Cheese toasties are a staple meal, but one food creator has shared a creative twist that swaps ham for a better alternative: smoked salmon. TikTok user Ben Rebuck's 'Croque Lox' combines a French classic with bagel-inspired flavours, and foodies are calling it 'absolutely tremendous'.
The Croque Lox: A Fusion of French and Jewish Cuisine
In a video from April, Ben Rebuck replaced the traditional ham in a croque monsieur with smoked salmon, a quintessential bagel staple. He also added a generous schmear of cream cheese. The video's caption reads: 'This is what happens when a bagel order meets a French café and zero flying f's are given. But all jokes aside, this slaps so hard.'
Ben explains: 'Well, this is a croque lox. And you'll definitely want to make this one.' He insists that salmon is a far superior alternative to smoky ham. To enhance the flavour, he prepared a New York-style cream cheese schmear as a foundation for the salmon.
Ingredients and Method
The recipe includes four thick slices of challah, 150–200g smoked salmon, butter for frying, and a schmear mix of 150g cream cheese, finely diced red onion, fresh dill, fresh chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, and black pepper. The Hollandaise béchamel sauce requires 25g butter, 25g plain flour, 250ml milk, one egg yolk, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
Method: Combine the cream cheese with red onion, dill, chives, lemon zest, lemon juice, and black pepper. Melt butter in a pan, add flour and cook for one to two minutes. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Remove from heat, whisk in egg yolk, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Keep warm. Spread schmear on challah, top with smoked salmon, and close the sandwich. Butter the outside and fry on medium heat until golden. Spoon over the warm sauce, grate cheese on top, and finish under the grill. Optional: extra dill, lemon squeeze, black pepper.
Viral Success and Public Reaction
Ben's clip has racked up more than 55,700 views, 4,246 likes, and 65 comments. Lexi said: 'Smoked salmon is absolutely the right replacement for ham.' Another user wrote: 'Absolutely tremendous, can I take two.' Rosa agreed: 'This looks absolutely delicious.' Teddy added: 'Bro that bread is next level.'
Ben described the result: 'To say this works is an understatement. It was sweet, salty, creamy, fatty. It truly had everything.'
