Salmon is one of the most delicious and versatile fish that can be prepared in endless tasty ways. However, simply cooking salmon to perfection is not enough – the visual presentation and plating is equally important With the right techniques, tools and ingredients, you can easily plate your salmon like a professional chef and impress your guests
Choose High-Quality Salmon
Always start with the best quality salmon possible, preferably wild caught. The fresher the salmon, the better it will taste and hold up for plating. Look for thick, center-cut fillets that are around 1-2 inches thick. Thicker salmon fillets will be easier to plate versus thin pieces. Aim for sushi-grade salmon if you can find it.
Master the Cooking Method
There are several excellent ways to cook salmon like grilling, baking, pan searing, and poaching. No matter which cooking method you choose, properly cooking the salmon so it reaches an internal temperature between 125-140°F is key for the best texture. Overcooking will cause the salmon to dry out. Handle the cooked salmon gently when transferring to your plate to keep it intact.
Make a Base Sauce or Puree
Placing your salmon on top of a colorful, flavorful sauce or puree elevates the presentation. Swirl or swoosh the sauce in an attractive pattern across the plate using the back of a spoon. Some sauce ideas are lemon butter, pesto mango chutney romesco, or red pepper coulis. The sauce should accent the salmon, not overwhelm.
Place Salmon Strategically
Carefully transfer the cooked salmon fillet onto the sauced plate. Angle and position it attractively, either perpendicular to the swoosh of sauce or pointed toward it. For multiple pieces, creatively stack or fan them. Offsetting the salmon slightly to one side prevents hiding too much of the fish or sauce.
Garnish Creatively
Garnishes add finishing touches to take your plated salmon to the next level. Lemon and lime slices, fresh herbs, edible flowers, capers, chili flakes, microgreens, and toasted nuts or seeds make simple yet elegant garnishes. Place them aesthetically around the salmon and plate. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil, herb oil or sauce over the salmon and garnishes.
Consider Visual Impact
Use plates, bowls, or platters that complement the salmon’s color and enhance the visual appeal. Round, oval, rectangular or uniquely shaped dishes can all work beautifully. Play with heights by mounding rice or risotto on one side or vertical presentation. Consider creative vessels like waffle cones, bell peppers or Parmesan baskets.
Embrace Simplicity
A common mistake home cooks make is overcomplicating the plate. Let the salmon be the star without overwhelming it with too many components. Only include elements that will actually be eaten along with the salmon, not random decor. Follow the odd number rule for garnishes. White space is your friend!
Employ Pro Plating Tools
Investing in a few basic plating tools can help you plate salmon and other dishes like a seasoned chef. Metal spatulas, tweezers, squeeze bottles, and piping bags allow you to artfully place and drizzle sauces. Ring molds, stencils, and food-safe stamps or cutters help create stunning designs and garnishes.
Find Inspiration and Practice
Scroll through social media and cookbooks to find plating styles you love. Experiment with different presentations and tools. Palette practice runs with inexpensive proteins allow you to hone techniques before attempting to plate salmon for guests. Having the right mindset, knowledge of fundamentals and a bit of practice is all you need to plate restaurant-quality salmon in your home kitchen.
Salmon poke in a waffle cone
Who wouldve thought you could use an ice cream cone as a serving dish for your salmon? Well, @melodyeatstampa on Instagram discovered a restaurant that did, and it makes for an exquisite presentation! Longboat Key Florida restaurant, Mar Vista, was the brains behind this presentation, and we loved this as inspiration for your salmon plating adventures. In a waffle cone, add your salmon poke (which is seasoned in a very specific way), then drizzle it generously with seasoned chia seeds mixed into lemon oil. You can even make your own lemon-infused olive oil while youre doing the fancy-schmancy chef thing at home. Top with a few mint leaves to bring a bright green pop to the dish. Its one of many creative ways to use up extra ice cream cones.
We dont recommend using a standard ice cream cone or a sugar cone, as these have flat brims and are denser than your waffle cones (perfect for a ball of ice cream, but not so much for your salmon). The waffle cone is thinner and fluffier (for want of a better word), with that lovely conical shape that helps give this dish its look. But you can substitute your cone for something else for a different slant to your dish. Try making these easy crepes and rolling them into a cigar shapes, or wrapping them into wedges, and position them on the edge of your plate — crepes can get soggy if theyre in contact with liquid.
This pretty little salmon cupcake was shared by @foodeatlove on Instagram, which she discovered at her local fishmonger. And we just loved that, because were big advocates of supporting local. Its a tian of gin-cured salmon on a delicate avocado salad, topped with baby sprouts. Strange as it may sound, gin is a wonderful flavor pairing for salmon.
