Whitefish Salad – The history of smoked fish, “appetizing”, and a recipe for Jewish whitefish salad with celery and herbs.
The term “whitefish” refers to several species of freshwater fish that are commonly used in Ashkenazi Jewish cooking. These inexpensive and versatile fish are used for a number of purposes– they can be poached for Shabbat, ground into gefilte fish, and smoked. Whitefish is sold as either a whole fish or a fillet cut. It can be found in most Jewish delis, kosher markets, and “appetizing” stores like New York’s famous Russ and Daughters.
Smoke-curing is one of the most ancient methods of food preservation. When smoke-curing fish, the fish is dried and salted to remove all moisture (moisture creates a breeding ground for bacteria). It is then exposed to smoke, another element that slows down bacterial growth. The smoke combined with the salt creates a unique flavor that has become synonymous with Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. The process of smoking whitefish was adopted by Eastern European Ashkenazi Jews; smoked fish was stored and eaten throughout the long, harsh winter season. Smoked whitefish was later brought to the U.S. during a mass Jewish immigration that began in the late 1800’s. American Jews found an abundant source of whitefish in the Great Lakes of the northeast. Much of the smoked whitefish sold today comes from the Great Lakes. Modern smoked fish is less salty and pungent than smoke-cured fish; we now have refrigerators, so fish is smoked and salted for flavor more than preservation purposes. That makes for a more delicate, moist, and softer fish with a truly delightful flavor.
Removing the meat from a whitefish is a little more work than opening a can of tuna fish, but the flavor is so much more complex. It takes me about 10 minutes to get the meat off the fish, deboned, and into the mixing bowl. If it’s already filleted, that makes things even easier. I don’t add a lot of extra ingredients to the salad, except for a few fresh herbs and some lemon juice; the smoking imparts a lot of flavor and doesn’t need much “dressing up.” I usually use a mixture of mayonnaise and sour cream in the salad, but you can substitute all mayo to make the dish pareve. You can also add a little minced onion in there for spice, if you wish. Make sure you taste and season accordingly; don’t add salt until you taste, since the smoked fish has a lot of salt in it already.
By the way… the cheapest place I’ve found whole whitefish is at my local kosher market, where a 2 pound fish sells for around $16. A few months ago, they tried to sell me the same sized fish at a local deli for $54. I told them thanks, but no thanks! Smoked whitefish shouldn’t be pricey, it’s not an expensive fish to begin with. So don’t let anybody charge you more than $10 per pound, unless you’re in an area where there aren’t too many kosher markets or delis. If you are, you might have to pay a premium to an appetizing store or gourmet market to have it shipped.
I’ve posted some serving suggestions below this recipe. The salad can be made gluten free using certified GF mayo and sour cream. Whitefish salad makes a great appetizer spread– serve it atop rye crackers or pumpernickel bread for a dainty treat. Or, make a meal out of it and create a bagel sandwich layered with cream cheese, lox, thinly sliced onion and whitefish on top. Goes great with a hot bowl of deli-style soup like split pea or my Mushroom Barley Soup. The perfect winter meal. Bete’avon!
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Whitefish Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds whole or filleted smoked whitefish
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup lowfat sour cream (or sub 1/3 cup additional mayonnaise)
- 1/2 cup celery ribs, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced dill
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced chives
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste (1-2 lemons)
Instructions
- Purchase a whole smoked whitefish of about 2 lbs. Smoked whitefish can be found at kosher markets or your local deli.If you purchased fillets, remove the skin, then skip ahead in the directions to where it says "When the fish is cleaned…"
- Peel the skin from the whitefish. It should come off easily, like paper. On each side of the fish, you will see a center line running from tail to gill. Using a fork, pull the meat outward from that center line, following the diagonal grain of the meat. Pulling the meat from the bones in this way will help you avoid the tiny bones that are sometimes caught in the meat.Place the meat in a pile beside the fish.When the fish is cleaned, flake the meat in small pieces into a mixing bowl, checking for bones with your fingers as you go. If you notice any bones, remove them and discard.
