Whole Poached Salmon Recipes

WHOLE POACHED SALMON

Steps:

• Rinse fish under cold running water, washing away any blood around the gills, which would cloud the stock. Pat the fish dry inside and out with paper towels; place on a clean work surface. Trim the fins from the back, belly, and near the gills with a pair of kitchen scissors. If the fish is too long to fit in the poacher, remove the head and tail with a sharp knife; cut off the tail right below the tail fins.
• Cut a double thickness of cheesecloth 17 inches wide and 8 inches longer than salmon. Place the cheesecloth on a clean work surface. Lay the fish lengthwise on the cloth, and wrap the cloth around the fish. Tie the ends of the cheesecloth with kitchen twine.
• Place the rack in the bottom of the poacher, and fill with the cooled court bouillon. Using the ends of the cloth as handles, lower salmon into the poacher, adding water if necessary to cover the fish. Cover, and set the poacher over two burners. Bring the liquid to a simmer; reduce heat to very low. Cook at a bare simmer for 25 minutes (the water should not be boiling).
• Slide a wooden spoon through each handle of the poaching rack; lift out the rack, and prop the spoons on the edges of the poacher so the fish is elevated. Raise one of the spoons to lift the side of the rack that supports the head end, and expose the widest part of the fish's back. Insert an instant-read thermometer near where the fin was. The fish is fully cooked when the temperature registers 135 degrees. (For a larger salmon this may take up to an hour.) If the temperature is too low, return the fish to the liquid, and continue poaching, checking the temperature every 10 minutes.
• Using two wooden spoons as described in Step 4, remove the rack from the liquid, and prop it on top of poacher at an angle to drain, reserving court bouillon. When salmon is cool enough to handle, about 15 minutes, transfer to a clean work surface; let cool completely, about 45 minutes.
• To make the aspic glaze, pour the court bouillon through a fine sieve. Place 6 cups of the bouillon in a stockpot. In a separate bowl, whisk 6 egg whites until frothy, then whisk the whites into the bouillon. Whisk the mixture over medium heat until it comes to a simmer, about 10 minutes. The egg whites will draw all the cloudy particles out of the stock and begin to coagulate on top. Stop whisking, and simmer until all the foam has risen to the surface and the broth below is clear, about 15 minutes
• Using a slotted spoon, carefully lift out the foam. Soak a 12-by-12-inch piece of cheesecloth in ice water. Squeeze out any excess water, and line the sieve with the cold cheesecloth. Pour the broth through the sieve. Repeat, using fresh cheesecloth each time, until all the foam has been removed from the stock. Place 1/3 cup cold water in a small bowl, and evenly sprinkle the gelatin over the top. Let sit until gelatin is softened, about 10 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture to the clarified stock, and bring to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly, until all the gelatin has dissolved; do not boil. Remove from the heat.
• Unwrap the fish, leaving the cheesecloth in place underneath. If the head and tail are still attached and are in good shape, you may want to leave them on for decoration. If not, remove the tail with kitchen scissors. The head will pull off easily. Turn the fish over, so that the side that was on the rack faces up. Peel the skin off using a paring knife and your fingers.
• Using cheesecloth to support the fish, flip it onto a serving platter, skin side up. Remove the skin from the top of fish. Using the back of a paring knife, gently scrape off any brown fat.
• Decorate the salmon with your choice of garnishes. Arrange the garnishes on top of the fish; temporarily secure with toothpicks. Pour the aspic into a large bowl set over an ice-water bath. Stir the aspic until it begins to thicken, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the aspic from the ice bath, and ladle a coating over the salmon. Refrigerate the salmon 20 minutes. Repeat the glazing process, if desired. If the aspic becomes too thick to ladle, warm in a double boiler until liquid again. Remove the toothpicks. Keep the salmon in the refrigerator, uncovered, up to 24 hours, or until your guests arrive. (The aspic coating keeps the fish from drying out.)
• When ready to serve, clean away any collected aspic around the bottom of the fish; cut with a fish server. Start at the wide end of the fish; slide the server under or between the garnishes, rather than cutting through them. Cut down to the bone, working the server gently between the flakes. Lift a section of the fish with the garnishes on top, and transfer to a dinner plate. Continue cutting and serving as needed.

