I don't know how you like it made in restaurants, but if you have a really nice steak you can just broil it and it turns out pretty well.

preheat broiler.
get a cast iron pan good and hot.
toss in rinsed, dried, oiled salmon steak.
fry about 30 seconds
put whole pan in broiler about 4 inches from the heating element
cook about 7 minutes, flipping halfway through. (this ends up with it nearly raw in the very middle, so make it 10 minutes if you like it cooked more than that)

You can mix things with the oil and let it sit for a few hours for flavor. I usually just add salt and pepper and it's pretty good. I've also has it with mustard or cilantro pesto, or an orange-y sauce (not sure what else was in it).

I usually just serve it with lemon.

I don't know how I like it made in restaurants, either. I don't tend to like sauces or intricate preparations with fish; I do like things grilled, which I can't do here. Maybe that's the issue? Whenever I make it, it just seems dry and blah. And I have a good fishmonger, so I don't think it's that.

I have been thinking for a while that I should probably own a cast-iron skillet, which I don't, currently. Perhaps this will be reason to get one.

I always bake it plain, with a little salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon. The key with salmon, as you're probably aware, is to under cook it a little. It can be a tiny bit undercooked in the center. Let it rest in the pan for 5 minutes after pulling out of the oven and it will cook a little further.

Get you a nice piece of wild salmon and grill it or broil it with some olive oil and a little chopped garlic. Before you do that get a large thing of plain yogurt and put it in the blender with about 1 and a half to 2 bunches of fresh dill, three or four cloves of garlic, it makes a thin liquid, add the dill in thirds (these portions make leftovers, but the sauce is good for a week and good on almost everything). Boiled red potatoes and a salad with red onion and red leaf lettuce, balsamic dressing with a pinch of sugar. It is all about how you cook the fish but just kinda hover over it and if you screw it up the first time it will be better the next time, that dill sauce heals all wounds.

Mainly the thing is keep the salmon wet while you cook it, olive oil is your friend, as always.

Cast iron skillets are great for all sorts of things- fish steaks, beef steaks, pineapple upside down cakes, cornbread.... I usually find mine at garage or estate sales.

I have one cast iron skillet that I've nursed along for years, I'm in the market for another one. I suspect I'll have to leave the city to get one at a garage sale.

Oh Occhiblu, I was going to say that saucewise what I'm talking about is not heavy or fatty, it's light and very herbal and refreshing, a great summer thing, more of a dressing, good on the potatoes too.

For Salmon I soak it in just enough cold water to cover it fully, along with about two tablespoons of sea salt for about three minutes. Then I rinse it under cold water to get all the salt off then coat with freshly ground white pepper and put it on a rack under the broiler for 3 to 6 minutes per side depending on the thickness. A dash of fresh lemon juice and it's ready to go. Make sure it is not farmed Salmon.

I'm not partial to salmon, myself, so I can't really help you there. I'll ask Science Girl how she does it tomorrow morning.

One thing I do know is that you should stay away from the farmed stuff at all costs. Wild caught is the way to go with salmon, as Divine_Wino mentioned. Even I can tell the difference.

I love dill too. Occhiblu, do you have any growing in your garden? It's easy to grow.

I often make a meal similar to Divine Wino's. Salmon with a dill and red potatoes with dill, butter, and a little sauteed garlic. I put a steamer basket filled with fresh green beans on top of the boiling potatoes. Best eaten on the back porch on a summer night.

Truthfully, I have an aversion to dill that I'm trying to get over.

I do buy wild salmon, only. Usually local (California), though the best salmon I've had was in Alaska, so I'm wondering if I should branch out.

I'm told that Alaskan is the way to go.

I know a guy who has his own boat. He spends half the year here in Seattle doing carpentry & such, and the other half fishing up off of Alaska. We've gotten some very nice fish through him. When we buy it in the store the price is higher, of course, but if you buy at the right time it's not so bad. I don't know if that holds true in San Francisco, though, as we're much closer to Alaska.

I only broil salmon, with either a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon, or a light brushing of plain yogurt + dill. Had some last night with a simple side of asparagus + balsamic and some roasted fingerling potatoes. Mmm-mmm!

I don't like fish, so I can't help you with salmon. But, to "I do like things grilled, which I can't do here," I say FEH!

You can grill, dammit. I know it for a fact. Now, desire, that's another thing....

I grew up on a fishing boat in southcentral Alaska, and I won't eat anything less fresh than "caught this summer." I like to grill or bake salmon with either garlic and lemon pepper, or a thin layer of mayonnaise and lemon juice. Honestly, the mayonnaise sounds and looks gross, but it helps keep the fish moist and flaky. I've also baked it in a paper bag or parchment paper.

