Drooooooool…
I live for smoked salmon and especially when it’s homemade. So I had to try out smoked salmon on a Traeger. I brined a 6 ounce fillet of Alaskan King Salmon for 2 whole days then dried for 4 hours, and to be honest I was pretty hesitant to try out the Traeger way when it comes to smoking salmon. I love cold hard smoked salmon which usually occurs over an 8 hour period at temps reaching no more than 90 degrees. But this baby went on smoke for 30 minutes then cooked for 1 hour at 225°F. It came out so perfectly moist, delicious, smokey, flakey, all the swooning went into the final product.
Now, when making this recipe you can absolutely use store bought, there is nothing wrong with that. Most grocery stores carry hard smoked salmon in their deli section. Look for Alaskan Sockeye hard smoked salmon, you can also find a variety of flavors like peppered or honey smoked.
While smoked salmon by itself is absolutely delicious, I couldn’t resist putting it on top of some spaghetti alfredo, made lightened up with no cream, but just as delicious.
Wine Pairing Recommendation: Anything smokey will pair with a lower alcohol white; try Riesling, Gewurztraminer, or a Chablis. If you want something out of the box, look for a Grüner Veltliner from Oregon. Yes, Oregon.
Smoked Salmon Spaghetti Alfredo
If you're not using homemade smoked salmon, look in the deli section of your grocery store for prepackaged {4 ounces} Hot Smoked Alaskan Sockeye. As always with any pasta dish, I reserve a little cooking pasta water in case I need to add to the sauce. I suggest getting in this habit, it's a little secret from real Chefs to home cooks.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces Smoked Salmon, skin removed and crumbled
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 2 tablespoons Flour
- 2 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 pinch Red Pepper Flake
- 2 cups Milk
- 4 ounces {1/2 package} Cream Cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup Parmesan, shredded plus more for garnish
- 1 pound Spaghetti, cooked according to package, 1 cup pasta water reserved
- Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper, for seasoning
- Parsley, chopped for garnish
Directions
- Step 1 In a large shallow pan heat butter over medium heat, add flour and whisk together to create a roux. Add garlic and red pepper flake, whisk until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Step 2 Turn heat down to low and while whisking, slowly add milk until completely incorporated into the roux. Simmer and add cream cheese and parmesan to melt into the sauce. While stirring simmer until cheese is completely melted and sauce is thickened. Season with kosher salt and ground black pepper. Add cooked spaghetti and toss to coat. Add a little pasta water if sauce is too thick. Crumble smoked salmon on top.
- Step 3 Serve immediately with chopped parsley and extra shredded parmesan. Enjoy!
Savor and Enjoy!