POACHED WHOLE SALMON

Steps:

• Prepare poacher Pour the Court Bouillon into a fish poacher and set the poacher over two burners on the stove. Lower the rack so it rests on the vegetables (in the court bouillon), then lay salmon on rack (trim the tail if necessary to fit inside). Add enough cool water to cover the fish completely; or, if only a small bit of fish is showing, you can cover it with a piece of parchment paper (cut to fit inside poacher).
• Poach fish Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium-high heat, then immediately reduce heat to medium-low. Check temperature with a candy thermometer and adjust heat so it is between 165° and 180°F (very few bubbles will break the surface but there should be steam coming from the surface). Poach salmon, adjusting heat as necessary to maintain the proper temperature, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest section registers 130°F (fish will continue cooking off heat). You can also test by inserting a knife into the flesh along the backbone; the flesh should still be slightly translucent and offer little resistance. The cooking time should be about 5 minutes per inch of thickness (once liquid has reached a simmer). Remove poacher from heat and allow it to cool until you no longer see any steam, about 1 hour. Lift the rack with the salmon from the poacher and set it over a large pan (or the sink) to allow the salmon to drain until just cool enough to handle, about 30 minutes.
• Prepare fish for serving Transfer salmon to a clean work surface. Use your fingers and a paring knife to pull and scrape off the skin from the top side of the fish. Use the back of the knife to scrape off any brown areas from the surface. Using two large spatulas, carefully slide the salmon onto a serving platter. At this point, the salmon can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 4 hours.
• Serve Slice the cucumber lengthwise into very thin strips. Arrange the strips diagonally across salmon, spacing them about 1 inch apart, and tuck the ends underneath so they appear to wrap around the fish. Garnish with watercress. Separate into pieces and serve sauce and lemon wedges on the side.
• The salmon is garnished with a mixture of watercress and Upland cress (a member of the mustard family with a sharp, spicy flavor), which are also used in the accompanying sauce. You can find Upland cress (also called English cress or garden cress) at farmers' markets, or use all watercress instead.
• A poacher is just the right size and shape for cooking a large whole fish, such as the salmon in this recipe. For smaller whole fish, a roasting pan fitted with a wire rack can be used instead.
• To make the paper-thin strips of cucumber that appear to wrap around the fish, a mandoline is the best tool. A Japanese-style mandoline, such as Benriner, is inexpensive and sold at most kitchen supply shops. A vegetable peeler can be used instead, but it will not be able to produce the same uniform thickness as the mandoline.
• Peel and finely chop 1 English cucumber, then toss with 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt and 1 tablespoon each Champagne vinegar and small (nonpareil) capers that have been rinsed and drained. Set aside for 5 minutes, then stir in 1 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup finely chopped cress (use half watercress and half Upland cress, if you can find it). Season with freshly ground pepper and more salt. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 4 hours before serving. Makes about 2 1/4 cups.

POACHED WHOLE SALMON

Steps:

• Ask your fish store for a very fresh whole salmon with the head.
• Wash fish thoroughly in cold water.
• Large dice the onion, celery and carrot.
• In a large roasting pan combine the wine, salt, carrot, celery, onion and bay leaves. Bring to a boil on the stovetop, then simmer for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make a cradle for the fish. Using two large pieces of extra heavy duty aluminum foil, fold the long edges together so it will fit in the length of the roasting pan. The sides will stick out of the pan. Poke holes in the foil (for draining the fish later).
• Lay the fish in the cradle, and lower the cradle into the simmering wine in the roasting pan. Add hot water if necessary to cover the fish. Tightly cover the pan with more foil, and simmer gently for 30 minutes, or 10 minutes for each inch of fish thickness.
• Refrigerate the entire pan overnight with the fish still in the cooking liquid.
• Next day, arrange escarole and/or kale on a large serving platter.
• Very gently remove the cradle with the fish on it from the roasting pan and drain. Discard any vegetables or bay leaves. The fish is VERY fragile right now.
• Put the cradle on the counter next to the platter. Using both hands (and arms), gently slide the fish onto the serving platter.
• Using a butter knife, scrape the skin and any grey bits from the body of the fish. Leave the head, tail and fins untouched. Remove the eye.
• Spread cold mayonnaise over the body of the fish. This is your chance to cover up any boo-boos from moving the fish.
• Slice the cucumber in very thin (1/8") slices. (I use a mandoline).
• Arrange the cucumber slices over the body of the fish so they look like scales.
• Insert a flower in the eye socket.
• Serve with crackers or cocktail bread and dilled bearnaise.