No-Cook Smoked Salmon Cucumber Rounds with Lemon-Dill Cream Cheese
No fire or stove needed. Stir cream cheese with lemon, dill and capers, spread it on thick cucumber rounds, and top each with a ribbon of smoked salmon. It takes about 15 minutes, and you keep everything in the cooler until you assemble.
These are cool, crunchy, salty bites for the end of a hot trail day. The cucumber stands in for a cracker, so there are no crumbs and nothing to toast. Everything is chopped and stirred on one cutting board.
Smoked salmon is the one item to watch. Keep it on ice until the last minute and serve it right away. It's a good appetizer to hand around while the real dinner cooks, or a light snack all on its own.
No-Cook Smoked Salmon Cucumber Rounds with Lemon-Dill Cream Cheese
- Prep
- 15 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Heat
- None (no-cook)
- Pack weight
- 2 lb
- Campfire
- Camp stove
- Backpacking
- Cooler required
- No stove
- Low water
- One-pan cleanup
- Prep ahead
Ingredients
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Gear you'll need
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Small mixing bowl
- Spoon or small spatula
- Fine grater or zester
- Platter or plate
- Cooler with ice
- Clean kitchen towel
Steps
-
Keep it cold
Leave the cream cheese and salmon in the cooler while you prep. Wash your hands and wipe down the cutting board first.
-
Zest and chop
Zest the lemon, then juice it. Chop the dill, capers and red onion as finely as you can so they spread easily.
-
Mix the spread
Scrape the cream cheese into a bowl. Stir in the lemon juice, zest, dill, capers, onion and pepper until smooth. The lemon juice loosens cold cream cheese, so keep stirring.
-
Slice the cucumbers
Cut the cucumbers into rounds about 1/2 inch thick. You should get 24 or more. Pat the tops dry with a clean towel so the spread sticks.
-
Spread the rounds
Lay the rounds on a platter. Put a heaping teaspoon of the cream cheese mix on each one.
-
Top with salmon
Pull the salmon from the cooler. Tear it into small pieces and fold or ruffle one onto each round.
-
Finish and serve
Add a crack of pepper and a squeeze of lemon. Serve right away. Put leftovers back in the cooler within 2 hours, or within 1 hour if it's above 90°F.
Trail Notes
Mix the cream cheese spread at home and pack it in a sealed container. It keeps up to 3 days in a cold cooler. Slice the cucumbers at camp so they stay crisp.
Keep the cream cheese and salmon at 40°F or below, in a sealed bag on top of the ice but not sitting in meltwater. Don't leave the platter out more than 2 hours, or 1 hour in hot weather.
For a vegetarian version, skip the salmon and top each round with a thin radish slice and extra capers. You can also use thick slices of zucchini or mini sweet peppers in place of cucumber.
Pack out the caper jar and the salmon wrapper, and let the leftover brine go in a sealed bag. Strain any dishwater, scatter it well away from camp, and pack out the food bits.
Campers ask
How long can smoked salmon sit out while camping?
No more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it's above 90°F. After that, throw it out. Keep it in the cooler until you're ready to assemble.
Can I bring cream cheese camping without a cooler?
Not safely for more than a couple of hours. Pack it in a cooler at 40°F or below, or switch to a shelf-stable dip like hummus in a sealed cup.
What can I use instead of cucumber rounds?
Crackers, sliced baguette, pumpernickel squares or endive leaves all work. Cucumber keeps it light, gluten-free and crumb-free.
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