomegranate seeds, salty and creamy goat cheese, and our rich and peppery pastrami smoked salmon come together to form the perfect finger food before a big meal. Not to mention the fact that this dish offers the added bonus of showcasing some festive Christmas colors! Feel free to use pre-baked tart shells like we did in our original aha moment or any sort of store-bought cracker or wafer like pictured above. Feeling fancy? Make your own tarts from scratch!

Chilled Beet Soup with Pickled Herring

When looking for a nice, light, refreshing dish to start a multi-course holiday meal, our Chilled Beet Soup with Pickled Herring is a great place to start. This dish occupies a special place in the hearts of many at Acme Smoked Fish. A lot of folks who work here grew up in Ukrainian households where borscht (a beet soup) was a staple throughout holidays and otherwise. That’s one of the reasons why we decided to adapt this recipe from an employee’s family recipe. The addition of Greek yogurt, mint, and pickled herring give this dish a new spin while preserving the key characteristics of a classic soup. While our colleague who lent their family recipe asked to remain nameless, they said that their babushka would approve of this reinterpretation.

Lox, Eggs, and Chives Omelet

Christmas morning sets the tone for many families. Kiddos unwrap their stockings and drink hot cocoa while adults enjoy their coffee or tea by the fire. Meanwhile everyone somehow manages to work up an appetite through the various happenings around the tree. Whether your tradition includes a big breakfast, or just something to get the day going, we wanted to come up with a simply delicious recipe to help bring some smoked fish (and extra holiday cheer) to your breakfast table. This easy omelet recipe is just about as uncomplicated as breakfast gets. Creamy, soft-scrambled eggs form the omelet, which is filled with floral chives and salty smoked salmon. If an omelet sounds a little too intimidating of an undertaking, feel free to turn this recipe into a scramble. Relax, it’s Christmas after all!

Smoked Fish Short Stack

This recipe came to fruition as we were still thinking about a big Christmas morning breakfast after coming up with the Lox, Eggs, and Chives Omelet recipe. Pancakes kept coming to mind, but who eats pancakes with smoked fish? In fact, a lot of people do! Smoked fish and caviar with blinis are a gourmet classic. And what more is a blini than essentially a thin pancake or crepe? With that in mind we came up with this recipe for Smoked Fish Short Stacks. We had breakfast on the brain when designing this recipe, but the occasion and time of day for serving is completely up to you!

Crispy Potatoes with Pickled Herring and Dill

Finally, we wanted one recipe that would work equally well across all Christmas day usage occasions. Enter: Crispy Potatoes with Pickled Herring and Dill. This recipe is equally perfect as a breakfast item when served with scrambled eggs as it is as an hors d'oeuvres for dinner. Even as a dinner side, this recipe feels right in its place. Simple, easy, and versatile. Just what you need when meal planning, especially during the stress of the holidays.

Create Your own Appetizer or Side for a Smoked Fish Christmas

As expected, we had a really good time working on these recipes with the satisfaction of knowing that they may make it to a few holiday tables this year. If you’re looking for any of our smoked fish products for your Christmas day menu, our team at Acme Smoked Fish is ready to assist. You can visit us in person at our weekly Fish Friday retail experience at our Brooklyn headquarters or you can visit our Store Locator to find a store near you where Acme products are available.

Merry Christmas to all! We hope we have inspired you to try one of our Christmas-themed dishes this year. If you come up with your own smoked fish recipes, please share them with us on social media. Lastly, if Acme Smoked Fish is a special part of your Christmas celebration, please feel free to reach out and let us know. We always love hearing from our friends.