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New Ways with Salmon Fillets
Recipe
45 min

Poached Salmon with Herb and Caper Vinaigrette

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Poached Salmon with Herb and Caper Vinaigrette
Author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Recipe By J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Published on August 27, 2026

Poaching rarely lives up to its promise to produce silken, delicately flavored fish. We set out to eliminate chalky, tasteless poached salmon for good.

Time

45 min

Yield

Serves 4

Why This Recipe Works

For a poached salmon recipe with supple salmon accented by the delicate flavor of the poaching liquid—in under half an hour—we came up with some tricks: Using less poaching liquid allowed us to cut back on the vegetables and aromatics in the broth, saving preparation time; adding alcohol to the liquid lowered its boiling point, creating steam that cooked the part of the fish that wasn’t submerged; and resting the fish on lemon slices prevented the bottom from overcooking.

Ingredients

2 lemons
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, stems reserved
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, stems reserved
2 small shallots, minced (about 4 tablespoons)
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup water
1 skinless salmon fillet (1 ¾ to 2 pounds), about 1 ½ inches at thickest part, white membrane removed, fillet cut crosswise into 4 equal pieces
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Instructions

Cook along with these step-by-step instructions

step 1 imagestep 2 imagestep 3 imagestep 4 image
  1. Cut top and bottom off 1 lemon; cut into 8 to ten 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut remaining lemon into 8 wedges and set aside. Arrange lemon slices in single layer across bottom of 12-inch skillet. Scatter herb stems and 2 tablespoons minced shallots evenly over lemon slices. Add wine and water.
  2. Place salmon fillets in skillet, skinned-side down, on top of lemon slices. Set pan over high heat and bring liquid to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until sides are opaque but center of thickest part is still translucent (or until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 125 degrees), 11 to 16 minutes. Remove pan from heat and, using spatula, carefully transfer salmon and lemon slices to paper towel-lined plate and tent loosely with foil.
  3. Return pan to high heat and simmer cooking liquid until slightly thickened and reduced to 2 tablespoons, 4 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tablespoons shallots, chopped herbs, capers, honey, and olive oil in medium bowl. Strain reduced cooking liquid through fine-mesh strainer into bowl with herb-caper mixture, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Whisk to combine; season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Season salmon lightly with salt and pepper. Using spatula, carefully lift and tilt salmon fillets to remove lemon slices. Place salmon on serving platter or individual plates and spoon vinaigrette over top. Serve, passing reserved lemon wedges separately.

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Poached Salmon with Herb and Caper Vinaigrette

Recipe By J. Kenji Lopez-Alt

Published on August 27, 2026

Time

45 min

Yield

Serves 4

Poached Salmon with Herb and Caper Vinaigrette

Ingredients

2 lemons2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves, stems reserved2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, stems reserved2 small shallots, minced (about 4 tablespoons)½ cup dry white wine½ cup water1 skinless salmon fillet (1 ¾ to 2 pounds), about 1 ½ inches at thickest part, white membrane removed, fillet cut crosswise into 4 equal pieces2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and roughly chopped1 tablespoon honey2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oilSalt and Pepper

Instructions

  1. Cut top and bottom off 1 lemon; cut into 8 to ten 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut remaining lemon into 8 wedges and set aside. Arrange lemon slices in single layer across bottom of 12-inch skillet. Scatter herb stems and 2 tablespoons minced shallots evenly over lemon slices. Add wine and water.
  2. Place salmon fillets in skillet, skinned-side down, on top of lemon slices. Set pan over high heat and bring liquid to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until sides are opaque but center of thickest part is still translucent (or until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 125 degrees), 11 to 16 minutes. Remove pan from heat and, using spatula, carefully transfer salmon and lemon slices to paper towel-lined plate and tent loosely with foil.
  3. Return pan to high heat and simmer cooking liquid until slightly thickened and reduced to 2 tablespoons, 4 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 tablespoons shallots, chopped herbs, capers, honey, and olive oil in medium bowl. Strain reduced cooking liquid through fine-mesh strainer into bowl with herb-caper mixture, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Whisk to combine; season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Season salmon lightly with salt and pepper. Using spatula, carefully lift and tilt salmon fillets to remove lemon slices. Place salmon on serving platter or individual plates and spoon vinaigrette over top. Serve, passing reserved lemon wedges separately.
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