Canned Salmon Salad

Canned Salmon Salad never tasted this good before! Prepared with lots of fresh dill and liberally smeared onto toasted bread, this is one open-faced sandwich I could eat again and again!

We buy canned salmon at Costco. It’s the Ocean’s Wild Pink Salmon, which comes 6 cans to a package. That’s at least three good meals for the three of us. I’m not recommending that particular brand, but it’s the one we like to use.

CANNED SALMON – BONES IN OR BONES OUT?

In fact, I’ve used the same canned salmon in my Salmon and Asparagus Pasta Salad. I do have one complaint about it though. It has bones and I hate the task of painstakingly combing through the salmon to remove every single bone. Most people just eat the bones. They are quite soft. But, I just cannot do it. I’m the type of guy who would toss out an entire skillet of scrambled eggs if I couldn’t locate that one piece of shell that happened to fall in!

You can leave your salmon bones in if you like. Think of it as texture! I know people who eat canned salmon often and say that the bones are too soft to notice. Not this guy! I can feel them in my mouth and each and every one needs to go.

Since you’re here reading a recipe that involves canned salmon, I assume you have eaten canned salmon before. I can also assume that you like it. What do you do? Do you leave the bones in? Or does your obsessive compulsive disorder take control forcing you to spend an hour combing through each fiber?

PLEASE USE FRESH DILL!

I already know that I’m going to be asked if dried dill can be substituted for the fresh dill. The plain and simple answer is no. To get the full effect and flavour of the dill, you must use fresh dill. But…

If you simply must use dried dill, you can, but please note that you will lose some of the flavour that only fresh dill can provide. Be sure to use dried dill weed, not dried dill seed! This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of fresh chopped dill. To substitute, use 6-8 level teaspoons of dried dill weed.

Dried dill is a lot stronger than fresh dill. So, for best results, stir some through your canned salmon salad and taste it. If it needs more dill, add more. Please keep in mind that this salad will sit in the fridge for one hour before serving. The dill flavour will intensify, so use dried dill with caution.

OPEN FACED IS BEST!

I was inspired to make this recipe based on a recipe post by Healthy Recipes. However, I knew that I didn’t want to include capers or hot pepper sauce. That’s just not the kind of canned salmon salad I have eaten in the past.

My version is simplified, but the one thing I could not resist trying was the round toasted bread. It adds more flavour and certainly more texture. You can make the sandwich with regular white bread. It will still be delicious. I opted for a more grown up version.

We do buy white bread regularly, but only for McKenna. John.e and I never eat it. She likes to have it for grilled cheese. She’s a teenager who’s learning to cook and since she’s mastered the grilled cheese, she makes it often!

For myself and John.e, bread has to be substantial. We only eat bread that is loaded with seeds, nuts, or oats. Our favourite every-day bread is Rudolph’s Bavarian Multi-grain Bread. It is a rye bread with cracked whole wheat, rye seeds, flax seeds, sunglower seeds, sesame seeds, and whole rolled oats.

For this sandwich, I used my large round pastry cutter and cut the bread into rounds. I toasted them – extra toasted, please! I love bread that is heavily toasted! Then, I let them cool completely. When the salmon was cooled, I smeared it onto the cooled toast. It did not need any extra mayo or butter. Perfection!

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