Bagel with a Salmon and Cream Cheese Spread - Video Recipe

In past film shoots this cameraman /chef was quick to line up for a catered breakfast; going past the multitude of sugary pastry confections and heading straight for Bagels and Cream Cheese with Salmon to build a deli classic sandwich.

Cured Lox and smoked salmon are quite expensive so my cheap version uses regular canned salmon mixed with cheap cream cheese. This mixture of Lox and Cream Cheese is known in a Jewish Deli as a Schmear. There are a lot of versions of a Schmear, but my cheap$kate version is just the two ingredients of cream cheese and canned or packaged cooked salmon.

I never had a Bagel when I lived in Louisiana and Texas as a youth, but now you can get them in coffee shops and larger grocery stores. Bagels are boiled and then baked to create a crunchy surface and chewy interior. They go back to the 17 century in Jewish communities of Poland.

My girlfriend Linda grew up a half-hour from New York City the capital of Bagels. I got a crash course there when we visited her family. 

Check out our breakfast video below at Ess-a-Bagel restaurant in NYC where bagels are baked on the premises and serve a dozen varieties of amazing Bagel Spreads!

                                                     Ess-a-Bagel - Movie

This is an easy and tasty recipe to make. All you do is drain the cooked canned or packaged salmon then mix it into room-temperature cream cheese. 

You can use the Salmon and Cream Cheese spread for appetizers on crackers, celery, and carrot sticks. 

I like my Salmon and Cream Cheese spread on a toasted Everything Bagel when I can find them cheaply. You can use any type of bagel, or favorite slices of toasted bread. 

I get my bagels from the discount bin at the local Ralphs supermarket grocers. Sometimes they are plain bagels and other times it is a mixed bag of Onion, Sesame Seed, Everything, and Blueberry.

I am a fan of tinned-cooked seafood. Cooked salmon comes in small tunafish-style cans and soft packages. I get the salmon at my local Dollar Tree and 99c only Store. It is still a great deal when it shows up. Just last year I found 5-ounce cans of cooked salmon, but recently 2.5 ounces at my local Dollar Tree seem to be the norm this year.

Cream Cheese is more expensive these days, but still a decent deal. It comes in cardboard boxes at about 8 ounces. Cream cheese also comes in plastic tubs. You can find pre-mixed tubs that already have salmon. 

Cream cheese blends are cheaper and taste fine. Of course, I prefer the real thing, Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

If you like a lot of salmon then add about 5 ounces of drained salmon to 8 ounces of cream cheese. Even 2.5 ounces of packaged salmon will taste delicious. Make the Salmon Spread any way you like and can afford.

My Bagel with a Salmon and Cream Cheese Spread is a tasty 99 Cent Chef sandwich recipe you can't afford to miss out on.

Bagel with Salmon and Cream Cheese Spread - VIDEO              Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 23 seconds.

My YouTube video link for viewing or embedding, just click here.

Ingredients (serves 2 - 4)

• Cream Cheese - 8-ounce package. Soften and bring to room temperature so it will mix easily.
• Salmon - about 3 ounces, cooked. Okay to add more salmon. Drain canned or packaged salmon. Salmon amounts are usually in 2.5 to 5-ounce cans or packages.
• Bagel - I like mine sliced in half and toasted. Serve on a half slice or make it into a sandwich. Okay to not toast the bagel. Use any favorite slices of bread.

Directions

This is the simplest of recipes, with no cooking. Allow cream cheese to reach room temperature. Drain salmon and mix it into cream cheese.

I like a chunky spread, so mix lightly if you do, too. Keep Salmon and Cream Cheese Spread in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Serve Salmon and Cream Cheese Spread on a bagel half or make a sandwich. I like a toasted bagel. It's okay to use any favorite slices of bread, toasted or not.

Hindsight

I've had the Spread in a Bagel Sandwich with a thin slice of onion and a thick slice of tomato. 

If you want to kick it up a notch then purchase more expensive Lox or Gravlax fillets of smoked or cured salmon. Just roughly chop a few ounces of salmon and mix it into room-temperature cream cheese. You can also smear a bagel with cream cheese and add a thin slice of Lox. This will impress your guests.