Description
A festive and elegant Christmas Baked Salmon recipe featuring a honey-butter glaze, creamy dill sauce, and a vibrant holiday tapenade with cranberries, almonds, and pomegranate seeds. This dish is oven-baked and finished under the broiler for a caramelized finish, perfect for holiday dinners or special occasions.
Ingredients
Scale
Salmon and Glaze
- 1.2 – 1.5 kg / 2.4 – 3 lb salmon side (skin on, bones removed)
- 2 1/4 tsp cooking/kosher salt (divided)
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 150g / 5 oz unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup honey
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
Creamy Dill Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups full-fat sour cream
- 1/2 cup fresh dill, finely chopped (lightly packed)
- 1/2 eschallot (French onion), finely grated
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
Holiday Tapenade
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup orange juice
- 1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 1/3 cup parsley, roughly chopped
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Garnish and Serving
- 1 pomegranate, seeds only
- 1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 lemons, cut into 6 pieces each, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare Creamy Dill Sauce: In a bowl, mix sour cream, fresh dill, grated eschallot, lemon zest, and 1/2 tsp salt until smooth. Refrigerate until needed to let flavors meld.
- Make Holiday Tapenade – Plump Cranberries: Heat the orange juice in a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Remove from heat, add dried cranberries, cover, and let stand for 15 minutes to plump. Drain the liquid using a colander and let cranberries cool.
- Mix Tapenade Ingredients: Combine plumped cranberries, toasted slivered almonds, chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a bowl. Allow the mixture to come to room temperature before serving.
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 180°C / 350°F (all oven types).
- Prepare Salmon for Baking: On a baking tray, place a double layer of foil for safety. Top with parchment or baking paper. Lay the salmon side skin down on the paper. Fold up the foil edges slightly to create a shallow tray preventing glaze from running off.
- Make Honey-Butter Glaze: In a saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter, honey, and minced garlic together. When the mixture starts foaming, reduce heat to medium and let it foam for 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour the hot glaze evenly over the salmon.
- Season Salmon: Sprinkle salt and black pepper over the salmon, concentrating most salt on the thicker parts.
- Wrap Salmon Parcel: Cover the salmon with a smaller piece of parchment paper, then wrap with foil. Seal sides loosely, ensuring the parcel is enclosed but not airtight.
- Bake Salmon: Place the parcel in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Uncover and Prepare for Broiling: Remove the salmon from the oven, carefully unwrap the foil and parchment paper cover, and fold the sides down to expose the surface of the salmon. This helps avoid paper catching fire during broiling.
- Broil to Caramelize: Switch the oven to the grill/broiler setting on high. Place the salmon on the middle shelf and broil for 7 to 10 minutes until caramelization appears mostly on edges and slightly on top. Keep an eye to prevent paper catching fire. Check doneness by prying open the center gently or using a probe thermometer (internal temp about 125-130°F/52-55°C for medium).
- Transfer Salmon to Serving Platter: Use the foil overhang to lift the salmon directly onto a serving plate, allowing the juices to pool on the platter. Slide the foil and paper out from underneath carefully.
- Let Salmon Cool: Loosely cover the salmon with foil and let it cool for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour if serving at room temperature.
- Assemble Dish: Generously dollop and spread the creamy dill sauce over the top of the salmon to a thickness of about 0.8cm (1/3 inch).
- Add Holiday Tapenade and Garnishes: Pile the holiday tapenade over the sauce, scatter pomegranate seeds and the remaining chopped parsley on top, then drizzle with fresh lemon juice.
- Serve: Accompany the dish with extra lemon wedges. Use a cake cutter or sharp knife to cut into portions. Encourage guests to enjoy the combined honey-butter glaze mixed with the creamy dill sauce. This dish is best served slightly warm or at room temperature for optimal flavor.
Notes
- Note 1: Use skin-on salmon side for better flavor and to hold the fillet together during cooking. Bones should be removed for ease of eating.
- Note 2: Use cooking or kosher salt as they provide a clean saltiness without additives.
- Note 3: Toast slivered almonds by dry roasting in a skillet over medium heat until golden and fragrant, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Note 4: Salmon is perfectly cooked at 125-130°F (52-55°C) for medium doneness. Use a probe thermometer or check by gently flaking the center with a fork.
- Note 5: Wrapping salmon in foil and parchment keeps the glaze moist and infuses flavors during baking.
- Note 6: Cooling the salmon before serving allows the sauce flavors to set and makes slicing easier.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Western, Holiday
Keywords: Christmas salmon, baked salmon, holiday salmon, creamy dill salmon, honey butter glaze, festive fish recipe, baked fish, holiday dinner main
