Restaurant Redemption: Grilled Salmon Caesar Salad

A couple months ago my husband and I set out to see the funk band Lettuce, and grabbed a bite to eat beforehand. I didn’t want to be bogged down by a heavy meal and I love salads with a protein, so I ordered a grilled salmon Caesar salad. It was awful. It was quite possibly the most terrible representation of a Caesar salad I have ever had. It’s a pretty simple and straightforward recipe, but unless all of the components are spot on, you’re going to end up with a subpar meal. As I was eating my sad salad, it got me thinking that a) I could make such a better salad at home and b) I should blog about it and teach everyone how to make an excellent version of this classic!

The main components of a Caesar salad are the dressing, the romaine lettuce and the croutons. With so few ingredients, what can go wrong? Watery dressing, wilted lettuce and soggy croutons to name a few, but the recipe and techniques I’m going to provide you will make sure you and your dinner guests will never have to face these travesties. 

The Dressing

My secret to making the most creamy and luscious dressing is to start with mayonnaise. Not just any mayonnaise, but Hellman’s to be exact. It’s the undisputed king of mayo in our house after a lot of R&D.

 To create the perfect balance of sweet, savory, umami, garlic and acid, the mayo is whisked together with extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, anchovy paste and parmesan cheese. The combination of these ingredients, in my humble opinion, make the best Caesar dressing and can’t be beat. I always double or triple the recipe so I have a stash in my fridge. 

My 14-year-old son does not eat salad or lettuce of any kind, so I tossed some cooked and chilled pasta shells with the dressing, added some halved cherry tomatoes, steamed broccoli and parmesan cheese, and essentially made a Caesar pasta salad for him and it was so good. The dressing is so versatile and makes a great spread on wraps and sandwiches, too. 

The Croutons

I grew up in a household where croutons came from a box, but once I learned how easy it was to make them from scratch, I never went back. 

For Caesar salad, I typically choose a neutral bread like a French baguette, ciabatta or sourdough loaf to not overpower the other components. I cut the bread into bite-size pieces because size does matter here. You want the croutons to be small enough where you can also fit some greens in the same bite, but not too big where it takes up the entirety of your mouth. 

Toss your cubed, bite-size pieces of bread with good quality extra virgin olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Feel free to add some Italian seasoning or use your favorite salt blend. I like using Badia Sazón Completa for my croutons but also for seasoning proteins. Bake until golden brown. 

The Lettuce

The classic greens used for Caesar salad is romaine lettuce, but you can add other sturdy greens such as kale or red leaf lettuce. Because the dressing is mayo based and a bit heavier than a vinaigrette, you want to make sure the greens you use can hold up to the dressing. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s fresh and crisp. And if you wash it, make sure you dry it as best you can to prevent the dressing from getting watery and from the greens getting soggy. 

The Assembly

Place the greens and croutons in a large salad bowl, and dress with just enough dressing to coat. Toss in the gated parmesan cheese, saving a touch for garnish. Taste the lettuce. Does it need more dressing? Does it need a sprinkle of salt? Make any adjustments as necessary and enjoy a very simple, yet perfectly executed salad you can be proud of. 

Protein Options

You can top a Caesar salad with just about any protein you like. Chicken prepared any way (I like topping my Caesar salad with fried chicken!), sautéed scallops, grilled or sautéed shrimp, a piece of grilled fish, or to keep it super simple and open a pouch of tuna or salmon and sprinkle that on top of your salad. 

I chose salmon for the ultimate restaurant redemption, which also gave me an excuse to fire up the grill. We have a charcoal grill, so to get it going I put newspaper in the bottom of the charcoal chimney and then filled it with the charcoal briquettes.

I lit the paper on fire which allows for the coals to catch and start burning. Once the fire made its way to the top and all of the coals were burning, I dumped the hot coals into the grill and allowed them to burn for about 10 minutes before grilling the salmon. Letting the coal cool down just a bit will help prevent any major flareups, but smaller flareups are a good thing because that equals flavor. 

I brushed the salmon with a neutral oil, seasoned it simply with salt and pepper, and put it presentation side down on the grill.

Once it had well defined grill marks, which took 3 to 4 minutes, I flipped it and cooked the salmon until it reached a medium doneness. 

I laid the grilled salmon on top of the salad and sat down to the best grilled salmon Caesar salad I have ever had. It made the memory of my bad experience fade away, and now that you know how to properly make this classic salad, you’ll forever enjoy delicious Caesar salads! 

Grilled Salmon Caesar Salad

Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Active time: 40 minutes

Start to finish: 40 minutes

For the croutons:

3 cups French bread (about 1/2 of a baguette), cut into bite-size pieces

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed

2 cloves garlic, put through a press

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

1 teaspoon anchovy paste

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

For the salmon:

Four 5-to 6-ounce salmon fillets, boneless and skinless

1 to 2 tablespoons grapeseed or canola oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 head romaine lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces, washed and spun dry if necessary

3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Place the cubed bread on a sheet tray, toss with the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until light golden brown around the edges. Allow to cool.
4. While the croutons are baking, prepare the dressing. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, parmesan and anchovy paste. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Note: This will make more than you need, so save the extra for another time.
5. To prepare the salmon, heat a gas or charcoal grill over medium-high heat. You can also use an indoor grill pan.
6. Brush both sides of the salmon with the oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill the salmon, presentation side down, until well-marked, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and repeat. Continue to cook the salmon until it reaches a medium doneness, 130° on a meat thermometer.
7. To assemble the dish, toss together the romaine lettuce, croutons and 1/2 cup of the cheese in a salad bowl. Pour just enough dressing over the salad to coat the greens and toss well. Taste the greens and add more dressing if necessary.
8. Plate up the salad, sprinkle with the remaining parmesan cheese and top with the grilled salmon.

Looking for opportunities to up your seafood grilling game? Look no further because we’ll teach you how to grill fish to perfection in our Grilling Boot Camp coming up on July 15 at 10am. Spend the day with us not only learning how to grill fish but a multitude of proteins and vegetables, too. Check out the full menu here. 

We’re also here to teach you how to grill shellfish in our popular Shellfish on the Grill class on June 23 at 6pm. 

Lastly, you can make your own grilled shrimp Caesar salad in our Date Night on the Patio class on June 30 at 6pm. This class will sell out (just 4 spots left!), so book yours now!