Hey there mac and cheese lovers! Are you ready to take your favorite comfort food to the next level? Say hello to smoked salmon mac and cheese, one of my favorite meals, ever!
incredible smoked salmon macaroni and cheese
This dish is the perfect combination of creamy, cheesy goodness and savory, smoky salmon ~ the flavors are rich, the textures are varied, it’s a combo that’s pretty hard to resist. It’s the kind of meal that’s sure to make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, no matter what kind of day you’ve had.
Smoked salmon mac and cheese is a dish I first had in our favorite pub in London, and later spotted a few times on restaurant menus in New England ~ but the chain was broken for many years until I finally made it for myself last week. If you appreciate a great lobster mac and cheese, you’re going to love this. My mouth was watering the entire time I was cooking and photographing. It was torture waiting for that first bite!
We’re crazy for smoked fish…
what you’ll need for this smoked fish mac and cheese recipe
- pasta
- I used a twisty riccioli pasta, derived from the word ricciolo meaning curl. It’s a loose spiral similar to cavatappi. I’d also use shells or penne.
- smoked fish
- I used salmon. You’re looking for a hot smoked fish here: whitefish, haddock, trout or cod would also work well. This recipe is great for using up leftover smoked fish!
- milk
- sharp cheddar cheese
- I always recommend the sharpest cheese you can find for creamy cheese sauces so you will be able to taste the cheese in the finished recipe! Gruyere would also be delish.
- flour
- just a bit of flour gives the sauce body without making it stodgy.
- mace
- I’m used to adding a touch of nutmeg to my cream sauces…so mace is an interesting alternative: it’s the web-like casing around the nutmeg that’s a totally different spice in itself! Mace tastes like a combination of clove and nutmeg ~ it’s delicious!
- eggs
- hard cooked eggs garnish the dish and imo make it even more irresistible!
- salt and fresh ground black pepper
- I only use salt for the pasta cooking water, the mac and cheese doesn’t need any. But fresh cracked black pepper is essential!
how we do it
You’ll cook everything on the stove top, then top your smoked salmon mac and cheese with extra cheese and cooked eggs before sliding under the broiler for a crispy topping.
- Bring milk and smoked salmon up to a simmer in a saucepan, then remove from heat and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain the mixture and reserve both the milk and the salmon.
- Meanwhile cook your pasta in plenty of salted water. Drain and keep warm.
- Make your cheese sauce: make a roux with butter and flour, add the reserved milk into the pan, whisking well, and cook to thicken.
- Slowly add the cheese to your sauce, off the heat, and stir until smooth and creamy.
- Combine everything together and turn into a baking dish.
- Top with a bit more cheese and hard cooked eggs.
- Bake until hot and bubbly throughout, then slide under the broiler to get golden on top.
variations and substitutions on smoked fish mac and cheese
Use gluten free pasta and cornstarch instead of flour for a gluten free version.
Add peas or cooked (and drained) spinach to the dish for a bit of green.
Other smoked fish like haddock, cod, trout, or whitefish also work.
Yes, you can use regular cooked salmon for this recipe. Just omit the steeping in milk step.
Omit the eggs and add a cheesy toasted breadcrumb topping.
Spoon the mac and cheese into individual sized baking dishes before broiling.
(Don’t tell anyone,) but you can do this with a box of Annies 🙂
how to store mac and cheese
Plan on enjoying your meal asap, macaroni and cheese does not keep well, as a general rule.* As it sits in the refrigerator, the pasta tends to absorb the sauce and becomes solidified and rubbery.
*But leftovers happen, and in real life I microwaved the leftovers for several days and loved it. So don’t believe everything you read 😉
Smoked Salmon Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 8 ounces smoked salmon*
- 1 3/4 cups whole milk
- 1/2 lb pasta, I used spiral Riccioli
- salt
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 1/4 tsp ground mace, feel free to use more to taste
- fresh cracked black pepper, to taste.
- 2/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, plus more for topping.
- 2 hard boiled eggs, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Remove the skin from the smoked salmon but do not discard.
- Heat the milk in a medium saucepan until just coming to a simmer. Turn off the heat and add the salmon skin and salmon, breaking into chunks as you add it. Let this steep for 15 minutes.
- Remove and discard the skin, then strain the mixture and reserve both the milk and the salmon, separately. (You'll use the milk for the sauce.)
- Meanwhile cook the pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente. Drain and keep the pasta in the pan to keep warm. (You can add the reserved salmon to the pan as well.)
- Add the butter and flour to a saucepan and whisk together over medium heat for a minute or so, but don't let it brown. While whisking, slowly add the reserved milk to the pan, and whisk or stir with a silicone spoon until the mixture starts to thicken. Add the mace and black pepper and remove from the heat.
- Slowly add the cheese to your sauce, off the heat, and stir until smooth and creamy.
- Add the cheese sauce to the pasta and salmon, stirring gently to combine.
- Turn the mixture into your casserole dish. Top with an extra sprinkle of cheese, and nestle in your hard cooked eggs.
- Bake for 10 minutes, just to insure that everything's hot and bubbly, then set under the broiler to get nice and golden on top.
Great recipe! Soaking the skin in the milk and then straining it off gave it a lot more flavor.
I used a 12 ounce box of rotini noodles.
I increased the milk to 2 cups, and the butter to 6 tablespoons.
I used smoked Gouda cheese, and added sautéed onions and minced garlic.
I had used up all the smoked Gouda, so I used sharp cheddar cheese on the top with crumbled buttery crackers.
It was exactly what I was craving!
Thank you so much! I’m saving the recipe to my favorites!