Poached Whole Salmon or Sea Trout to be served Hot or Cold

A whole poached salmon served hot or cold is always a dish for a very special occasion. Long gone are the days when the servants in great houses complained bitterly if they had to eat salmon more than twice a week!

If you want to poach a salmon or sea trout whole with the head and tail on, then you really need to have access to a ‘fish kettle’. This is a long narrow saucepan which will hold a fish of 3.9–4 kg/8½-9 lbs weight. Most people would not have a fish kettle in their houses, so if you want to keep the fish whole then the best solution would be to bake it in the oven wrapped in tin-foil.