How to Slice Smoked Salmon

Hey there, aspiring smoked salmon slicer!

If you’re reading this, you’ve already made the decision to learn how to slice smoked salmon like the pros. Achieving that perfect slice time after time can take some practice to master, but with the help of this quick start guide, you’ll be well on your way to wowing friends and family with your slicing skills!

Step 1: Prep the salmon (remove the tail and any belly)
6-8 inches up the fillet from the very end of the tail, make a cut in the tail direction at a roughly 25-degree angle, fully removing the tail at the point where the knife reaches the surface on which you are cutting. The purpose of this is to remove the tough, sinewy meat from the narrow tail section, and to set the slicing angle that you will maintain as you slice your way up the whole side of smoked salmon.

Some sides may have a small piece of belly still attached (see photo). If this is the case, just cut straight down where the belly meets the rest of the side, in order to remove it.

Step 2: Remove the pellicle (the top layer)
The smoking process creates a dry, hardened surface on each side of smoked salmon. Some appreciate the differentiation in texture that this creates, giving the outside of each slice a thin, salty, toothsome crust that gives way to the smooth, silky interior. Those who enjoy the pellicle left on their smoked salmon sometimes compare it to the bark that develops on the outside of a perfectly roasted prime rib. That said, many slicers choose to remove the pellicle. You do so by trimming it off in thin strips by working your knife down the surface of the salmon.

Step 3: Start slicing!
Now you are ready to start slicing. When slicing, you want to apply slight down pressure on the knife, lightly pushing the broad side of the knife against the surface of the salmon that you are cutting each slice away from. You will notice that the highly flexible blade of your knife will curl a bit near the handle as you apply this pressure. This is normal, but you will want to make sure that you are slicing with the part of the blade the remains flat, in order to achieve even slices, and to not throw off the slicing angle that you established when you cut off the tail.