Salmon Crudo

“Crudo” is an Italian word meaning “raw”. It’s typically served as an amuse bouche or appetizer, however we usually serve it for a light lunch.

Crudo consists of delicate raw fish marinated with citrus juices, high quality oil and an array of garnishes. Think sashimi with a citrus based dipping sauce instead of only soy sauce. It’s similar to the sauce I use in my Steak Tartare recipe.

Raw fish on a white platter surrounded by herbs and fruit.

This crudo recipe makes for the perfect lunch or appetizer recipe. Serve it alongside sushi rice to make it a full hearty meal.

If you enjoy raw seafood recipes, here are a few more sushi recipes to check out: Salmon Avocado Roll, Spicy Tuna, Hawaiian Poke, Tuna Crudo, and Temaki Sushi.

Salmon Skin

If you purchase salmon with the skin attached, make sure to gently remove it and save it to make salmon skin rolls.

Wild Caught Salmon

Due to ethical and nutritional concerns, I highly recommend sticking to wild salmon. Here’s a quick article on salmon with the rundown as to why I recommend wild salmon vs farmed. You do you, though. With the said, I adore Costco salmon (wild offering).

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

As with the other ingredients, we wanted to call out the importance of using a high quality extra virgin olive oil. Don’t grab the cheap stuff when making this salmon recipe. The crummy flavor of cheap oil will drown out the brightness, freshness and flavor of all the other ingredients. Crudo is all about highlighting fresh flavors via high quality ingredients.

Eating Raw Salmon

Read up on where to buy sushi grade fish, as well as, Raw Fish FAQ’s if you’re new to utilizing raw salmon. Serious eats has a great article on the subject.

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You can also read up on the differences between Sushi vs. Sashimi!

Pro Tips

Place the salmon in the freezer for 10 minutes, before slicing, to make it easier to slice.
Serve immediately after plating, for the best freshness, texture and flavor.
Slice the salmon across the grain using a single swipe of a sharp knife vs. a back and forth motion. Wipe and wet the knife in between cuts, to keep the salmon from sticking to the knife. Slices of salmon should be about 1/8″- 1/4″. Here’s the sushi knife I use to cut thin slices of fish.
High quality is the name of the game. Use fresh ingredients of the highest quality you can afford.
Other dipping sauce options: Eel Sauce, Honey Sriracha Sauce, Chipotle Crema, or ponzu sauce.

Recipe Variations

Furikake Salmon – A sprinkle of Furikake over the sushi grade salmon, before serving, would be excellent. The ocean-forward flavor would pair well with the salmon dipping sauce. No other edits are required.

Spicy Salmon – Add a 1/2 tsp of Sriracha sauce or a scoop of Mango Habanero Sauce to the salmon marinade. Add more until your desired spiciness is achieved. Salmon crudo is the perfect recipe to spice up with Sriracha.

More Seafood Recipes

Here are a few more fresh seafood recipes to check out:

Also- fresh salmon would be an amazing protein swap in my Steak Aguachile recipe.

Drink Pairing Recommendations

Pineapple Martini, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Champagne, Citrus IPA or Sake

See our Best Wine With Sushi guide for more sushi and wine pairing tips.