Shuba with Salmon, a twist on Herring Salad
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This Shuba with Salmon salad looks like one, hence the name. Shuba ( салат шуба) means fur coat. Originally this salad is made with herring. I know many people are turned off by the herring, while others love it.
The idea to use smoked salmon actually came from my sister Tanya, who I believe is not a fan of the herring either. It’s so much better than herring! It’s the most bizarre salad to those who haven’t seen it. My husbands co-workers tried it; “What is it?” asks one; “I don’t know, but it’s good!” You can make the veggies ahead of time and assemble when you’re good and ready.
P.s. You can even Cook Beets in the Instant Pot and it will be even faster.
Watch How to Make Smoked Salmon Salad (Shuba):
Ingredients for Shuba:
1 lb smoked salmon
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 to 4 medium potatoes
3 to 4 medium beets, (or use 2 cans beets which don’t require cooking)
4 medium carrots
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups real mayonnaise (2 cups if using a very large casserole).
How Make Shuba with Salmon:
1. If you want to cook your own beets: In one pot, place beets in boiling water (enough water to cover the beets). Boil 1 hour, or until soft when pierced with a knife. The cooking time varies depending on your beets. Some will cook sooner than others, so test all of them. When cooked, remove from boiling water and let cool to room temperature. Peel the cooked beets (I use gloves for this)
2. In a separate pot, boil whole potatoes and carrots 30 minutes, or until smooth when pierced with a knife. Don’t overcook. When cooked, remove from boiling water and let cool to room temperature. Peel the cooked potatoes and carrots. It’s easiest to peel carrots by putting a slit down the length of the carrot and peeling in a circle around the carrot.
3. Place 4 eggs in another pot of salted cold water and bring them to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place the lid on, turn heat off and let the pot sit on the same burner for 15 minutes. (Or you can throw them in with your potatoes and carrots and fish them out after 15 minutes. Let eggs cool to room temperature. Peel the eggs.
LAYERS OF SHUBA:
1. Break or chop the salmon into quarter size pieces place evenly in the bottom of a large 13×9 casserole dish.
2. Using a cheese grater, shred the potatoes evenly over the salmon & spread onion over potatoes.
3. Spread ¾ cup mayo evenly over the onions.
4. Using the same cheese grater, shred the beets evenly over the mayo.
5. Then shred the carrots evenly over the beets.
6. Spread the remaining ¾ cup mayo over the carrots.
7. Using the smaller holes of the cheese grater, shred the eggs evenly over the mayo and you’re done.
Shuba with Salmon, a twist on Herring Salad
Shuba is a layered salad popular in Russian and Ukrainian cuisine. Instead of herring, we love to use smoked salmon.
Ingredients
- 1 lb smoked salmon
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 to 4 medium potatoes
- 3 to 4 medium beets, (or use 2 cans beets which don't require cooking)
- 4 medium carrots
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups real mayonnaise, 2 cups if using a very large casserole
Instructions
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If you want to cook your own beets: In one pot, place beets in boiling water (enough water to cover the beets). Boil 1 hour, or until soft when pierced with a knife. The cooking time varies depending on your beets. Some will cook sooner than others, so test all of them. When cooked, remove from boiling water and let cool to room temperature. Peel the cooked beets (I use gloves for this).
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In a separate pot, boil whole potatoes and carrots 30 minutes, or until smooth when pierced with a knife. Don't overcook. When cooked, remove from boiling water and let cool to room temperature. Peel the cooked potatoes and carrots. It's easiest to peel carrots by putting a slit down the length of the carrot and peeling in a circle around the carrot.
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Place eggs in another pot of salted cold water and bring them to a boil. Once the water is boiling, place the lid on, turn heat off and let the pot sit on the same burner for 15 minutes. (Or you can throw them in with your potatoes and carrots and fish them out after 15 minutes. Let eggs cool to room temperature. Peel the eggs.
