Smoked Salmon Pate

Total Time: 8 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 8 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 20
• 16 ounces smoked salmon, fillets
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks)
• 2 medium leeks, trimmed and cleaned, and cut into 1/2-inch slices (about 2 1/2 cups)
• kosher salt
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Recipe

• 1 smoke salmon fillets using alder, cherry or maple wood chips over medium heat with your stove top smoker (see related recipe).
• 2 heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.
• 3 stir in the leeks, season them lightly with salt & pepper, cover the skillet, and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
• 4 check the leeks from time to time, stir and lower the heat if any of the leeks start to brown.
• 5 scrape the leeks into a bowl and cool to room temperature.
• 6 while the leeks are cooling, lightly oil a 4-cup souffle dish or loaf pan.
• 7 flake the smoked salmon, checking for and discarding bones, skin, and the grayish fatty layer next to the skin as you go.
• 8 add the flaked fish to the leeks in the bowl.
• 9 toss the leeks and salmon together with the dill and lemon juice.
• 10 scrape the salmon mixture into the bowl of a food processor.
• 11 cut the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter into small pieces and add to the salmon mixture.
• 12 process, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times, until the salmon mixture is smooth with flecks of leek and dill running through it.
• 13 taste and add salt & pepper if necessary.
• 14 scrape the mixture into a prepared dish.
• 15 tamp it lightly to make sure there are no air pockets, then smooth the top into an even layer.
• 16 cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or up to 2 days.
• 17 bring to room temperature one hour before serving.
• 18 if you like, unmold the pate onto a serving plate by immersing the pate dish up to its edge in a large bowl of hot water for about 3 minutes.
• 19 the time it takes to loosen the pate from its mold depends on the material the mold is made of and the temperature of the water.
• 20 run a thin-bladed knife along the inside edges of the container to free the sides.
• 21 invert the pate on to the plate.
• 22 if it doesn't slip out in a few seconds, re-immerse the container and try again. serve immediately.