Smoked Salmon on Toasted Rye Rounds

🍽️ OUR RECIPES & CULINARY HISTORICAL CONTENT ARE FREE

We’re proud to share our collection of recipes and historical stories at no cost.
If you enjoy what we do and would like to help us continue this work,
a small $7.00 donation is greatly appreciated.

🙏 Thank you for supporting the documentation and preservation of culinary history.

🥯 LOX ON RYE — 1920s NEW YORK DELI VERSION

Historical Context

By the 1920s, New York’s Lower East Side was home to hundreds of Jewish delis and appetizing shops. Immigrants from Eastern Europe brought with them centuries-old traditions of curing and smoking fish. “Lox” comes from the Yiddish laks, meaning salmon. Early versions were salt-cured belly lox — preserved for weeks before refrigeration was common.

These delis became more than places to eat — they were community centers where families gathered after synagogue, businessmen met for lunch, and friends shared a sandwich and conversation. Rye bread with caraway, soft cream cheese, and salty salmon became an instant symbol of the New York Jewish table — simple, elegant, and deeply nostalgic.

Authentic 1920s Recipe — “Lox on Rye”

Equipment

• Bread knife
• Offset spatula
• Serving platter or wooden board

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• 4 thin slices New York Jewish rye bread with caraway seeds
• 4 oz belly lox (salt-cured salmon, sliced paper-thin)
• 4 Tbsp cream cheese (schmear), room temperature
• Optional: 2 Tbsp chopped scallions or chives
• Garnish: Cucumber rounds or a few capers

Directions

1. Prepare the bread: Slice the rye thin; lightly toast if desired.
2. Mix the schmear: Combine cream cheese with scallions for a traditional deli flavor.
3. Assemble: Spread the schmear evenly on the bread. Layer the lox so the pink slices overlap slightly.
4. Garnish: Add cucumber or capers sparingly.
5. Serve: Cut into halves or small circles for canapés — as often done for catered platters in 1920s New York.

Flavor Profile

• Rich, salty, and briny from the lox
• Tangy creaminess from the schmear
• Earthy caraway undertone from the rye
• Slightly more saline than today’s nova lox versions

🐟 SCANDINAVIAN SMORGASBORD VERSION

Historical Context

Long before “lox on rye” became a deli favorite in America, Scandinavian coastal cultures had perfected the art of preserving salmon. In Sweden and Norway, salmon was cured (gravlax) or cold-smoked, often served during festive smorgasbords — elaborate buffets of open-faced sandwiches, cheeses, pickles, and herring.

These traditions inspired American variations when Scandinavian immigrants settled in the Midwest. Their preference for dense dark rye and fresh dill and lemon gave their salmon sandwiches a cleaner, more herbal profile than the New York deli version.

Traditional Recipe — “Scandinavian Salmon Smørrebrød”

Equipment

• Paring knife
• Butter spreader
• Serving board

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• 2 slices dense dark rye or rye crispbread (knäckebröd)
• 2 Tbsp softened unsalted butter or quark cheese
• 4 oz cold-smoked salmon or gravlax
• 1 tsp dill mustard sauce (hovmästarsås) or Dijon with fresh dill
• Garnish: Fresh dill sprigs, lemon wedges, optional pickled red onions

Directions

1. Spread butter or cheese over the rye or crispbread.
2. Arrange the salmon in overlapping slices.
3. Drizzle lightly with dill-mustard sauce.
4. Garnish with dill and lemon; serve open-faced.

Flavor Profile

• Mild, buttery salmon balanced by dill and mustard
• Less salt, more herbal and fresh notes
• Slight sweetness from the gravlax cure

Summary Comparison

Notes & References

• Lower East Side Oral History Project, NYPL Archives
• Jewish Deli Culture in America by Ted Merwin (2015)
• The Nordic Cookbook by Magnus Nilsson (2015)
• The Joys of Yiddish by Leo Rosten (1968) — entry for “lox”