Shad In Red Wine Sauce Recipes

SHAD IN RED WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet that has sides, such as a jelly-roll pan, with foil and lightly butter the foil.
• Place the shad fillets on the baking sheet, brush with melted butter and lemon juice and bake uncovered for about 10 minutes, until just cooked.
• While the shad is baking, cook the shallots over medium-high heat in the vinegar and wine in a saucepan until the liquid is reduced to about three tablespoons. Do not use an aluminum or iron pan. Then, over low heat, begin whisking-in the butter a pat at a time, adding another pat as each one is incorporated, making a light, pink, buttery emulsion. Reserve one or two small pats of butter at the end. Do not allow the sauce to overheat or boil or it will break down. Season it to taste with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
• As soon as the shad is just done, divide it into portions on warm plates.
• Return the sauce to low heat, whisk-in the remaining pats of butter, spoon sauce over the shad and serve.

COD IN RED WINE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add onion and garlic and begin to saute. Cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes (if onions begin to stick add a spoonful of water to the skillet and continue to cook).
• Add the red wine, clam juice, capers, and thyme and bring liquid to a boil. Simmer over low heat until reduced to 1/2 cup.
• Right before serving bring the sauce back to a simmer and add the fish. Cover and cook over very low heat until the fish is just cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and swirl in butter and parsley (don't worry if fish falls apart).
• Adjust seasoning and spoon in deep plates over rice, potatoes or garlic croutons.

FISH IN RED WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• Heat oil in pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, red pepper, celery, carrot bay leaves, herbs, and sauté for a few minutes until softened. You can also use bacon fat here -- I didn't.
• Add red wine; reduce by ½ (this will take about 15-20 minutes, maybe). Add chicken stock; cook 35-40 minutes until "glazed" (in Nick Stellino's words -- I found that it just looked well combined and nice). It will reduce a bit, too.
• Strain sauce; reduce some more (I found this step unnecessary; it had reduced quite a bit cooking with the stock). Combine butter and flour. In stages, whisk in the butter/flour mixture until sauce is the proper consistency (you want it to be a little thickened -- just imagine it on a plate with salmon. you will probably use all of the mixture). Whisk until butter is melted before adding more. Add just a bit of butter for a sheen, if desired.
• Heat light olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Mix salt, paprika, onion and garlic powders. Coat one side of salmon filet with spice mix; place in pan spice side down. Sprinkle other side of fish with spice mix. Cook until seared (maybe 2-3 minutes each side, depending on thickness); salmon will have a wonderful crust. Flip and cook until other side is seared. If you like your salmon more done, you can cook longer, but the absolute worst is to have it overcooked, and it will cook a bit after you remove it from the pan. Seriously, you're not gonna die from some slightly rawish salmon. This whole searing salmon thing is not something I'd done before, and it's a fantastic way to prepare it. The fats and sugars ooze out and combine with the spice rub to make this just perfect crust.
• To serve, coat plate with red wine sauce; add salmon filet. Add veggies -- Mr. Stellino added steamed, sauteed baby bok choy; I found broccoli works well too with that sauce. Add mashed potatoes if you're into starch. Anything else will absorb too much of the sauce. Serve with glasses of the same wine you used in the sauce.
• Note: another thing Mr. Stellino did was to chop and fry up some slab bacon (apparently this kind he gets is as expensive as foie gras -- it made me want to eat bacon, and i am a vegetarian except for fish), and sprinkle some on top of the salmon when done. This is not necessary but might add some nice flavor.