LAYERS OF SHUBA:
-
Break or chop the salmon into quarter size pieces place evenly in the bottom of a large 13x9 casserole dish.
-
Using a cheese grater, shred the potatoes evenly over the salmon & spread onion over potatoes.
-
Spread ¾ cup mayo evenly over the onions.
-
Using the same cheese grater, shred the beets evenly over the mayo.
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Then shred the carrots evenly over the beets and Spread the remaining ¾ cup mayo over the carrots.
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Using the smaller holes of the cheese grater, shred the eggs evenly over the mayo and you're done.
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Clearly the great minds think alike! My OH had the original version with herrings when we went to a Russian restaurant a couple of years ago, and while I am not a herring fan, I immediately thought this would be great with smoked salmon! I have made this several times already, although we are just two of us so I make a single portion version, which is much less choreographic, but it taste great all the same! Looking forward to an occasion when I can prepare a full version some time!
Hi Licia, thanks for sharing some good feedback with us. I appreciate that you always use this recipe when you make this salad.
Hi Natasha. The first time I ate the Fur Coat Salad was when I went on vacation last summer to Moscow and Saint Petersburg. It was one of my favorite dishes! I do like herring. Sorry to hear you got an aversion to it.
Sounds interesting with the salmon!
Sounds nice, Robbi. Yes, it is something different, I hope you can try this recipe soon! I would love to know how you liked it.
Nice,very nice! And a quick dish.
Thank you!
BEST SHUBA SALAD RECIPE OUT THERE! Beautiful pics & easy, clear instructions. Everyone I makes this for LOVES it!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Rebecca! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Ya never seem to not amaze me with some of your recipes. Now this one looks great and made my mouth water , the salmon smoked is that traditional ?? Im gonna smoke some next week and also do gravlax will make half and half , have ya made gravlax so expensive like smoked salmon thats why I make it at home gonna plant beets next week …
I hope you enjoy this recipe, Joseph!
love new flavors ,taste ,will make next week for sure will buy the smoked salmon lox ,,,and make my gravlax and let you know.
I was wondering if sweet onion can be used in this recipe ?
I think that should work Inna!
Oh smoked salmon sounds so delicious! We don’t like herring either we always used canned tuna lol. I think i need to try the salmon next time
We love it with Salmon! I hope you get to try this soon!
I made it yesterday in the evening, left in the fridge overnight, and, oh goodness, it was delicious. I love salmon so much but using it in this recipe, oh so clever! Thank you, Natasha, for all your hard work. I believe I used your recipes before but now I am on a mission to try cooking everything you suggest!!!
You are so nice! Thank you so much for sharing your awesome and encouraging comment 🙂
do you think this would taste good with grated pickled beats? I have some on hand to use up.
Hi Erin, I honestly have never tried this with pickled beets so I’m not sure how that would meld with the rest of the flavors since the other ingredients are either lightly sweet (beets, carrots) or salty (smoked salmon) and not really tangy.
Thank you for this wonderful recipes and all of your others! I am making this for a Russian dinner party tonight, and have made it previously for my Russian in-laws. Спасибо, Natasha! 🙂
My pleasure! I’m happy to hear how much you’re enjoying the recipes. Thanks for following and sharing your encouraging comments!
Scrumptiously delicious
I’m glad you like it Janet! Thanks for sharing!
could I make this the day before party? Or is it best to be made on the day of party?
Hi Olga, yes this is great when made a day ahead, covered and refrigerated. Enjoy!!
I usually make shuba with herring but decided to try smoked salmon and we loved it, delicious 😋
Thank you!
You’re welcome Tatyana! Glad you enjoyed it!! 🙂
A tip my sister gave me was to put the potatoes on the bottom so the juices from the salmon or herring can get soaked up in it!!
Oh Interesting!! Thank you for sharing that with us!
Oh Interesting!! Thank you for sharing that with us!
