Baked pink salmon in the oven

This fish can be too dry, but with the use of some tricks, baked pink salmon in the oven will become juicy and tender. The whole fish is baked in foil and not salted, as salt will draw out the small amount of moisture present in the flesh. Additionally, a special creamy-garlic sauce is prepared, which the fish is seasoned with during the baking process and importantly – at the end of this process.

Yield: 4 servings.

Preparation time: 45 minutes.

Calories: 151 kcal per 100 grams of the dish.

Ingredients

• whole pink salmon – 1 pc. (1100 g);
• lemon – 0.5 pc.;
• freshly ground pepper – to taste;
• garlic – 2-3 cloves;
• dill – medium bunch;
• butter – 40 g;
• salt – 2/3 tbsp.

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients. The fish can be baked with or without the head. If the fish has a head, the gills should be removed and in both cases, the belly should be cleaned out. The butter should be taken out in advance so that it becomes soft. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Pink salmon has very fine scales embedded in the body, and they will melt during cooking. Therefore, the fish needs to be simply rinsed, dried with a paper towel, and set aside for now. Prepare the sauce by finely chopping half of the bunch of dill.

3. Transfer it to a bowl with the butter.

4. Mix the composition and add freshly ground black pepper – it goes perfectly with fish.

5. Next, season everything with salt.

6. Use a quarter of this thick sauce to grease one side of the salmon.

7. Line the baking sheet with several layers of foil and place the fish on it, greased side up. Also grease the top of the fish with a quarter of the sauce.

8. Tighten the foil into a cocoon so that no open seams remain. Send the baking sheet with the preparation to the middle level of the oven.

9. Meanwhile, slightly alter the taste of the remaining sauce by adding lemon juice and garlic paste pushed through a press.

10. Also add the finely chopped remainder of the dill.

11. After 25-30 minutes, take the baking sheet out of the oven and unwrap the foil.

12. As the fish will continue to bake to brown the top skin, scrape all the herbs down with a knife to the melted butter, otherwise, they will dry out and burn. In this form, return the salmon to the oven for another 15 minutes.

13. After the indicated time, transfer the fish to a plate, and carefully pour the hot oily liquid into a bowl with the sauce.

14. Whisk the new sauce with a fork until it turns white.

15. Cut the skin near the tail and along the back of the salmon. Carefully pull it down (it comes off easily and without problems). Do not throw away the skin – it is very tasty and juicy.

16. Use half of the new sauce to season the flesh of the pink salmon on one side (when the top is eaten, remove the spine and season the second part of the fish with the sauce).

This way, baked pink salmon in the oven transforms into an extraordinarily juicy and tender fish, despite the fact that it initially had quite dry fillets. The whole fish should be cut into portioned pieces and served with potatoes and fresh vegetables.