We bought a fresh 9 pound salmon for Christmas Eve and wanted to prepare it whole for a buffet supper. I checked a number of websites and found a variety of methods for baking a big fish. The biggest variation was in cooking temperature, with some recommending a very slow oven and others a hot oven for a short period of time. In the end, the salmon was absolutely delicious, moist and tender. This is how we did it:
Cut a large peice of foil to completely wrap the fish. Lay it flat and grease it with butter. Place the fish in the foil and fill the cavity with chopped onion, thinly sliced lemon, chopped parsley or cilantro, a few peppercorns and any other herb or vegetable to want for flavouring the fish. Sprinkle the cavity with salt. Stand the fish on its bottom and curve the tail end so it fits in the pan. Sprinkle a little salt on the outside and place sliced onions, lemons, etc on the outside of the fish. Tightly seal the foil so no steam will escape during cooking.
Place in an oven at 325F and bake for approximately 15 minutes per pound. If you have a meat thermometer, the internal temperature should be around 145F. When salmon is still hot, remove the skin. Place on a platter when ready to serve and garnish as desired.
This YouTube video was very helpful although I did not cook our fish at such a high temperature.
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