It's been a while since I've posted here...

For the New Year's party I'm throwing, I was debating what exactly I
wanted to feed my guests with. The past two years, I've been doing a
huge turducken, but I'm tired of that. So I have a grill, an oven, a
stove, and a slow cooker. I'm putting a pair of beer butt chickens on
the grill and a sauerbraten in the slow cooker. I needed something
interesting for the oven, and I finally decided. I want to cook a
whole fish, complete with the fins, head, and googly eye.

I bought a 6 pound salmon and it's in the freezer now. It was descaled
and gutted but is otherwise intact. So far, the best, and only advice
I've gotten for preparing it is to rub stuff like garlic, blackened
seasoning, and lemon on it, then wrap it in foil and cook away. I
don't know how much it should cook for and at what temperature. In
summary, if you have any advice on the preparation or cooking
methodology, I'd appreciate it!

- Scott

scottdanzig wrote:
> It's been a while since I've posted here...
>
> For the New Year's party I'm throwing, I was debating what exactly I
> wanted to feed my guests with. The past two years, I've been doing a
> huge turducken, but I'm tired of that. So I have a grill, an oven, a
> stove, and a slow cooker. I'm putting a pair of beer butt chickens on
> the grill and a sauerbraten in the slow cooker. I needed something
> interesting for the oven, and I finally decided. I want to cook a
> whole fish, complete with the fins, head, and googly eye.
>
> I bought a 6 pound salmon and it's in the freezer now. It was
> descaled and gutted but is otherwise intact. So far, the best, and
> only advice I've gotten for preparing it is to rub stuff like garlic,
> blackened seasoning, and lemon on it, then wrap it in foil and cook
> away. I don't know how much it should cook for and at what
> temperature. In summary, if you have any advice on the preparation
> or cooking methodology, I'd appreciate it!
>
> - Scott

Whole fish are great cooked in a wok. See Barbara Tropp for a recipe.

scottdanzig wrote:
> [snip].... I want to cook a
> whole fish, complete with the fins, head, and googly eye.
>
> I bought a 6 pound salmon and it's in the freezer now. It was descaled
> and gutted but is otherwise intact. So far, the best, and only advice
> I've gotten for preparing it is to rub stuff like garlic, blackened
> seasoning, and lemon on it, then wrap it in foil and cook away. I
> don't know how much it should cook for and at what temperature. In
> summary, if you have any advice on the preparation or cooking
> methodology, I'd appreciate it!

Since you're doing all that other cooking as well, a simple approach
seems indicated. One advantage of a baked whole salmon is that it can
be served hot or cold on a buffet. First, be sure to thaw the salmon
as slowly as you can. Then just a few flavorings so as not to
interfere with the inherent salmon goodness. Something like this:

your 6 lb. salmon
4 sprigs fresh parsley
½ lemon, sliced
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup white wine (more like a sauvignon blanc than a chardonnay)
2 TB oil

1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Place 2 large sheets of foil on top of each other on a sheet pan.
Spread the oil on the foil and place the salmon on top.
3. Put the parsley, lemon slices and bay leaf into the body cavity.
Fold the edges of the foil together, pour the wine over, and seal
loosely.
4. Bake for about 45 minutes. Instant read thermometer should read
130° to 135°F.
5. Serve hot or cold. If you want to serve it cold, allow the fish to
cool in the parcel and then gently peel off the skin and garnish with
thinly sliced cucumber and watercress or dill. -aem

scottdanzig wrote:
> It's been a while since I've posted here...
>
> For the New Year's party I'm throwing, I was debating what exactly I
> wanted to feed my guests with. The past two years, I've been doing a
> huge turducken, but I'm tired of that. So I have a grill, an oven, a
> stove, and a slow cooker. I'm putting a pair of beer butt chickens on
> the grill and a sauerbraten in the slow cooker. I needed something
> interesting for the oven, and I finally decided. I want to cook a
> whole fish, complete with the fins, head, and googly eye.
>
> I bought a 6 pound salmon and it's in the freezer now. It was descaled
> and gutted but is otherwise intact. So far, the best, and only advice
> I've gotten for preparing it is to rub stuff like garlic, blackened
> seasoning, and lemon on it, then wrap it in foil and cook away. I
> don't know how much it should cook for and at what temperature. In
> summary, if you have any advice on the preparation or cooking
> methodology, I'd appreciate it!
>
> - Scott

I was on here asking the same question about a 4-lb
salmon....lol....Anyway I found this recipe in an old cookbook and made
the fish for Christmas eve and it came out delicious. You will need to
scale the stuffing up from 4 to 6 pound and increase the cooking time
to closer to an hour but it should work.

