With its rich flavor and tender mouthfeel, smoked salmon is a delicious accompaniment to numerous dishes. It adds depth to salads, elevates bagels, improves sandwiches, and more. While smoked salmon works as an enhancer for foods, the right beer can make it the star ingredient.
On its own, salmon has a sweet, buttery taste that dominates whatever dish it’s in. When you add in the smoking process, the fish takes on even more depth. It’s this richness that Chris Cusack, cicerone and owner of Betelgeuse Betelgeuse in Houston, believes complements a light, airy beer. “The best type of beer to pair with smoked salmon is a Czech or German pilsner,” he says. “Light in body with a crisp bite, pilsners pair perfectly with the smoky, fatty flavors in smoked salmon.” Generally, pilsners are quite carbonated, and the fizziness of the brew does well to balance the oiliness of salmon. Each sip acts as a palate cleanser that allows you to eat the smoked salmon without the richness becoming all-consuming.
German pilsners have a subtle malted sweetness to them, which helps to bolster the salmon’s honeyed taste. Its sweetness is quickly followed by a crisp, hoppy bitterness, one that’s rife with notes of citrus and herbs. Czech pilsners, on the other hand, exhibit a richer malt flavor, imbuing it with the flavor of bread and biscuits that enhances the salmon’s depth. The beer’s bitterness is minimal, and its floral, spicy hops complement the smokiness of salmon.
Pair your pilsner with these satisfying smoked salmon dishes
Whether you want to emphasize the richness of smoked salmon or temper its fatty flavor, both of Chris Cusack’s recommendations work well with a variety of smoked salmon recipes. This cedar plank-baked salmon has a woodsy flavor that would be balanced out perfectly by a crisp German pilsner. The sweet orange slices complement the citrusy hops in the beer while the brown sugar glaze is tempered by its bitterness. Alternatively, a sweeter, malty Czech pilsner would bring out the caramelized taste of the brown sugar and bourbon glaze.
Both beers can elevate the fresh taste of classic salmon rillettes. The smoked salmon is joined with a lighter, poached salmon, and the two are combined with shallots, lemon juice, chives, and creme fraiche. A German pilsner maintains the lightness of the creamy spread, complementing the delicate herbaceousness of the chives. While the German kind speaks to its earthy quality, a Czech pilsner brings out the chive’s pepperiness, as well as the sweetness of the shallots and fish.
To make your pilsner fit for a boozy brunch, brighten it up with a citrus soda and sip it alongside eggs benedict with salmon. Known as a Radler, the citrus soda gives the beer an even more refreshing taste to balance out smoked salmon. Since it has notes of lemon, German pilsners work well with some fizzy lemonade, but orange soda is great, too. For a Czech pilsner, grapefruit soda lightens the malty sweetness.
