Skip The Crab And Try Salmon In Your Next Dip

Seafood dip is a popular party snack. It usually consists of one type of seafood (often lump crab meat) coupled with dairy ingredients like cream cheese, sour cream, and even some parmesan. Homemade crab dip is delicious, but if you've ever gone to your local grocery store's seafood market and tried to purchase some high-quality canned crab meat, you might have noticed it costs a small fortune. The next time that you're in the mood for seafood dip, try swapping the crab with salmon.

Salmon is a high-quality, flavorful fish that's full of protein, vitamins, and minerals. Although it's not the most affordable fish on the market, it's fairly reasonable compared to other seafood types. Often, fresh or canned salmon costs less than fresh or canned crab. Additionally, the stronger flavor of salmon can more effectively stand up to those rich seafood dip ingredients. For the best salmon, fishmongers generally recommend purchasing wild-caught varieties. To save a little more money, you can also buy frozen salmon instead of the fresh stuff. Since frozen salmon is usually flash-frozen after it's caught, it's still full of flavor and nutrients, but usually has a lower price tag.

Seafood doesn't just add flavor to dip; it also adds texture that stands out among smoother dairy ingredients. This is the case when you try swapping salmon for crab in your favorite seafood dip.

There are also various types of salmon you can include in this recipe. Grilled salmon is one option, but if you're looking for something salty or smoky, lox or smoked salmon are great options, too. These preserved varieties are usually thinner, and they won't flake as smoothly into the dip (the way grilled salmon would). However, this can actually be a benefit, as you can chop lox or smoked salmon up into finer pieces than you could cooked, fresh salmon. Dip made with lox can have a bit of a different texture, but that extra layer of salt and smoke will do wonders for the creamy dip. You can even try making the dip with canned salmon.

As far as temperature, this seafood dip can be served hot or cold. Smoked salmon and lox are usually served cold, so that might work better if using one of those, but if you are serving the dip warm, make sure to cook the salmon in advance. Then, only cook the dip until it's heated through.