Pros: How to poach or bake fresh salmon properly?!
Pros: How to poach or bake fresh salmon properly?
This is NOT a request for recipes. This is a question about techniques.
I am a fairly experienced amateur chef, but I just can't get salmon right. Whenever I make it, it just turns out dense and slightly dry inside, and does not absorb flavor. I've tried cooking it for less time, more time, flash-cooking it, marinading it, buying wild or just really expensive salmon, etc. Nothing seems to work. I can never make salmon like they do in fine restaurants -- moist and tender. What's the secret?
I am specifically interested in poaching and baking techniques, not pan-frying.
Thank you.
Answers:
My style, training & technique are French, which may not be what you're looking for, but you can just extract the technique and bend it to you own usage?
To poach a 2.5kg / 5-6lbs Salmon
Half fill your fish kettle with water and add your court-bouillon ingredients of choice. Bring to the boil, establish a firm boil for a minute or so, then temper your flame and simmer for 25 minutes. Strain, return to the fish kettle, and cool completely.
When your court-bouillon is properly cold, put your fish into the fish kettle with the court-bouillon, and *slowly* bring to the boil. Once you've established the boil, properly temper your flame and now poach for 7--8 minutes.
Remove from the heat and, your kettle still sealed, leave to cook by residual heat in the court-bouillon. Check for progress every 10 minutes or so, let's say, and when you estimate your fish is cooked to your liking, lift it carefully from the liquid and leave to rest and cool, or whatever else your dish requires you to do.
It's a slightly cumbersome process, perhaps, but the results are very tender yet firm, and invariably moist.
Source(s):
prof. patissier.
put in microwave dish-covered-microwave for 3Min's per person-size portion,just check-it should pull flake apart nicely when done-and look light pink- someone told me that years ago-and lve used it ever since-for any fish-it seals flavor in. You can put a bit of milk in other fish- cook-then add grated cheese-yummy.good luck.x
I love poaching salmon in a mixture of white wine and chicken broth in the oven. I lay the salmon on a bed of sliced onion that I have separated into rings and seasoned. I season the top and dot it with butter. I add enough poaching liquid to come up half-way up the side of the salmon and I bake at about 350 to 375 for 20 minutes (I always get thick salmon) in a glass dish and I lay a piece of foil on the top of the dish - I don't seal the foil around the dish. After baking, I let the salmon rest on the stove-top for about 5 to 10 minutes and every few minutes, I baste it with the poaching juices that are in the pan. It always comes out moist, flaky and tender.
For moist cooking methods i.e. poaching; either shallow or fully submerged; it will tend to draw moisture out of the fish resulting in a dryer product. For a moist piece of fish cook quickly using high to medium high heat...400 degree oven for about 6-8 minutes...