Often heard as a Christmas carol, Christina Rossetti’s poem “In the Bleak Midwinter” depicts the nativity scene and closes by asking what she should bring as an offering.
She first replies, “If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb,” and concludes by offering her heart. Both of these gifts — a prized feast and love — make for the ideal holiday meal no matter what the celebration.
A challenge for the home cook is that most main dishes require time from family and friends before a dinner party. Turkeys, hams, and rib roasts take hours in the oven and sometimes require basting or glazing. But these two delicious dishes, a miso cream salmon and tenderloin with horseradish sauce, are roasted in less than an hour apart, to balance the desire for a special centerpiece with the desire to chat over cocktails or to watching children play with their new gifts.
You don’t have to cook both the salmon and the tenderloin, but together they feel extra festive and provide an option for those who don’t eat red meat. (For vegetarians, try a wonderful gratin.) The tenderloin roasts for less than half an hour; then, to reach a succulent medium-rare doneness, it rests at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes, which is exactly the time the salmon needs in the oven to come out silky smooth. All they need to feel like a full meal is a simple salad and bread, but you can ask guests to bring side dishes or create some effortless dishes of your own.
While a whole salmon fillet cut from one side of a fish is much larger than individual pieces—and looks much more elegant—it doesn’t take much longer to cook.
Emma Teal Privat, a founder of Salmon Sisters with her sister, Claire Neaton, in Homer, Alaska, said it cooks “really fast” and warns against overcooking to avoid dry salmon. They’re seeing an uptick in whole fillet sales for the holiday season because the cut “is really impressive, looks great on the table, and it’s so easy to just pop it in the oven.”
To keep salmon moist in the dry heat of the oven, I coat the fish with crème fraîche, which enriches the fish without sliding off the top like oil and butter. Shiro miso stirred into the mix offers a butterscotch heartiness. The same combination of ingredients is heated up into a creamy sauce, topped with citrus juice for a fruity acidity.
It’s a sauce that can save anything, but it doesn’t have to save the fish if it comes out of the oven at the right time. The best way to tell if the salmon is done is to slide a thin knife or metal pie tester into the thickest part of the fish. It should slide in with just a little resistance and when it comes out it should feel warm, not hot. If you prefer more precision, you can use a meat thermometer, looking for 120 degrees for medium-rare and 130 degrees for medium.
You don’t need a meat thermometer for the fish, but you do for the tenderloin. Cindy Garcia, a butcher who won a gold medal in an international butchery competition, said tenderloin is an expensive cut because there are only two on a cow, each with a muscle that starts below the ribs and runs down the spine down the back. Because cows stand on all fours, those muscles are not used much, which makes for extremely tender meat.
To maintain and accentuate that buttery texture, the whole tenderloin should be broiled so that the outside browns (but doesn’t form a hard crust) and the center becomes evenly rosy. With a good meat thermometer, you’ll know exactly when you’ve reached the right temperature — 120 to 125 for medium-rare.
To brown the outside of the tenderloin, you don’t need to sear it, which is challenging given the length of the cut and can pose the risk of overcooking. Instead, a combination of soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar mixed with butter helps the meat develop color and caramelize in the oven. It also enhances the mild flavor of the meat, just like a classic horseradish sauce.
Because tenderloin is lean, it still tastes great at room temperature (to put it bluntly, there’s no solidifying fat). And because salmon is fatty, it retains its rich flavor as it cools. So while these dishes get to the table quickly, they can linger over a long evening with those you love most.
Recipes: Roasted Tenderloin | Horseradish Sauce | Roasted Salmon With Miso Cream