Salmon - Culinary File  LIke a king of the waters, whether Pacific or Atlantic, salmon reigns on the table surrounded by its faithful subjects; lemon, lime, parsley, dill, sea salt, sometimes onion and capers. 

Preparing whole butterflied salmon 

If you buy a whole salmon, ask your fishmonger to scale it and butterfly it: that is, remove all the bones, but keep on all the skin so that it can be closed up again to regain its original appearance. Otherwise, 

1. remove the gills and scales; make a lengthwise incision, gut and wash the salmon quickly under cold water; 
2. slide your finger along the backbone and remove the bones by making a quick outward movement; 
3. repeat on the other side;
4. remove the skeleton all the way to the skin;
5. brush the flesh with olive oil, rubbing it in with your fingers; 
6. at the same time, check for bones; remove them with tweezers;
7. sprinkle with coarse sea salt. 

How to cook in the oven 

• Salmon is too often overcooked: it loses it moist texture and dries out;
• always leave the skin on and close the fish up; never leave the flesh exposed to the heat;
• salmon doesn't need to be seasoned; it should retain its original flavor; you can, however, stick a bunch of fresh dill or fennel into the cavity; 
• cook in a  230°C (450° F) oven for about 3-4 minutes per kg (2 min/lb.) The interior should still be slightly raw, what I call half-cooked, for it to be at its best. 
• serve hot or cold. 

  How to serve 

  Hot

  • with lemon butter
  • hollandaise sauce
  • fennel cream
  Cold
  • with lemon-dill mayonnaise
  • basil sauce  

  Other preparation methods

  • braised
  • "à l'unilatérale" - seared on one side only
  • raw in homemade gravlax