- Once the meat is in the bowl, shred it with a fork and your fingers. Remove any additional bones you might have missed.Add mayonnaise, sour cream, celery pieces, dill, and chives to the whitefish and use the fork to blend. Season the salad with pepper and fresh lemon juice to taste. I usually don't add any additional salt, since the meat is quite salty, but you can add some if you feel the salad needs it. Also, I like a lot of lemon juice in this salad– I usually squeeze the juice of 1 whole lemon in, at least.
- Serve atop rye bread, bagels, vegetable crudites, crackers, or however you wish– get creative! Here are some serving suggestions:
- Stuffed Tomato: Core a fresh tomato and scoop out the seeds/pulp. Fill the tomato with whitefish salad. Garnish with fresh dill and serve with sliced Persian cucumbers. This serving suggestion is low carb and gluten free. You can also stuff half an avocado instead of a tomato, if you prefer.
- Whitefish Appetizer: Spread whitefish salad onto a cracker made from rye or your favorite whole grain. Garnish with two half-sour pickle slices and fresh dill. This makes a great appetizer, or serve with a bowl of soup or salad for a light lunch.
- Whitefish Bagel Supreme: Toast your favorite flavored bagel. Spread half of the bagel liberally with cream cheese. Add a few slices of lox and some thinly sliced onions. Top with a scoop of whitefish salad. Serve open-faced topped garnished with fresh chives. Or, to make a more filling meal, close the sandwich with the other bagel portion and slice the sandwich in half.
Nutrition
Great recipe. But I am so sure about 1-2 lemons. I put half a lemon in and it is already too acidic for my taste. Should the salad have a sour taste to it, or is lemon juice supposed to be added just balance?
Thanks Jason. Lemon should be added to taste. We like ours pretty lemony, but if you prefer a less acidic taste feel free to cut down.
Tori,
The nutritional guide gives calories etc. per serving, but there is no serving size. Please help!
Hi Marcia, the nutrition feature was recently added to my site. I developed many of the recipes on my site without knowing that the nutrition feature would eventually be added. That means I didn’t always measure the final quantity that a recipe makes; the number of servings are a guesstimate. You would need to measure the full quantity of the recipe, and then divide it by serving numbers to get a serving size. I am trying to measure add more specific information when I go back and make older recipes again, but it will take time as I have hundreds of recipes on the site. Thank you for your patience!
I make this salad all the time using poached cod. I add 2 drops of liquid smoke to the dressing. I then refrigerate the salad for 2 hours before serving. It’s milder then using smoked white fish, but it is absolutely delicious and less expensive to make.
Hi Tori, I’ve been using your website for years in London, but I just moved to Singapore so now I don’t have access to smoked (kosher) fish. Do you recommend a smoking process/recipe?
Hi Aliza, that is not something I have covered yet, but I will keep it in mind for a future post!
Thanks Tori is delicious
I live in Newport Rhode Island. Where can I buy smoked whitefish and/or whitefish salad?
I got a whole smoked whitefish at Costco and it was by Acme and really good!
I found this recipe a couple of years ago and thought you should know it has never failed me. I’ve made it so many times, scaling it up or down depending on the amount of whitefish has been no problem. Thank you so much for sharing it, my husband and I both love it!
I’d love to try this. The salad looks so refreshing, but it seems like quite some work to prepare the fish 😛 I always have problems with removing the skin and the scales…
Hi Tori! Just made the whitefish salad. It is fabulous — but I made a couple of slight modifications. My mother-in-law has made this for the holidays for the last 2 decades. As she is advancing in age, the “chore” of making this has fallen on me. I tried to modify the recipe to be closer to hers.
I upped the amount of dill to 3 Tbs.
Instead of chives, I used scallions and upped the amount to 3 Tbs.
To make it a little creamier, I used a half cup of mayo and a half cup of sour cream.
What would you think of adding capers?
Thanks!!
Eric
I live in Toledo where unfortunately there are no Jewish Delis I know of anymore. I have been craving smoked whitefish like we used to have on Sundays growing up. What is the best smoked whitefish to buy?
I use Acme smoked whitefish and have never been disappointed.
sounds like good place to searching for ethnik food .. i wish there was a sight in eastern europe..if anyone has one let me know..ty
Does anyone know where to get whitefish salad in or near Walnut Creek, CA ? Or even smoked whitefi\sh? Thanks
Ver Brugge Foods in Oakland probably sells smoked whitefish and Saul’s in Berekely should have whitefish salad. I am not positive. Left the East Bay in 2001. Good luck!
