Our one-stop quick-cook guide to salmon fillets and steaks

Salmon is enjoying a renaissance. No longer prohibitively expensive, it’s easy to find in any supermarket and equally easy to cook. Since it is a firm-textured, full-flavoured fish in its own right, it stands up to a variety of cooking methods and accompanying flavours.

The different cuts
Probably the most recognised cut of salmon at the fishmonger’s or supermarket is the fillet. It is a piece from the main body of a fish which has had the meat taken off each side of the backbone in two long pieces from head to tail. They can come packaged with or without the skin. This cut is the most versatile and can be poached, grilled, pan-fried, cooked en papillote (wrapped loosely in foil or baking paper), put into pies, or even cut into chunks and stir-fried.

The salmon steak, also called cutlet comes from a fish that has simply been gutted and cut crossways into portions through the bone, leaving the meat on both sides of the backbone attached. It has more of a round, horseshoe shape and also has bits of bone around the middle. It always has a band of skin around it as this holds it together. If you carefully remove the bones and tuck the thin ends of the ‘horseshoe’ up into the meatier part of the steak, you can secure the round shape and tie with string around the layer of skin. This gives you a salmon noisette and is usually grilled or carefully pan-fried.

Some speedy ideas

• Make a Thai-flavoured sauce by combining garlic, root ginger, deseeded and chopped chillies, lime zest and juice, a handful of fresh coriander leaves and 1 tsp or so of sesame oil. Add salt and whiz in a food processor to a paste. Spread onto the salmon fillets and bake in a hot oven or place under the grill until the fish is done.
• Make a quick crust with fresh white breadcrumbs, grated zest of a lemon, a little Dijon mustard, chopped garlic, and a good amount of freshly chopped parsley and chives. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle over a little olive oil. Pile on to fillets or steaks and bake until the fish is done and the topping crisp and golden.
• Cut a circle of baking parchment or greaseproof paper roughly three times the size of the salmon fillet or steak. Slice a carrot, leek and courgette into julienne strips about 4cm long. Lay the vegetables on one half of the circle and sprinkle over a small amount of chopped fresh chervil or tarragon. Go easy with the herbs as they tend to be quite strong. Lay the salmon on top, season with salt and pepper and pour over 2 tbsp white wine or fish stock. Bring the other half of the circle of paper over to encase the fish and vegetables and fold the ends over each other to form a seal. You should have a half-moon shape. Place on a baking sheet and cook in a medium oven (180C/350F/gas mark 4) for 20-30 minutes or until the fish is done and the vegetables soft. Serve with steamed baby new potatoes for a delicious, low-calorie meal.

  More salmon recipes:

  • Salmon Fish Pie
  • Smoked Salmon on Cheese Biscuits with a Chive and Lemon Cream
  • Two-fish Layered Pasta Bake

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