Pickled Salmon

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I’ve been making pickled salmon and serving it as an appetizer at our Passover Seders for over 20 years!

It’s absolutely delicious! Whether I have 1 platter of pickled salmon or circulate 4, there’s never anything left on the plate. I do have to share a secret…I don’t serve all the pickled salmon that I make because my family (except for Jarred) eats this during Passover for lunches.

It’s an easy recipe and it’s best made 1 week prior to Passover. A word of advice – be sure to guard it and not let anyone sample it, or else you may have none left. Trust me on this.

I make 3 salmon fillets, usually about 9 pounds and it serves about 40 people as an appetizer. You can halve the recipe if you don’t need that much. The photo shows the salmon in the two containers; one without the marinade and the other one with it. I was so busy preparing for the Seders, that I forgot to take a picture of it on the serving plate!

This salmon makes an unbelievable appetizer for any meal, any occasion and is also great served for brunch or light dairy suppers.

Do You Need More Appetizer Suggestions?

What are some of the appetizers that you’re serving for Passover?
I’d love to hear!!

Pickled Salmon


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Serves approx. 40 people as an appetizer

Ingredients:

  • 3 large Vidalia onions, cut into slices
  • About 1 cup of pickling spices
  • 2-3 salmon fillets, approximately 9 pounds, skin removed and cut into individual slices

Marinade:

  • 2 1/2 cups vinegar
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 1 1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 1/4 bottles of ketchup (The bottle I use is 24 oz.; total is 3 3/4 cups)

Directions:
Take two large plastic containers and scatter 1/2 the onions on the bottom. Sprinkle with the pickling spices and set aside.

Whisk the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and set aside.

I use two stock pots so that the salmon cooks evenly and isn’t crowded. Bring 2 large stockpots of water to boil. Using a slotted spoon, place the fish one at a time into the two pots. Boil the salmon 8-10 minutes, check the pieces to see if it’s done because thicker pieces may take a little longer.

Remove the salmon with a slotted spoon when it's ready and place in the containers on top of the onions and spices. Layer with the remaining onions and another handful of the pickling spices.

Pour the sauce over the top of the fish. Cover and refrigerate. Make the pickled salmon 1 week prior to serving.

To serve: Line a platter with washed lettuce leaves. I break up the salmon into smaller chunks and remove most of the spices before putting it on the plate. Decorate with the onion rings and a bit of the sauce on top.