Whole salmon can be roasted, barbecued and baked in a salt crust but by far the most common way of cooking a salmon whole is poaching.
A whole poached salmon is a magnificent centrepiece for a summer celebration. Traditionally decorated with thin slices of cucumber and served with new potatoes and hollandaise sauce, it’s a bit of an eighties throwback but it is a really simple yet impressive way to cater for a lot of people and as it can be cooked in advance, it can be a great stress-free option for a buffet.
To save time (and mess), ask your fishmonger to gut and scale the salmon and remove the fins for you.
Poaching salmon whole is normally done in a fish kettle but a roasting tray covered tightly with foil will also work if you don’t have one.