Baked Salmon with Citrus and Herbs: A Holiday Showstopper

If you're looking for an impressive and easy-to-make dish to serve at your holiday gatherings, consider baking salmon with citrus and herbs. This recipe is perfect for those who don't feel like serving traditional ham or roast, as it's quick, flavorful, and sure to blow minds when presented.

To start, slice your citrus of choice - lemons, grapefruits, or a combination of both are great options. You want to aim for about an eighth of an inch in thickness, and don't worry about the seeds; they're just for perfuming the fish. The seeds will release their oils as the citrus sits on the fish, adding depth to the dish without overpowering it.

Now that you have your citrus sliced, let's move on to making our salt crust. This is the fun part! You'll need a box of salt, and we're using kosher salt for this recipe. If you don't have kosher salt, feel free to use regular salt - it will still work beautifully. The type of salt we're using here is particularly noteworthy, as "diamond" salt is often used in high-end cooking due to its delicate flavor and texture.

Mix your salt with water until you reach a consistency similar to wet sand. Yes, you read that right - wet sand! You want the mixture to be smooth and even, so make sure to stir it well. The idea behind this mixture is to create a seal around the fish that will help retain moisture and flavors as it bakes.

To test whether your salt crust will hold together properly, take a small amount of the mixture and shape it into a little ball or patty. If it crumbles apart easily, you'll need to add more water. However, if it holds its shape without falling apart, you know you're on the right track! This step is crucial in achieving that perfect seal around your fish.

With our salt crust ready, let's assemble our dish. Place a thin layer of salt at the bottom of your baking dish - this will help protect the fish from the heat and also give it something to sit on while it bakes. Next, add your sliced citrus and herbs on top of the fish. We're using dill and teragon for this recipe, as they're two of the most fragrant and tender herbs available.

Now that our salt crust is in place, let's talk about seasoning the inside of the fish. While the outside will be seasoned with salt and herbs, it's also important to season the inside to enhance flavor. Take a small amount of salt and rub it all over the inside of the fish - don't be shy! This will help distribute flavor evenly throughout the dish.

Next, add another third of your sliced citrus and herbs on top of the fish, making sure to cover it evenly. Don't worry if the mixture gets a bit messy - that's half the fun of cooking! Cover everything with a layer of salt, making sure to pack it in tightly but not too densely. You want the salt to be evenly distributed, but also leave some space for air to circulate.

With our salmon now assembled, it's time to put it in the oven. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 40-50 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork. One way to test if your fish is done is to insert a cake tester into the thickest part of the fish - if it comes out warm but not hot, you know it's ready!

Once your salmon is done, remove it from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before serving. To take off the salt crust, use the sharp end of your fish spatula or a regular spatula to pierce the crust along the length of the fish. As parts of the crust start to flake off, you can simply let them fall away - they're not worth saving!

When presenting your baked salmon, consider bringing it straight from the baking dish and arranging everything in a visually appealing way. You can either leave it as is or lift it out of the salt crust and arrange the fish on top. Either way, the presentation should be stunning.

To add an extra layer of flavor to your dish, consider serving it with a glass of Citrus G Blanc. This citrusy wine will complement the flavors in the salmon perfectly, adding a nice brightness to the dish. And if you want to take things up a notch, top everything off with a little herb salad - the freshness will add a delightful contrast to the richness of the fish.