I like grilled salmon. I brush it with oil, and throw it on the grill. You can also do this with a skillet. You don't want to deep fry it. Just enough oil so it doesn't stick.

Also, I should mention that I really only like salmon about once every five years. (I prefer white/mild fishies.)

"I have a good fishmonger"

There's the person to ask!

This recipe was in The Times today, it's a Gordon Ramsay recipe. I intend to try it, it sounds quick and delicious.

4 skinned salmon fillets, about

200g each

50g sun-dried tomatoes in oil, halved if large

Handful of basil leaves

50g pitted black olives

3 large garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

Sea salt and black pepper

Olive oil, to drizzle

1. Heat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. Place the salmon fillets on a board, skin-side down. Use an apple corer to make 6 small holes in each fillet.

2. Flatten the sun-dried tomatoes and place a basil leaf, an olive and a sliver of garlic on each one. Roll up and use to stuff the holes in the salmon. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Place the salmon fillets on a lightly oiled baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 6-8 minutes until medium rare – the thickest part will feel slightly springy when pressed. Transfer to warm plates and serve with a tomato salad and country bread.

I like to do a pasta with salmon. I boil the tortellini in one pot while I heat/boil cream (or the best 'heavy' lower fat alternative I can find such as a thick creme fraiche) with chopped up spring onions (three-four or so) until they 'marry' and make a goo. Dash of salt, white pepper, maybe muscot and then I pour the cream on the drained pasta and add little squares of salmon which I let the heat of the pasta and sauce cook as I stir it around.

It's really rich and really yummy and I'm not sure it's a real recepi I kinda just made it up one night.

Please give me some of that now. Right now.

Would you like wine with that? I know I would.... *droool* MMm, I'm gonna get some salmon for tonight.

I also like to grill salmon in aluminum foil. Just put the salmon in with white pepper, a dash of lemon oil and some chopped up fresh herbs, wrap it up and grill for maybe five minutes. Mmm mmm good!

I have to stop by your house some day Taz, and make tons of yummy foods we can gorge on in the heat of the greek evenings. :) How are the new digs? You like it?

It's good in fish cakes, too. Boil some floury potatoes and mash them. Leave them to cool for a bit. Bring a separate pan of water to the boil and add the salon fillets, simmering for 8 minutes. Remove and leave on a plate to cool. Then break it up into flakes.

Put the fish in a bowl with the mashed potatoes, some butter, chopped dill, salt and pepper - mix together. Shape the mixture into cakes about an inch thick, then chill them for 20 minutes.

Get some beaten eggs, some breadcrumbs and some seasoned flour. Dip the cakes into the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs, and dry for about 4 minutes doing both sides evenly.

Serve with spinach or a nice bitter-leaved salad, and maybe some tartare sauce or sour cream with chives. Add a glass of crisp white wine, maybe a soave or pinot grigio, and you've got an incredibly moreish meal. Takes a while to cook, and is a bit fiddly, but it's worth it.

(recipe nicked from Rick Stein)

Hmm - I see I have recommended salon fillets. Not sure how tasty those would be...

And I meant fry, not dry. I should really use preview better.

Dabitch, it would be the coolest of the cool to hang out and make food and drink wine. Talk about bunnyfuntime!

I love the new house! Love. I commented a bit here a bit, and I really will post some pix one day. One day when I find my camera cable, my battery recharger, and my camera - all at once, together again, after a heartwrenching separation!

Though, now, of course, we're totally broke again, with the moving costs plus paying taxes. :(

Kind of a non sequitur there, no? ... Now we're totally broke, and thus further home improvements will have to wait a few months.

mmmm! Dry Salon Fillets!

Salmon with a little vinegrette poured under or beside it is good.
Just shake up some oil, grey poupon, and vinegar (NOT baslamic, rice vinegar is nice and mild) maybe some chopped chives, salt, pepper.

I do mine in the toaster oven: bake on very low temp, leave it sit in the warm oven for awhile to just cook through, brown a bit with the broiler, door open, before serving.

Seconding greycap, spinach is almost mandatory with salmon around here.

tortellini nononono, tagliatelle! Am i the only one getting really hungry?

Salmon Pojarski - Jacques Pepin

1 medium onion, chopped
1 C mushrooms, chopped
1 T oil
3 T water
2 slices bread
1/3 C broth
1 pound salmon
1 egg white
2 T chopped parsley
2 T chives
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper

special equipment - steamer

Combine onions, oil and water in a skillet and bring to a boil. Cook covered for a minute. Uncover and add mushrooms. Cook until most of the moisture is gone. Cool.

