I prefer it room temp but cold is fine. The only time I have heated it is if it is included in another cooked dish.....like a quiche or in scrambled eggs or omelettes.

It is rich so a little goes a long way. My favorite way of eating is on a bagel with cream cheese and a few scattered capers. But also good with crackers or on sliced cucumber as an appetizer (with a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprig of dill). Or you can make tea sandwiches with it.

Would be okay with tea (specially the little sandwiches) but a coke or other sweet soft drink would wreck the taste, IMO. Fizzy water, wine or champagne preferred. No beer!

Cold smoked salmon is usually packaged sliced thin, it's soft and relatively wet. Hot smoked salmon is usually in a chunk, it's dryish and flakes like cooked fish. I'd have either cold or allowed to come to room temp, but not heated.

It's probably cold smoked so I'd treat it similar to gardengal's suggestions. One of my favorite ways to eat it is topping a bagel with cream cheese, salmon, a bit of chopped green onion or a slice of red onion, cucumber and tomato. A tea sandwich with cream cheese or soft goat cheese (e.g. chevera) and salmon is good - especially if you add a herb such as dill or parsley. For those avoiding gluten or carbs, it can be served on celery or cucumber with a bit of cream cheese or creme fraiche instead of on crackers.

Some people blend it into cream cheese thinned with a bit of milk to make salmon flavored schmear/dip. If it is good quality, I prefer to have them separate, but it can be a way to stretch it or make it easier to serve.

For hot smoked, I like to use it as the protein in a lunch/dinner salad with a vinaigrette. Sometimes I'll dress it with a bit of sesame oil, lemon or lime juice, soy sauce and ginger, sometimes something more herbal.

My preferences are like those above. Once in a while I get a craving for the cold smoked, and I like it with cream cheese, a sprinkle of dill and very thinly sliced red onion. I eat it just like that, or if serving to others, on crackers or bagel. It can come to room temp but I prefer it slightly chilled.

Chunkier smoked salmon lends itself to salads. I prefer it on a bed of mixed greens with a lemon vinaigrette. Add toasted walnuts or sliced avocado, or olives, etc. It works well, too, with soba noodles and Thai spices.

I like to see the packaging before deciding the best use/dish. Has to be a preservation method and not lox/smoked. No guessing really. Cold smoked, hot smoked, not sure what is used for packaged/preserved for pantry or room temp. Or is it for fridge/freezer storage?

Mom had a package from my brother, Idaho (she saves for whatever) and the date was something like 1982. (never give mom shelf stable stuff...she saves it and never uses it)..."that's for company!:".

Appreciates the gift but never uses it.

Post a photo. The only way to really help as so many salmon preparations exist especially during the holidays.

H and David is pretty low end. No need to waste it but might be a good dip or what-not.

I looked on their website, and they sell both cold and hot smoked, but on several of the basket pictures, it looked like it's hot smoked.

I serve it sliced, room temp on a platter with thinly sliced bread and toasted small bagels, herbed butter, cream cheese, capers, tomatoes and red onions. Oh, and some lemon to squeeze over it. I hate all fish and seafood so i have no preferences regarding it, but the platter is always empty. I don't serve it often. I saw Ina garten make a smoked salmon dip in a long ago episode,if you want something different.

Well it's kosher. :)

It looks like it says it's a fillet, so maybe not sliced. The sides that come in the cold case (not shelf stable) are usually sliced and at least part of the packaging is transparent. So I'm not going to be any help, but if it is sliced served room temp, and you're serving company, you can roll each slice separately to make a nice platter where it's easy for your guests to pick up.

If you want it, I can also probably turn up a recipe for smoked salmon cheesecake. I'm mostly allergic to fish, but made this for company and they thought it was very good. (I tasted it, but didn't dare eat a portion). I'm not sure that this is the right kind of salmon for that. Someone more familiar probably knows.

At my father's fishing club, someone would bring in a whole Alaskan salmon he'd caught, fresh from the smoker and just slice away until it was all gone.

If you're not used to the flavor, it might seem strange, the combination of the smoke, the cure, and the fatty fish. It can be really luscious and it can be really obnoxious.

6 oz. isn't a lot. You and yours could just open it up and eat it and see what you think.

I'm going to make appetizers for our family dinner Friday, so I think I will get some bagel chips and cream cheese and serve it that way. That way if people decide to give it a try but then don't care for it they won't have a whole plateful to have to dispose of. Thanks all for the suggestions.

We had smoked salmon very like what you have for appys today. Just on a plate with crackers for piling on.
It's good with a squeeze of lemon if you like....or some capers...or just as is.
That's hot smoked, which is different from Lox which is cured not smoked and essentially raw....as is gravelox which is cold smoked...cured with smoke. All are yummy. Get a fork and share....

And some are both cured and smoked. Salmon are big and the fattiness makes it hearty, so those who lived near the fisheries developed all kinds of ways of preserving it.

Well, our little store didn't have bagel chips so I used Triscuits. Dilled cream cheese accompanied the salmon which I simply dumped on one side of the plate and let people decide how much or little they want. It was a hit with almost everybody! Thank you all very much for the help.