Overall, baking salmon with citrus and herbs is an easy and impressive recipe that's sure to become a holiday favorite. With its delicate flavors and beautiful presentation, it's perfect for serving at your next gathering. So go ahead, give it a try, and watch as your guests' minds are blown by this show-stopping dish!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ensalt baked salmon if you don't feel like a ham or a roast for the holidays it's a really really easy impressive and pretty quick thing to serve four ingredients salt fish Citrus and herbs and when that whole fish hits the table people's minds are going to be blown so let's make it so the first thing that we're going to do is we're going to slice our Citrus um I love to use lemons and grapefruit you could use all lemon you could throw in an orange a blood orange would be lovely and when you're slicing these you don't want to go too thin about an eighth of an inch and don't worry about the seeds you're not eating this it's just for perfuming the fish so now comes the fun part where we get to make our salt crust which is just salt and water it's about a box of salt and the kind of salt that we're using is kosher salt we like diamond and no I'm not paid to say that we're putting our salt in a big old bowl and then we're going to add our water you want to work it until it feels like wet sand the idea here is that you're creating a seal so if it's not wet enough it's not going to seal it'll just crumble away from the fish a good way to test whether your salt crust will hold together and create that seal is by taking a little bit of that salt mixture and kind of pressing it together in your hands creating like a little ball or Patty and if it stays together without crumbling apart then you know you're pretty good so now we have our fish our Citrus our herbs and our salt crust and that's all you need so I'm going to put a thin layer of salt on the bottom and that's going to protect the fish from the heat of the bottom of the tray and also give us a chance to put the fish in contact with some more of the herbs and the Citrus nobody's going to see the bottom part so it's definitely just her flavor for this one we are using dill and Teragon I like those the most because I find them to be the most fragrant of all of the tender herbs so we have our first layer of citrus and herbs and then I'm going to take this guy and I'm going to put them on top so while the sof crust is going to season the fish mostly from the outside in I still like to season the inside with just a little bit of salt so I stuffed the inside of the fish with another third of the herbs and the Citrus and now I'm going to do a little bit more on top make sure that you arrange this in a nice way that you will be pleased to see when you take it out of the oven so take your salt and you just want to pack it in just right on top of all those herbs the Citrus the fish and cover everything up it doesn't have to be a thick layer but it does have to be evenly covered so we have our Salon he's all tucked in ready to go and we're going to put him in the oven to bake for about 40 to 50 minutes so one way to test if your fish is done is you can take a cake tester and insert it just sort of anywhere where it's meaty I like maybe the middle of the fish poke it let it sit for a minute and then touch it to the bottom of your lip it should not be hot it should be warm though and as soon as it's warm your fish is cooked so to take the salt crust off take the sharp end of your fish spatula or regular spatula and Pierce the crust along the length of the fish and as parts of it start to flake off that's fine you can just sort of let it fall away because it's only in there for about 40 or 50 minutes the Citrus stays nice and bright the herbs stay pretty green they still look really great so when it comes time to present the fish you're going to want to bring it to the table and you can either bring it like this or you can lift him out of the bottom of the salt crust present it that way but from here on out it's basically just peeling the skin away and taking the large chunks of fish and putting them on a serving powder I think something like this is really perfect as is but if you want to serve it with a little Citrus G Blanc it would only make things better and then a little herb salad on the side so you're just echoing the flavors that are already in the fish and that is our salt baked salmon with Citrus and herbs for the recipe go to bona.com holidayssalt baked salmon if you don't feel like a ham or a roast for the holidays it's a really really easy impressive and pretty quick thing to serve four ingredients salt fish Citrus and herbs and when that whole fish hits the table people's minds are going to be blown so let's make it so the first thing that we're going to do is we're going to slice our Citrus um I love to use lemons and grapefruit you could use all lemon you could throw in an orange a blood orange would be lovely and when you're slicing these you don't want to go too thin about an eighth of an inch and don't worry about the seeds you're not eating this it's just for perfuming the fish so now comes the fun part where we get to make our salt crust which is just salt and water it's about a box of salt and the kind of salt that we're using is kosher salt we like diamond and no I'm not paid to say that we're putting our salt in a big old bowl and then we're going to add our water you want to work it until it feels like wet sand the idea here is that you're creating a seal so if it's not wet enough it's not going to seal it'll just crumble away from the fish a good way to test whether your salt crust will hold together and create that seal is by taking a little bit of that salt mixture and kind of pressing it together in your hands creating like a little ball or Patty and if it stays together without crumbling apart then you know you're pretty good so now we have our fish our Citrus our herbs and our salt crust and that's all you need so I'm going to put a thin layer of salt on the bottom and that's going to protect the fish from the heat of the bottom of the tray and also give us a chance to put the fish in contact with some more of the herbs and the Citrus nobody's going to see the bottom part so it's definitely just her flavor for this one we are using dill and Teragon I like those the most because I find them to be the most fragrant of all of the tender herbs so we have our first layer of citrus and herbs and then I'm going to take this guy and I'm going to put them on top so while the sof crust is going to season the fish mostly from the outside in I still like to season the inside with just a little bit of salt so I stuffed the inside of the fish with another third of the herbs and the Citrus and now I'm going to do a little bit more on top make sure that you arrange this in a nice way that you will be pleased to see when you take it out of the oven so take your salt and you just want to pack it in just right on top of all those herbs the Citrus the fish and cover everything up it doesn't have to be a thick layer but it does have to be evenly covered so we have our Salon he's all tucked in ready to go and we're going to put him in the oven to bake for about 40 to 50 minutes so one way to test if your fish is done is you can take a cake tester and insert it just sort of anywhere where it's meaty I like maybe the middle of the fish poke it let it sit for a minute and then touch it to the bottom of your lip it should not be hot it should be warm though and as soon as it's warm your fish is cooked so to take the salt crust off take the sharp end of your fish spatula or regular spatula and Pierce the crust along the length of the fish and as parts of it start to flake off that's fine you can just sort of let it fall away because it's only in there for about 40 or 50 minutes the Citrus stays nice and bright the herbs stay pretty green they still look really great so when it comes time to present the fish you're going to want to bring it to the table and you can either bring it like this or you can lift him out of the bottom of the salt crust present it that way but from here on out it's basically just peeling the skin away and taking the large chunks of fish and putting them on a serving powder I think something like this is really perfect as is but if you want to serve it with a little Citrus G Blanc it would only make things better and then a little herb salad on the side so you're just echoing the flavors that are already in the fish and that is our salt baked salmon with Citrus and herbs for the recipe go to bona.com holidays\n"