Whole Roast Salmon

Suggested wine: French red Burgundy; Oregon pinot noir

When you want drama for a dinner party, whether a sit-down affair or a buffet, nothing beats roasting an entire salmon and presenting it whole—especially if you caught the fish. Hooking a beauty from your favorite fishmonger—which most of us will be doing—is special, too. Here are a couple things to think about: measure your oven so you don’t buy too large a salmon, and measure your largest rimmed baking sheet on the diagonal because that is how you will arrange the fish. If need be, you or the fishmonger can cut off the salmon’s head. Hopefully, you won’t need to cut off the tail, too, but that can be done to make it all work.

SERVES 8

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 whole salmon (5 to 7 pounds), gutted, cleaned, and scaled, head and tail left on
• Kosher or sea salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup dry white wine
• ½ cup heavy (whipping) cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, plus dill sprigs for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet (11 by 17 inches) with aluminum foil. Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Place the salmon on the pan, diagonally if necessary. If the fish is still too large, cut off the head using a sharp chef’s knife. Tilt the fish on its back, open the cavity, and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Lay the fish back on its side and arrange half the lemon slices along the length of the cavity. Overlap the onion slices on top, then place the remaining lemon slices on top of the onions. Using a ruler, measure the fish at its thickest part, usually right behind the head. Pour the wine over the fish and cover the fish completely with another piece of foil that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

Place the pan in the oven and bake the fish for 10 minutes for every inch of thickness before checking for doneness. For example, if the salmon is 4 inches thick at its thickest point, then bake the fish for 40 minutes. Insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part, avoiding the spine; when it registers 125 ° to 130 °F, the fish is done. (My preference is for the fish to be closer to 125 °F, when it’s moist and just beginning to flake.)

Remove the pan from the oven. Using two large spatulas, transfer the fish to a warmed large platter. (Alternatively, if you would rather carve the fish and serve individual plates instead of presenting the salmon whole, leave the fish in the pan.) If you transferred the salmon to a platter, cover the salmon loosely with aluminum foil while you make the sauce. If you left it in the pan, tilt the pan, using a spatula to restrain the fish, and pour the pan juices into a small saucepan. Cover the salmon if you left it in the pan. Add the cream to the pan juices and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer and reduce until the sauce is thickened and coats the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Add the 2 tablespoons dill. Taste and add a little salt and pepper, if needed. Pour the sauce into a warmed small sauceboat for passing at the table or serving at the buffet.

To serve the fish whole, peel off the top skin or leave it on. (This decision is up to the chef— you either like salmon skin or you don’t.) Using a carving knife, cut along the seam running lengthwise down the middle of the side of the fish, then make cuts crosswise into serving-sized portions. Using a knife and a serving spatula, loosen the pieces offish. This will make it easier for your guests to serve themselves. When the top fillet has been served, lift off the backbone and ribs, then slide the onion and lemon slices to the side. Cut the bottom fillet into crosswise portions and serve.

If you are serving individual plates, follow the same procedure, portioning salmon onto each warmed plate. Spoon some sauce over the salmon or pass it at the table. Garnish with small sprigs of dill.