Just bought a beautiful smoked whitefish at Costco!
Whole Foods has smoked whitefish but not all locations. You can call first. I just purchased some yesterday. Their homemade high quality smoked salmon and Gravlox are some of the most delicious I’ve tasted – and more affordable than a deli.
Saul’s in Berkeley has the best whitefish salad. But pricey. That’s why I looked up the recipe. I found whitefish at Whole Foods in San Rafael. I looked in 6 Whole Foods and that is the only one in my area that carries it.
For the woman who needs it cooked, this type of fish is delicious poached. Just put the fish in a pan with a small amount of water and a tight lid. Simmer for 2-3 minutes. That would also make it easier to get the bones out.
You can usually get it at Whole Foods – I think it goes for about ten bucks a pound, which is very fair considering how much they charge for fresh fish….
I have linked to your great content liberally, hyperlinking back to your blog at every opportunity. Here is my link — http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/Crosscultural-Salads/r/Smoked-Whitefish-Salad-Recipe.htm
Thanks for such great content.
Thanks Barbara 🙂 Happy cooking!
Tori my angel, thanks again for coming to my rescue with the smoked whitefish salad. I got such a DUH! After reading the recipe,it’s exactly the way I make my tuna salad, but without the sour cream (and I add chopeed picles ad olives, just because I love them). I’m going to do th whitefish exactly as you wrote it.Thanks again! Hug, Bubie Iris
You’re welcome Iris! 🙂
I would like to know if i could order your white fish and have it shiped?
!
Hi Lorri– sorry, I do not currently ship my own food products, but you can easily make it yourself using the recipe! 🙂
This may seem like a weird question but is the whitefish cooked (via heat, not necessarily low heat though) when it’s smoked? I had a bone marrow transplant about 190 days ago and I still can’t have things like smoked salmon (never craved a good bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon so much in my life!) or anything that is not either medium-well or fully cooked. I haven’t been able to figure it out from what I’ve read online and I’m hoping you can help. 🙂
Hi Cherry, great question. As far as I know, it depends on the smoking process. Whitefish is often hot smoked, which does cook the fish. Cold smoking does not, so you would definitely want to avoid any fish that has been cold smoked (smoked salmon is often cold smoked, and sometimes whitefish). Because you’re dealing with a health concern, I think it would be best to check with a fishmonger or somebody in your meat/deli department to make sure the fish has been hot smoked AND fully cooked to be extra safe. Also you should probably double check with your doctor. I wouldn’t want to steer you wrong, and I am not a smoking expert or a health expert… just a fan of smoked fish. 🙂 So glad to hear the bone marrow transplant went well and you are on the road to recovery. Hope you can find some whitefish that works for you!
I have no idea where to buy whitefish. I don’t think we have kosher markets anymore in Toledo. We used to.
You can find smoked whitefish at Meijer’s in Sylvania. They are cut up into large chunks, about 1/2 lb. in each package. You can dine them on the counter directly below the window with the fresh fish.
So I gad whitefish salad almost 10 years ago at a friend s family members funeral. It was delicious and recently I’ve wanted it aftrr 10 years. Followed recipe above and added boiled eggs. Taste delicious!!
Glad you liked it Andrea!
I just bought my first whitefish at CostCo and found this site while looking up recipes. We’re trying to stop eating so much tuna because of the mercury. CostCo has a smoked salmon that we love from The Honey Smoked Fish Company and, this week I noticed the whitefish stacked beside it and decided to have an adventure. I’ve never had whitefish – only read about it in novels. So, I made a salad tonight and it was just fine! We ate it on some homemade crackers with yellow tomatoes and sliced red peppers. Thanks!
Here is a site you might be interested in,last year I orderd from him and loved it,I think the price is very good, I used to order from a different place in Wisconson at twice the price, Charlie will let you substitue if you only want whitefish,trout or Salmon. http://www.charliessmokehouse.com
Have not gotten any this year as we have finally gotten a freshmarket and they carry it year round,plus at this time of year Costco also carries it.
Happy childhood days in Chicago. We add capers though. It was Friday supper since as a Catholic couldn’t eat meat on Friday. It is wonderful with boiled potatoes and sour cream.