4-pound whole salmon (will also work with bass or red snapper)
Salt and pepper
Butter or margarine
Flour
1 cup dry bread crumbs or unseasoned stuffing mix or crumbled stale
bread
1 cup raw shrimp, chopped (or small shrimp)
1 cup raw oysters, chopped
1 cup scallions, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
Bacon
1/8 teaspoon thyme


Wash and clean fish. Rub the cavity with butter; season with salt and
pepper and sprinkle with flour. Mix the bread, shrimp, oysters,
scallions, celery, thyme, and season to taste. Add a piece of butter
to the mixture and stuff the fish lightly. Sew it up and place it in a

well-greased baking pan. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Score
the skin in three places and cover with strips of bacon. Bake in a 350

Deg over for 40 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a
fork. Baste often during baking. Serves 6. (If I did it again, I
would cover it with aluminum foil)

On 27 Dec 2006 12:38:55 -0800, "aem" > wrote:

>scottdanzig wrote:
>> [snip].... I want to cook a
>> whole fish, complete with the fins, head, and googly eye.
>>
>> I bought a 6 pound salmon and it's in the freezer now. It was descaled
>> and gutted but is otherwise intact. So far, the best, and only advice
>> I've gotten for preparing it is to rub stuff like garlic, blackened
>> seasoning, and lemon on it, then wrap it in foil and cook away. I
>> don't know how much it should cook for and at what temperature. In
>> summary, if you have any advice on the preparation or cooking
>> methodology, I'd appreciate it!
>
>Since you're doing all that other cooking as well, a simple approach
>seems indicated. One advantage of a baked whole salmon is that it can
>be served hot or cold on a buffet. First, be sure to thaw the salmon
>as slowly as you can. Then just a few flavorings so as not to
>interfere with the inherent salmon goodness. Something like this:
>
>your 6 lb. salmon
>4 sprigs fresh parsley
>½ lemon, sliced
>1 bay leaf
>1/2 cup white wine (more like a sauvignon blanc than a chardonnay)
>2 TB oil
>
>1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
>2. Place 2 large sheets of foil on top of each other on a sheet pan.
>Spread the oil on the foil and place the salmon on top.
>3. Put the parsley, lemon slices and bay leaf into the body cavity.
>Fold the edges of the foil together, pour the wine over, and seal
>loosely.
>4. Bake for about 45 minutes. Instant read thermometer should read
>130° to 135°F.
>5. Serve hot or cold. If you want to serve it cold, allow the fish to
>cool in the parcel and then gently peel off the skin and garnish with
>thinly sliced cucumber and watercress or dill. -aem

This is very good advice. I'd likely go another direction, but I'm
sometimes a culinary pervert. Or something like that.

I've baked a salmon fillet on a bed of shaved fresh fennel bulb and
fresh orange slices with olive oil and salt an pepper. It was pretty
good.
--

modom

http://www.koyote.com/users/modom/home.html

Scott wrote:

> I bought a 6 pound salmon and it's in the freezer now. It was descaled
> and gutted but is otherwise intact. So far, the best, and only advice
> I've gotten for preparing it is to rub stuff like garlic, blackened
> seasoning, and lemon on it, then wrap it in foil and cook away. I
> don't know how much it should cook for and at what temperature. In
> summary, if you have any advice on the preparation or cooking
> methodology, I'd appreciate it!


I roasted a whole steelhead last August and posted about it here. Here's an
edited description of what I did:

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Stuff the fish with a mixture of dill, tarragon, lemon slices, salt, and
pepper. Oil the roasting pan rack, then set the fish on the rack into the
oven. Reserve some tarragon for the sauce.

Put a couple cups of Pinot Gris in a saucepan with some chopped red onions
and the reserved tarragon, bring it to a lively boil to reduce it.

After about half an hour, check the fish for doneness: If it flakes easily,
it's done. Remove the fish from the oven and let it rest.

Mix some honey mustard with the wine-onion-tarragon liquid to make a sauce.

Bob

Bob Terwilliger wrote:
> Scott wrote:
>
> > I bought a 6 pound salmon and it's in the freezer now. It was descaled
> > and gutted but is otherwise intact. So far, the best, and only advice
> > I've gotten for preparing it is to rub stuff like garlic, blackened
> > seasoning, and lemon on it, then wrap it in foil and cook away. I
> > don't know how much it should cook for and at what temperature. In
> > summary, if you have any advice on the preparation or cooking
> > methodology, I'd appreciate it!
>
>
> I roasted a whole steelhead last August and posted about it here. Here's an
> edited description of what I did:
>
> Preheat the oven to 400°F.
>
> Stuff the fish with a mixture of dill, tarragon, lemon slices, salt, and
> pepper. Oil the roasting pan rack, then set the fish on the rack into the
> oven. Reserve some tarragon for the sauce.
>
> Put a couple cups of Pinot Gris in a saucepan with some chopped red onions
> and the reserved tarragon, bring it to a lively boil to reduce it.
>
> After about half an hour, check the fish for doneness: If it flakes easily,
> it's done. Remove the fish from the oven and let it rest.
>
> Mix some honey mustard with the wine-onion-tarragon liquid to make a sauce.
>
> Bob

Yeesh, so many good ideas! Now I need advice from you guys on which
one is best This one seems like the best choice (I'll probably try
the salmon/orange/fennel combo some time later, maybe in a soup)... aem
brought up a good point, to be not too aggressive when cooking so much.