I absolutely love your blog. I have learned so much from you. I have a question about this shuba salad. What is the best smoked salmon to buy for this salad?
It works well with either dry smoked or lox (like from Costco). I kind of prefer the dry smoked like the one pictured here. I purchased this one at Winco but I’ve seen it in several other grocery stores.
the lox from coco n others isa combo salt sugar cured then smoked no same a lox like served on a bagel with cream cheese sliced onion maybe chives I make my own gravlox with 50 50 salt coarse not table salt fresh basil and little vodka ,,
Thanks for the idea, will try it with salmon next time. I steam my veggies and eggs in one pot/steamer – a lot easier for me and takes less than an hour to make. A close friend makes it with boiled chicken or pork (minced) too, great for children’s party!
what kind of steamer do you use? That sounds like a really good and healthier option than boiling veggies.
I use Redmond multicooker, don’t know if it’s available in the US but it’s popular here in Ukraine and Russia. I guess any programmable steamer will do!
Natasha, this twist on the traditional herring salad was a discovery of the year!!! I don’t know how many times I tried making the herring salad in the U.S., but the herring here doesn’t taste the same to me. I finally stopped making this salad. Since I saw your post, I kept craving this salad with salmon. It was a bomb! Thank you! Greetings from sunny, snowy Colorado:)
I’m so glad you loved it! It’s the only way I like it too 🙂
I am in the process of making shuba salad again, that’s how much you turned me onto this dish that I haven’t made in years, actually.
I love your blog, not only the recipes, but the stories as well, food and life blend so well, don’t they?:)
I’m so happy to hear that! I agree; they do blend well together. Food brings back so many memories for me – people, events, good times and even throwing up in the forest… lol.
Baked beets also add a lot of color to shuba and vinegret, whereas boiled beets lose some of their natural color in the water.
Have you ever make shuba with tuna? I’ve tried it at a friends house and it wasn’t bad at all! Love all of your recipes. Your blog is my go to, first, for any recipe I want to make.
It’s probably very similar in taste to the Mimosa salad I have posted and that one was very good (just a lighter texture). I hadn’t considered using Tuna in this but it totally makes sense 🙂
I used to live in Ukraine, outside L’viv, and шуба with herring was my favorite салат!
Isn’t it amazing? It’s a salad I crave often!
I am a native Russian but my fiancé is American. Everyone in the family is a VERY picky eater. They never liked the salad with herring so I switched to cooked/canned chicken and they LOVE it/beg me to make it now. So everyone I highly recommend trying canned chicken if you live with picky eaters!!
oooh that’s brilliant! Thank you 🙂 I bet kids would love it better too!
Quick note- and I found this very useful- since cooking beats does take the longest- I found that if you get them in a smallest size- the boiling time is literally cut in half. Just a note 🙂
Alina, Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Sounds Delicious to me, I will make it for my dinner party today. Thanks for recipe.
Let me know how it will turn out 🙂
This looks soooooooo good I really really want some. . . I better make this soon
Thank you so much for your recipes. I loved each and every one that I tried to make because the details you give are meant exactly for people like me 🙂
I like when I know how much to put a ne na glaz. And by the way- love reading the introduction paragraphs 😉 Keep it up! God Bless you and your family!
Thank you so much Ilonka, comments like this mean so much to me. May God bless you and your family as well 🙂
Im so going to try your shuba with the twist ie the smoked salmon! My only issue with this dish is its richness and I really dislike the greasiness of mayo.. I must admit The last time I had shuba was 5 years ago and I was quite unwell afterwards 🙂 so, the question is can I use anything else instead of mayo?
I haven’t really experimented with anything else. I don’t know what would taste as good as mayo 🙁 sorry
My mom makes it with half mayo and half sour cream then adds a little bit of salt and onions chopped small then mixes all together and uses that as a spread instead of just mayo. It turns out so light and is easier to spread too 🙂
I’m thinking, maybe you can use canned tuna (or just whatever fish you have) and prepare it the way you would for a sandwich (tuna, lemon, mayo, etc). That way, you won’t have to layer on mayo by itself, and it would already be mixed in witht the fish?
