Accompaniment:
Serve with our new season English aparagus and a big dollop of lemon mayonnaise, absolutely delicious!
Place the salmon in a fish kettle. If you do not have one, a large roasting tin will be fine for a small fish up to 3 kilos or we can cut larger fish into two sections that can be poached side by side. Add enough cold water to cover the fish. Add bay leaves, 4 tbsps of cider vinegar, the juice of one lemon, a chopped onion and a generous amount of salt and a little black pepper. Cover with a lid or tin foil and bring to the boil on top of the stove (You will need to have a stove big enough to light two gasses under the roasting tin to ensure an even heat). Bring to the boil, then turn off the heat and allow the fish to stand in the water until completely cool. We suggest around 1 to 2 hours.
Carefully remove the salmon and scrape off the skin. It should come away quite easily. Then place on a large serving platter.
Another great way to prepare and enjoy a whole wild salmon is to bake it in the oven.
The cooking time is determined by measuring the widest part of the fish, and then baking for 5 minutes per 2.5cm. So a fish 20cm across at its widest part would need to be cooked for around 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas Mark 5. Take a roasting tin big enough to hold the whole salmon and line it with tin foil, leaving enough spare foil at the edges so that you can make a parcel covering the whole fish. Place the salmon in the tin and stuff the cavity with sliced lemon and your choice of herbs and seasoning. We use tarragon and bay leaves but you can also use dill or parsley. Bring the foil up around the fish, pour in around 250ml of white wine and scrunch the sides of the foil together to seal. Place in the oven and cook for the amount of time calculated. When cooked, loosen the foil seal and allow to cool completely before taking the skin off and serving.