Put bread in a food processor and process to make 1 C of bread crumbs. Move to a large bowl and mix in stock.

Coarsely chop salmon to 1/4 inch pieces. Take salmon, onion mix, egg white, herbs, salt and pepper and mix with bread crumbs. Divide into 4 parts and form patties.

Steam, covered, for six to seven minutes.

You can grill, dammit. I know it for a fact. Now, desire, that's another thing....

Heh. That is true. I meant it more in a "We don't currently own a grill" sort of way. But perhaps we should just remedy that.

Thank you all! Many, many, many things to try now!

Mmm. The spinach comments reminded me of a really great eggs benedict that had salmon and spinach on it.

Salomn burgers rock. Process the salmon to a not too fine state of burgerness, add lemon zest, a bit of tumeric, parsley, a little ginger, a few drops of soy sauce. Thicken the sludge with bread crumbs. Make patties. Refrigerate for a few hours. Grill or sauté the patties for about 5 minutes on a really hot grill/frying pan. Serve with arugula, red onion, a bit of Dijon mustard.

(I often avoid the buns entirely)

Salmon burgers rock, too.

I make a big herby salad -- just leaves, vinaigrette, maybe some capers, and much too much garlic. Sometimes I marinate the fish -- for a while I was crazy about a marinade based on orange juice and soy -- but in any case I grill it, either outside or in the broiler. Then I plop it on top of the salad, and break it up a little, and eat the whole thing.

Funny, we're having salmon tonight.
My usual way is to cut a big filet into around 2" wide filets and marinate them for an hour or two (flesh side down) in teriyaki, fresh ground pepper, bit of garlic, fresh rosemary and olive oil.
Then grill on the barbeque, flesh side down first. Dump the rest of the marinade on the grilled flesh side when you flip them over to cook the skin side.
You can also use a skillet, it's just not quite as good.

As mentioned before, the main thing about salmon is DON'T OVERCOOK IT, that makes it dry and crappy.

GodDAMN you people are making me hungry. I am so going to track down some salmon this week, if I can. Also, d_w that is almost exactly the sauce I use extensively in spring/summer (asparagus, fish, new potatoes, salad--hell, just about anything tastes better with it), but I add a couple of tablespoons of mayo. Mmmmmmmm...

I was hesitant about this recipe at first--it has more and stronger ingredients than I like on my salmon and the cooking time seems too long--but once I made it I became a believer. Oh. My. God. is it ever good.

The Only Barbecue Salmon (From David Veljacic's excellent bbq cookbook, The Fire Chef)

Serves 4 to 6

1 3lb fresh salmon fillet
6 lg garlic cloves, minced fine
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp fresh parsley, minced fine
2 tbsp sundried tomatoes (packed in oil), minced fine
1/4 c olive oil

Remove the belly and pin bones from the fillet, using bone tweezers if you have a pair.

Crush and mince the garlic cloves. Sprinkle with the salt. Using a wide-bladed knife [or, in my case, a mortar and pestle], grind the garlic into a pulp. Combine the garlic, parsley, sundried tomatoes and olive oil in a jar. Cover with a lid and shake well to blend all the ingredients. Refrigerate until ready to use.

With a sharp knife, cut two lengthwise slits in the salmon fillet, dividing the surface of the fish into thirds. Cut to the skin, but not through it.

Spread half the garlic mixture over the fillet and into the slits. Place the fish on a preheated barbecue over a medium heat (350F). Close the lid and grill for 15 minutes.

Spread the remaining garlic mixture on the fillet. Close the lid, turn the temperature to high (400F) and grill 10 more minutes.

Remove the fish from the barbecue by inserting spatulas between the skin and the flesh, so that you can lift the fillet but leave the skin on the grill. I like to serve the skinless and boneless fillet on a bed of fresh spinach.

For those of you who like to grill but don't have outdoor space, I'd recommend one of these. I bought mine at a home show a few years ago and I use it regularly. It's great for meat and fish, and it does the most wonderful grilled veggies (especially peppers and courgettes).

"This is a paid presentation on behalf of ..."

we do own a grill. mudpuppie has seen it. but occhiblu doesn't feel like it's hers yet. we gotta burn that bad boy in.

i made salmon yesterday. it was topped with mango chutney, paprika and dill, and then broiled hot hot for 10 minutes until the mango just started to caramelize. my old bachelor standby, perfected over long years of omega-3 oil cravings - fantastic.