Gordon Ramsay’s salmon steaks are thick cuts on the bone, pan-fried in olive oil and served under a butter sauce of brown shrimps, capers, lemon, and parsley. The dish serves 4 and is ready in about 15 minutes.
The recipe comes from Gordon’s Great British Pub Food, where he pairs the robust steaks with the punchy, gutsy flavours of capers and brown shrimp. Most salmon steak recipes online stop at a plain pan-fry, missing the shrimp and caper butter that makes this a proper pub main.
The technique that matters is reading the fish, not the clock. Gordon fries the steaks for just over two minutes a side until golden but still pink in the middle. They should feel slightly springy when pressed, the same cue he uses across his pan-fried fish dishes.
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Gordon Ramsay Salmon Steaks
Course: Dinner, MainCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes8
minutes520
kcal18
minutesA Great British Pub Food main of bone-in salmon steaks under a quick brown shrimp and caper butter. The fish takes about 5 minutes in the pan, the sauce another 2, and it serves 4 at roughly 520 kcal each.
Ingredients
4 thick salmon steaks on the bone, about 180-200g (6-7 oz) each
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
50g (2 oz) butter
200g (7 oz) brown shrimps or Morecambe Bay shrimps, peeled
80g (3 oz) capers, rinsed and drained
Juice of 1 lemon
Bunch of flat leaf parsley, leaves only, chopped
Directions
- Season the steaks: Season the salmon steaks on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Fry the salmon: Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the olive oil, then the salmon steaks. Fry for 2 to 2 and a half minutes on each side until golden brown but still pink in the middle. They should feel slightly springy when pressed.
- Rest the fish: Remove the steaks to a warm plate and set aside to rest.
- Make the shrimp butter: Add the butter to the same pan. As it melts, tip in the brown shrimps and capers. Toss over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Finish the sauce: Add the lemon juice and chopped parsley and toss to combine. Season generously with pepper. You probably will not need any more salt.
- Plate and serve: Spoon the shrimp and caper mixture onto warm plates and lay the salmon steaks on top. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Gordon suggests serving these with sauteed potatoes and steamed green beans, or a watercress salad. The capers and shrimp are salty, so taste before adding any extra salt to the sauce.
FAQs
Do salmon steaks have bones?
Yes, and that is what makes a steak different from a fillet. A salmon steak is a cross-section cut straight through the fish, so it has a piece of the backbone running through the middle and the belly flaps curving round.
Gordon uses bone-in steaks here on purpose. Cooking on the bone keeps the fish moist and gives a richer flavour than a boneless fillet. You eat around the central bone, which lifts out easily once cooked.
Are salmon steaks better than fillets?
It depends what you want. Steaks on the bone stay juicier and have a deeper flavour, which suits this gutsy shrimp and caper sauce. Fillets are easier to eat with no bones and crisp up better skin-side down.
For this pub-style dish the steak is the right call. If you would rather have a boneless piece with shatteringly crisp skin, the crispy skin salmon uses a fillet and a different searing method.
How do you cut salmon into steaks?
Start with a whole salmon, gutted and scaled. Lay it on its side and slice straight down through the body at even intervals, about 3cm thick, cutting cleanly through the backbone with a heavy sharp knife.
Each slice becomes a steak with the bone in the centre. If the bone is tough, press the knife down firmly or tap it through. A fishmonger will cut them for you if you ask, which saves the effort. If you have a whole fish but want to keep it intact, the whole baked salmon from Sunday Lunch wraps it in foil with lemongrass and star anise instead.
How long do you cook salmon steaks in a pan?
Gordon fries them for 2 to 2 and a half minutes on each side in hot olive oil. The outside should be golden brown while the middle stays slightly pink, and the steak should feel springy when you press it.
Thicker steaks need a little longer, thinner ones less, so go by feel rather than the clock. Resting them on a warm plate for a minute after frying finishes the cooking gently without drying the fish.
Why pair salmon steaks with brown shrimps and capers?
In Great British Pub Food, Gordon balances the rich, oily salmon with the sharp, briny hit of capers and the sweet pop of brown shrimps. The lemon and parsley keep it fresh, and the butter ties it all together.
Brown shrimps are tiny, sweet, and traditionally British, often sold potted. If you cannot find them, small peeled prawns work, though they are milder. The capers do the heavy lifting on flavour either way.
Can you freeze cooked salmon steaks?
Cooked salmon is best eaten the day you make it. The shrimp and caper butter does not hold well, and the fish dries out and loses its springy texture once reheated.
If you must keep leftovers, store the salmon in the fridge for up to a day and eat it cold, flaked through a salad. Serve it with crispy smashed potatoes fresh on the night instead, the way Gordon intends, and pan-fry any extra fish like Ramsay’s pan-seared sea bass when you want a quick repeat. And when steaks run out at the fishmonger, the salmon recipe collection cover every cut.