However, I'm not very sensible and the preparation of the chicken and
sauerbraten is largely unattended, so if I can get the oysters n'
shrimps without much trouble, I *HAVE* to go with Shadowdog's recipe.
My god, he even has bacon in there! I'll try to remember to take a
picture or two before it's eaten and post it for you guys.

Thank you everyone for your time

- Scott

Shadowdog wrote:
> scottdanzig wrote:
> > It's been a while since I've posted here...
> >
> > For the New Year's party I'm throwing, I was debating what exactly I
> > wanted to feed my guests with. The past two years, I've been doing a
> > huge turducken, but I'm tired of that. So I have a grill, an oven, a
> > stove, and a slow cooker. I'm putting a pair of beer butt chickens on
> > the grill and a sauerbraten in the slow cooker. I needed something
> > interesting for the oven, and I finally decided. I want to cook a
> > whole fish, complete with the fins, head, and googly eye.
> >
> > I bought a 6 pound salmon and it's in the freezer now. It was descaled
> > and gutted but is otherwise intact. So far, the best, and only advice
> > I've gotten for preparing it is to rub stuff like garlic, blackened
> > seasoning, and lemon on it, then wrap it in foil and cook away. I
> > don't know how much it should cook for and at what temperature. In
> > summary, if you have any advice on the preparation or cooking
> > methodology, I'd appreciate it!
> >
> > - Scott
>
> I was on here asking the same question about a 4-lb
> salmon....lol....Anyway I found this recipe in an old cookbook and made
> the fish for Christmas eve and it came out delicious. You will need to
> scale the stuffing up from 4 to 6 pound and increase the cooking time
> to closer to an hour but it should work.
>
> 4-pound whole salmon (will also work with bass or red snapper)
> Salt and pepper
> Butter or margarine
> Flour
> 1 cup dry bread crumbs or unseasoned stuffing mix or crumbled stale
> bread
> 1 cup raw shrimp, chopped (or small shrimp)
> 1 cup raw oysters, chopped
> 1 cup scallions, chopped
> 1/2 cup celery, chopped
> Bacon
> 1/8 teaspoon thyme
>
>
> Wash and clean fish. Rub the cavity with butter; season with salt and
> pepper and sprinkle with flour. Mix the bread, shrimp, oysters,
> scallions, celery, thyme, and season to taste. Add a piece of butter
> to the mixture and stuff the fish lightly. Sew it up and place it in a
>
> well-greased baking pan. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Score
> the skin in three places and cover with strips of bacon. Bake in a 350
>
> Deg over for 40 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a
> fork. Baste often during baking. Serves 6. (If I did it again, I
> would cover it with aluminum foil)

Alright, I tried this recipe out. It was fabulous! Thank you! I
actually didn't bother sewing it up. I would've wasted too much
stuffing. So I just put the fish on foil, stuffed it, and let the
stuffing fall outward from the body cavity. It looked immaculate and
tasted divine. Side notes... I should've greased the foil before
wrapping the fish, and, I wish I knew the proper way to debone a whole
salmon and leave it intact, because guests in general had to spit them
back out which they get annoyed by.

But anyway, thanks again everyone for all the advice!

- Scott

: scottdanzig wrote:
: > It's been a while since I've posted here...
: >
: > For the New Year's party I'm throwing, I was debating what exactly I
: > wanted to feed my guests with. The past two years, I've been doing a
: > huge turducken, but I'm tired of that. So I have a grill, an oven, a
: > stove, and a slow cooker. I'm putting a pair of beer butt chickens on
: > the grill and a sauerbraten in the slow cooker. I needed something
: > interesting for the oven, and I finally decided. I want to cook a
: > whole fish, complete with the fins, head, and googly eye.
: >
: > I bought a 6 pound salmon and it's in the freezer now. It was
: > descaled and gutted but is otherwise intact. So far, the best, and
: > only advice I've gotten for preparing it is to rub stuff like garlic,
: > blackened seasoning, and lemon on it, then wrap it in foil and cook
: > away. I don't know how much it should cook for and at what
: > temperature. In summary, if you have any advice on the preparation
: > or cooking methodology, I'd appreciate it!
: >
: > - Scott

: Whole fish are great cooked in a wok. See Barbara Tropp for a recipe.


That's one dang huge wok to hold a 6 pound salmon!!!