Gordon Ramsay Grilled Salmon Recipe (Whole Side on the BBQ)

Gordon Ramsay’s grilled salmon is a whole 2kg side of wild salmon, scored, oiled and salted, grilled skin-side down for 10 minutes with the lid closed, then flipped for 8 to 10 more. Lemon and flaky salt at the end, a pile of fresh herbs on top, beurre blanc on the side. One fish feeds six to eight.

I’d only ever grilled fillets before trying this from his World Kitchen book, and a whole side felt like showing off. It isn’t. It’s easier, because the skin protects the flesh for the full 10 minutes, so there’s none of that fillet panic where edges overcook while you hover. The first time I made his brennivín beurre blanc, my husband asked which restaurant the sauce escaped from.

The step I used to skip is the one that matters: he heats the grill for a full 15 minutes, then cleans and oils the grates right before the fish goes on. My first attempt years ago stuck so badly I served “salmon pieces” and called it rustic. Fifteen patient minutes and an oiled grate, and the whole side lifts off like it wants to.

Gordon Ramsay Grilled Salmon (Whole BBQ Side with Beurre Blanc)

Recipe by Sophie LaneCourse: DinnerCuisine: IcelandicDifficulty: Medium

Servings

6-8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

35

minutes

Calories

650

kcal

Total time

50

minutes

A whole side of wild salmon grilled over high heat from his World Kitchen book, scored and salted, served crispy skin up with lemon, a four-herb salad and a shallot beurre blanc made with brennivín or aquavit. The summer centrepiece that feeds eight off one fish.

Ingredients

• For the grilled salmon:

• 1 whole side of wild salmon (1.8 to 2.2kg / 4 to 5 lb), scaled and deboned

• 60ml (¼ cup) olive oil

• Kosher salt

• 1 lemon, halved

• Flaky sea salt, to finish

• For the brennivín beurre blanc:

• 60ml (¼ cup) brennivín or aquavit

• 60ml (¼ cup) white wine vinegar

• 1 shallot, finely chopped

• 1 garlic clove, sliced

• 60ml (¼ cup) double cream (heavy cream)

• 225g (8 oz / 1 cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• For the herb salad:

• 1 bunch of parsley, chopped

• 1 bunch of chervil, chopped

• 1 bunch of fennel fronds, chopped

• 1 bunch of dill, chopped

Directions

• Make the beurre blanc: Put the brennivín, vinegar, shallot and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring to a low boil and reduce until only about 2 tablespoons of liquid remain. Add the cream and simmer for 1 minute.
• Mount the butter: Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the cold butter a few cubes at a time, letting each addition melt completely before adding more. Swirl the pan constantly so the sauce never gets hot enough to split. Season with salt and pepper, then strain out the shallot and garlic. Keep warm, not hot.
• Heat the grill properly: Heat the barbecue to high and leave it for a full 15 minutes before cleaning the grates and oiling them well. This step decides whether the skin releases or sticks.
• Prep the salmon: Pat the side dry with kitchen paper and lightly score the skin a few times with a sharp knife. Coat it all over with the olive oil using your hands, then season generously with kosher salt.
• Grill skin-side down: Lay the salmon skin-side down on the hot grates, close the lid and leave it alone for about 10 minutes while the skin sears. Flip and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes depending on thickness, until done to your liking.
• Finish and serve: Move the salmon to a board, crispy skin up. Immediately squeeze the lemon halves over and sprinkle with flaky salt. Toss the herbs together, scatter over the fish, and serve with the beurre blanc on the side.

Notes

Heat the grill for a full 15 minutes before the fish goes on. A cold grate sticks and tears the skin.

What I serve with it

The herbs and beurre blanc do the sauce work, so the sides just need to stay out of the way. I do new potatoes with mint and too much butter, plus his slow-roasted tomato and watercress salad from Ultimate Home Cooking: cherry tomatoes roasted low with thyme and garlic until they turn into intense little sweets, tossed with watercress and shallots. Sharp leaves against rich fish, meal sorted.

For a proper barbecue spread, the yoghurt coleslaw earns its place next to anything off the grill. Nobody has ever asked me for more than that.

FAQs

How do you grill salmon so it doesn’t stick?

Give the grill 15 minutes of heat before anything else, then clean and oil the grates just before the fish goes down. The other half is leaving it alone: the skin lets go on its own once it’s seared, around the 10-minute mark with the lid shut. If you tug and it resists, it isn’t ready.

Score the skin and oil the fish itself too, not just the grates. Since I started doing all three, I haven’t lost a single side.

Do you need to prepare the side of salmon yourself?

No, I never touch a filleting knife for this. Ask the fishmonger or supermarket fish counter for a whole side off the bone, skin on, around 2kg, and it comes scaled and deboned, exactly how the book lists it. Run your fingertips over the flesh at home to catch stray pin bones.

The only knife work is scoring the skin a few times before oiling, which stops it curling on the heat.

Can you make this with regular fillets instead?

Yes, and I do on weeknights when a whole side feels like an event. Same screaming-hot oiled grates, skin-side down with the lid closed, but 6 to 8 minutes instead of 10, then a short flip to finish.

The crispy skin salmon is the same skin-first thinking in a pan when it’s raining, and the baked salmon is the hands-off oven route to the same dinner.

What is brennivín and what can replace it?

It’s Iceland’s caraway schnapps, and no, I don’t keep a bottle either. The book itself offers aquavit as the swap, which bigger UK supermarkets carry. I’ve used a dry gin when that’s what the cupboard had, and once it’s reduced and buried under 225g of butter, the difference is a whisper.

You only need 60ml, and it cooks down to a faint herbal warmth. Skip the spirit entirely and add an extra splash of white wine vinegar if you’d rather.

Does he have a healthier grilled salmon?

Yes, the one I make on January weeknights: in Healthy, Lean and Fit he grills fillets for 6 to 8 minutes and sits them on warm Puy lentils with caramelised mushrooms, rocket and a mustard-honey dressing, 480 calories a plate. The lentils do what the butter sauce does here.

That one uses the overhead grill, so it survives British weather. This one is for the four days a year the barbecue earns its keep.

What do you do with the leftovers?

Better things than reheating, which only dries it out. I flake it cold into a salad, or fold it through pasta with lemon and the last of the herbs. The best use is Ramsay’s salmon cakes, which turn leftovers into a second dinner people like more than the first.

Cooked salmon keeps 2 days in an airtight box in the fridge. The beurre blanc doesn’t keep at all, it splits when chilled. The rest of the salmon recipes live in the salmon recipe collection when you want a different direction next time.