I’m still trying to figure out a way to get around using that much mayo.
Hi, I haven’t tried tuna but a couple of my readers suggested it saying they loved it with tuna. One advised to add mayo over the tuna layer to keep it moist. I hope you love it! 🙂
I loved loved loved it with salmon. I was so excited to find this receipe, I don’t like herring either. Was hoping to turn my hubby into liking it with salmon, but was unsuccessful. So every time I make shuba I have to make a separate plate just for me with salmon. So delicious…. The things we have to do for what we love…
Thank you so much for posting this! Your website is a life saver. I was born in the US, but raised strictly Russian. So when I try to make russian food, I either have to try to use Russian websites (I still can figure out what 100 grams of potatoes is) or call my mom and try to figure out what svikla is. Lol I’m going to trying this today for a friend’s baby shower. But we’re not big on fish so I might try it with canned chicken or tuna. And also do I need to salt anything other than the eggs? Or does the mayo provide enough flavor. I just don’t want it to be bland.
The mayo provides enough flavor. I’ve never tried it with canned tuna or chicken so please let me know how that turns out. Oh and thank you 🙂
im kinda confused about salmon type… are you talking about smoked salmon that comes in small package or there is some other kind of salmon you can find in Winco?
There’s a cheaper smoked salmon that is in those vacuum sealed packages. It’s kind of a tan color in the package. It’s a dryer salmon. You can also use the one that’s more red which they also sell in Costco. I’m going to make it with a smoked trout for Easter that my Dad made. You can use different ones. It doesn’t have to be just one.
Thank you so much for this recipe. I first had it (with herring) when a visiting aunt from Ukraine made it for a family dinner. I never knew what is was called. I LOVE it and now I have the recipe! I do like herring but am willing to try it with salmon.
Olya D.
I hope you enjoy this just as much!
I made this for a dinner party last night and it was a great success! Also goes well with smoked anchovies… 🙂
This is the 3rd recipe of yours that I’ve tried, and they’ve all been great!
Thank-you!!!
Anchovies… hmmm. Instead of the salmon?
it is um um so good thank you for your recipe i will make some on NEW YEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello Ladies, I love everything on this site,but can I make a suggestion.Try to bake your veggies,you would be surprised !!!! It goes very well for vinigret and shuba..
Hmmm. I never thought of that. How long do you bake everything and at what temp? Baking is probably even healthier than boiling since you don’t lose vitamins to the water. Thank you!
Hello Natasha, I bake veggies together ,usually at very high temp. to make faster , and I try them with sharp knife.Beets take the longest,first carrots and baked beets are soooo sweet.Also I take beets size like orange and all the same size,it does take longer I bake a day ahead oven 400 – 425.And you right baking is healthier,I learned this from our Jewish neighbor many years ago in Kishinev.
Forget to tell u,I love your idea with salmon i did think about it,but was afraid to ruin fish )))))
I like shuba but not the version where people start adding vegetables that don’t belong there…. Classic recipe has only herring, potatoes, onion and beets… I know people who add carrots, eggs, apple and such… :-/ Try the simple version and you can actually taste the salad not a mess… lol
Apples? Never tried that one! I do really like the carrots and eggs so I’m a tough one to convince 🙂 But it’s good to know what the “classic recipe” is. Thanks Anna!
I add 1 tart green apple apple for a 9 by 13 dish. It is awesome, it adds tartness.
I do it with herring- but never that whole smoked herring that you have to take apart- i find those yucky. I am lucky enough to live near Brooklyn so there is amazing herring fillets in the russian store- packed in oil- i get those and mince them. My order is
minced herring
minced red onion
potatoes
apple
beets
eggs
In between each layer i do a blend of 60%mayo+40% sour cream +DILL- i use a hand blender and blend the sauce with the dill.
