Baby Salmon Stuffed with Caviar

This is fine dining on a plate, the kind of luxurious seafood course you’d expect on a tasting menu. A whole baby salmon is butterflied and stuffed: a layer of silky salmon mousse piped inside, a glistening line of caviar down the center, and a scatter of chives, then closed back up to bake.

The fish poaches gently in white wine with shallot puree and bay, which cooks it tenderly while flavoring the liquid that becomes the sauce. After baking, the skin is removed for an elegant presentation.

The plating is pure restaurant theater: two sauces, a salmon-flavored red wine sauce ladled over one half and a wine butter sauce over the other, so each bite offers a different note.

Garnishes finish it with color and texture, cucumber, tomato, more chives, glossy salmon roe, and boiled crayfish tails.

Chef Tips

• Keep the salmon mousse cold so it pipes cleanly and sets up rather than melting into the fish.
• Bake just until the salmon is opaque and barely set; salmon overcooks fast and dries out.
• Strain the poaching liquid into the butter sauce so none of that flavor is lost.
• Remove the skin gently while the fish is still warm for a clean presentation.

Variations

• Use a single sauce, just the wine butter, for a simpler plate.
• Substitute salmon roe for the caviar to keep the cost down.
• Garnish with microgreens or dill in place of, or alongside, the chives.