Fresh Salmon Medallions

I'm not a fan of buying pre-packaged fish at the market. Sure, you can look through the plastic wrap and pick out something that looks decent. But I'd much rather go to the counter and tell the monger exactly what I want and watch them cut it before my eyes. This doesn't cost anything extra and you'll almost always end up with something better (especially when it comes to salmon, where the location of the cut is critical).

When I buy salmon fillets, I always ask for center cuts, since they're the thickest and most uniform part. That means they're the easiest to cook and are less likely to dry out. However, sometimes this isn't an option and we end up with the much thinner tail piece. When that happens, this medallion technique will turn a challenge into a triumph. Besides overcoming the inconsistent thickness issue, these things just look very cool on the plate.

Plus, above and beyond their "high-end" appearance, the technique is quite easy to tweak flavor-wise by simply changing up the ingredients in the mayo-based glaze. By the way, even if you skip the medallion technique and you're fine eating the less remarkable tail section "as is," baking your fish sauced as shown it a great idea. It really does help keep the fish moist. Plus, your main course and sauce are done in the same step. However, while these two techniques will work just fine separately, they are fabulous paired together, which is why I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

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