Mayo + Sour cream + Dill sounds awesome!! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I will definitely try that. Do you grate or chop the apple?
i grate everything except the onion and herring. If you dice potatoes or beets then mince the apple instead b/c the apple shreds will stand out too much.
I am going to do this with salmon next week.
I make a large 9by 13 – it is just my husband and I but i got my American neighbor into this- she LOVES shuba. She made it once herself and brought it to her work- it did not go over very well , i guess herring is pretty off putting if you didnt grow up eating it. I am going to get salmon at Trader Joes or Costco- i am thinking of the salmon that is like lox type but I see you used smoked dry type instead, have you tried it with lox? do you have a preference?
Ok, that makes sense. I will definitely have to give your version a try. Lox salmon works well too. My aunt makes shuba with the salmon from coscto. Yumm!! It’s just quite a bit pricier.
My fiance is Russian and when her grandmother was getting old, I started making the shuba. I find that it is better when you make it 1 day in advance as it gives the layers time to meld together and it gives my top layer a nice pink shine. I see that you add egg to my top layer – I will try that. And I will try the salmon. You have a great website! We look at it every time we have a dinner party. Keep posting!
I definitely agree. A good shuba is better the next day (if you are patient enough to wait) 🙂
i use the canned “herring” and i actually chop it up into tiny pieces and use about half an onion (finely chopped) mixed with the fish. i leave it aside for a some time while i make all the other stuff.. i’ve always known to do it this way… but i will try your way as well. thank you for the recipe.
I haven’t tried with the canned herring. Maybe one of these days, I’ll brave up and try it. If you read my story, I have good reasons for eating the smoked fish 🙂 and I think it tastes awesome!!
This sounds great. I married a russian and she makes shuba every year for the New Years party at her uncle and aunts and has been unsucessful to get me to try it. I just told her about the salmon and she will try it for me. I love all the other russian dishes but can’t get past the herring which I use as bait fish when I go fishing. lol Happy New Year and thanks again.
I hope you enjoy it with the salmon. All my sisters now make it with the salmon and I won’t eat it any other way! 🙂
Instead of a pan dish, I use a cake formachka, and then take it off at the end and it turns out looking like a cake. I decorate the top with mayo making little flower shapes. It turns out looking really nice.
That’s brilliant. I love the flowers idea. I just got a cake decorating kit for Christmas I can use for that. Thank you!
Mmmm, shuba…
I stumbled across your website, and I’m so glad that I did. Definately trying this shuba recipe.
Thanks Natasha that really helped a ton!
What kind of salmon did you use?
Smoked salmon from winco. I used a hot smoked one which is more dry and less expensive. Cold smoked like the pricey one at Costco would probably be just as good
Natasha, another question – would you use hot-smoked salmon or cold-smoked salmon for this salad?
Sorry to get back to you so late, Natasha! Your shuba looks beautiful – and I have already spotted several other recipes I’d love to try (Kiev Cake, to start with!).
HOla , a que te refieres con Remolacha ? Quisiera probar tu receta ! gracias
No hablo espanol 🙂 I tried to translate your question online and I’m still not sure what you are asking. I got the second half figured out.
Hi-remolacha is beet and she wanted to know what your salad was about-she wanted to try it. i just found your site after googling shuba recipes and yours is easy to follow, so I will try it tomorrow.
This is really good…I’m actually not a fan of herring either and everyone loves salmon in my family (even the kids) so I’ll be trying this over the weekend. Thanks!
This is really good, although I love herring and fear that salmon would break the bank. I think the idea to layer them in a pyrex baking pan is a great one – it never occurred to me. I always just piled it on a plate and shaped it into a mountain of sorts.
Yum, Yum.
shubas one of my favorites! salmon sounds like a great idea. I want some…now