My Copycat Recipe Joins Taste of Home.

When we lived on the East Coast, there were two warehouse chain stores in the area, BJ's Warehouse and Costco.  The closest place now is Sam's Club in Grand Junction, CO, or Farmington, NM; we do not often go there due to the long travel time to either.  One item we really enjoyed eating was the stuffed salmon; of course it was stuffed with imitation crab meat, but we did not care because it tasted so yummy.

With salmon fillets and imitation crab meat on hand; time to get the little gray cells going, remember how the stuffed salmon tasted and come up with a copycat recipe.  Well folks, it came out well, and very, very close to the actual product I used to purchase.  It came out so well, that Taste of Home decided to feature it in their Christmas Recipe Book – 2015 (page 92).  My recipe appears in the “Entertainment Shortcuts” section; convenience products and quick ideas to impress yuletide guests.  Taste of Home changed my recipe a bit to create a service for twelve; I am going to give you the original recipe.  By the way, I served this dish to my hubby for Valentine’s Day, so it does not have to be just for a December holiday meal.

Just shows you, when you enjoy a certain food product, or even a dish served at a restaurant; do not immediately say, “I can’t make this myself.”  Never, say never!

 

Stuffed Salmon

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. olive oil, divided in half

4 (1/2 lb. each) salmon fillets, at least 1 ½” thick; deboned and skin removed
1 cup flaked style imitation crab meat, pulled apart
1 cup hot, cooked long grain rice
1 Tbsp. melted butter
1 Tbsp. softened cream cheese
½ tsp. minced garlic
¼ tsp. each crushed, dried celery seed, basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary and thyme
1 tsp. each salt and dill

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F.  Brush two Tbsp. olive oil on bottom and sides of a 1.5 quart baking dish.

Make a cut lengthwise on each fillet, leave ½” uncut space on each side, and on the bottom; create a pocket by gently running tip of sharp knife under each flap and leave ½” space each side.

In a medium bowl, combine crab meat, rice, butter, cream cheese, garlic and herbs (except salt and dill) well.  Spoon filling into each filet pocket; creating a small mound at the top.  Brush remaining olive oil onto salmon; sprinkle salt and dill over the salmon and place into baking dish.  Bake for 20 minutes; check for doneness (thickest part of fillet will flake) about two minutes before allotted cooking time.

Makes 4 servings.

Options: add ¼ cup tiny shrimp to the mixture; or better yet, use real lump crab meat instead of the imitation.

 

Mary Cokenour