Gin has herbal and floral flavors, called gin botanicals — brought in by the juniper berries, herbs, spices, fruit, and sometimes wood used to make it — and infused into the drink. These pair beautifully with the flavor profile of seafood, like salmon. But you dont have to be locked in by the gin-cured salmon. See what types of salmon your local fishmonger has available, then pair the spices — or even some of your ingredients — with them accordingly.
Smoked salmon is always a winner, because it is thinly sliced and can be prettily arranged. Take a look at what wood type and/or ingredients were used in the smoked salmon to determine the main flavor profile. It can range from the apple and cherry wood used for smoking to infused ingredients like whiskey and maple syrup that give your smoked salmon its flavor. In cases like these, you can bring sweeter elements into your salmon cupcakes to carry those flavors through, with a good presence of spice or tang to balance them out, like lime or lemon juice.
Picture an exquisite mosaic glass window, the sun shining through it, dazzling in its beauty. That may very well have been what inspired this salmon presentation, shared by @hospitalityonlevel on Instagram. Superfine slices of salmon mosaic carpaccio are arranged on your plate, and enhanced with toppings of your choice. You can use toasted seaweed crisps or fried nori sheets to make crisp crackers. A tasty store-bought or homemade teriyaki sauce brings additional flavor, or try a wasabi mayo dip spooned on top. To make it, mix 1½ teaspoons of wasabi powder and 1 teaspoon of water to form a paste. Next, stir in 3 tablespoons of mayo, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Then, top your dish with delicate pea shoots to add a great final aesthetic. Making salmon carpaccio is a bit of a process. It involves slicing a beautiful piece of fresh, raw salmon into strips, sprinkling it with seaweed powder, rolling your salmon slices up tightly, and cooking it sous vide. But theres always a bit of a cheat-way to get around these more difficult foodie presentations. Instead of doing the whole rolling and slicing thing, get some thinly sliced smoked salmon from the store, then carefully sprinkle your mosaic patterns across the top. You can also use dried, ground shiitake mushrooms or kelp powder.
Gordon Ramsay’s Flavorful Salmon And Sides: Extended Version | Season 1 Ep. 1 | THE F WORD
FAQ
FAQ
How do you plate salmon nicely?
Put a spoon full of sauce onto a clean empty plate on one side. Then lightly place your spoon over a dollop of sauce. Lightly pressing down, glide the spoon in a “swoosh” motion to cover the plate. Place your cooked salmon on top of the base “swoosh” and lightly garnish the plate with your seasonings.
How to present salmon on a plate?
To beautifully present salmon on a plate, focus on arranging the salmon and any accompaniments in a visually appealing way. Consider using a sauce base, dramatic garnishes, and a clean, contrasting plate.
Do you plate salmon skin side up or down?
Cook the salmon skin-side down for about 90% of the time. This allows the skin to get crispy while gently cooking the flesh. Once it’s almost done, flip the fish for a brief sear on the other side to finish cooking. When plating, keep the skin side up so it doesn’t get soggy.
How do you assemble a salmon platter?
To assemble the salmon platter, place a small bowl of cream cheese or labneh in one third of the the platter. Place the feta cheese in another corner of the platter. Arrange the salmon, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, radish, onions, olives, artichoke hearts and lemon wedges around the cheese.
How to decorate a salmon plate?
Place the cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, lemon slices, and cherry tomatoes directly on the board. Add the salmon grouped together in three parts of the platter. Finish off with the boiled eggs, and crackers. Tear the fresh dill over the ingredients and sprinkle everything seasoning around the ingredients.
How do you Swoosh a salmon plate?
Place your cooked salmon on top of the base “swoosh” and lightly garnish the plate with your seasonings. The key is to keep the plate simple and not overcrowd it. A nice decorative garnish can add a little extra flair to the dish. If you want to make your salmon dish look fancy, you can’t stuff the plate.
How do you make a good presentation for salmon?
Chefs and home cooks have so many elements to play with when working on an attractive presentation for their salmon. But it’s important to avoid overloading the plate and to let your salmon be the focal point. So, only add onto the plate what guests are going to eat with the salmon itself, and serve all other sides separately.
How do you make plated salmon pop?
A few simple garnishes can truly make your plated salmon pop. Here are some ideas: Use an odd number of small garnishes and strategically place them around the salmon and plate. You can either cluster them together or evenly disperse them. Add a finishing drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, herb oil or sauce to add final flair. Serve and Enjoy!
How do you make a salmon dish look better?
Starting with a colorful and tasty base sauce or puree on the plate is one way to instantly make a salmon dish look better. This makes the salmon look better, adds flavor, and keeps it from touching the plate directly. Some options to consider are: Swoosh the sauce or puree artfully across the plate using the back of a spoon.