Salmon Sliders Recipe - Game Day

The playoffs are in full effect and the big game is quickly approaching. I am not sure where I will be watching but I’m sure to be surrounded by fellow football fans and we will have all of the trappings for a great evening. For most, this includes buffalo wings, burgers, fried chicken, cold beer and any number of dips and sauces. These types of spread usually leave me wanting something of substance because as a pescatarian I don’t indulge in meat eating (although if there is Popeye’s fried chicken I might sneak a piece of skin because that stuff is DELICIOUS!). With that exception you’ll likely see me grazing like a cow eating crudites if they are in my vicinity. Not very filling and certainly not enough if I want to indulge in a few alcoholic libations. So, I decided to make a little something this year that both pescatarians and straight carnivores can enjoy - Smoked salmon sliders.

I know, smoked salmon is certainly NOT traditional game day food but it is so tasty that I’m sure folks will get over the perceived “froo froo” nature of this treat. You may be surprised to find that I purchased all of my ingredients at Walmart, when they asked me to make a recipe for gameday I knew I’d be able to make an unusual but great option. For my sliders I used Hawaiian Rolls and quite frankly, I wanted to use something different, like a French baguette but I wasn’t able to find one. I was however pleasantly surprised that the sweetness of the rolls actually complimented the bitterness of the horseradish mayonnaise and capers that I used.

Speaking of horseradish mayo, for this recipe I actually made mayonnaise from scratch and it is so much easier than I ever expected. And tasty.....oh my goodness, I am thinking that homemade mayo will always be the way to go in the future. To make it you simply use one egg, salt, lemon, oil and horseradish. I choose to use Life Oil “Healthy Cooking Oil” which is a mix of sunflower, safflower & olive oil and rich in vitamin E. 

I believe the mayo is what takes this dish over the top, I mean you can’t go wrong with smoked salmon but this mayo is not to be missed. I’ll be using it in tuna salad in the future for sure.

After making the horseradish mayo everything else is simply assembling the sliders. In addition to the salmon, I added red onion slivers, capers and a slice of cucumber. Very simple, tasty and a wonderful alternative for the generally meat heavy spreads on game day. I can’t wait to share my salmon sliders with my friends!

Salmon Sliders

Sliced smoked salmon

Small rolls (your choice, I used Hawaiian)

Cucumber slices

Red onion slices

Capers

Horseradish mayonnaise (recipe below)

Method:

Spread mayonnaise on rolls. Add a slice of salmon, a cucumber slice, sliced onion and a few capers. Enjoy!

Horseradish Mayonnaise

(adapted from the food network recipe)

Ingredients

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 lemon, juiced

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 cup oil

1 to 4 tbsps horseradish

Method:

In a blender combine egg, salt, lemon juice, and mustard. Process briefly to combine. While motor is running, add oil in a slow, steady stream until mayonaise has emulsified. Add horseradish and pulse to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if necessary.