Poaching Salmon

I made poached salmon tonight, and it ended up being pretty bad. I'm not sure if was a bad recipe, bad product, or bad technique. Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated.

The recipe (from "For Cod and Country") called for two cups light red wine such as Beaujolais or Dolcetto, shallot, and thyme. For the salmon, I used organic Scottish (farm raised) from Fox and Obel. It was very thick in the center and pretty thin and fatty towards the edge. For the wine, I used a Beaujolais.

Any ideas would be welcome. I'm actually thinking the problem was all three (a bad idea, salmon that is not exactly Copper River, and the fact that when it comes to poaching, I'm clueless).

In what way was it bad? Flavor? Texture? Smell?

The texture was odd. I may well have overcooked it, but since I usually prepare it differently it was sort of tough to tell. I usually think dried out when I think of salmon being overcooked, but because of the poaching it was not dried out. The flavor was bad, but hard to nail down why. I wonder if the fat content of the salmon may have been a bad mix for the wine.

I'm open to any possible suggestion, which may well be endless.

A court bullion is the traditional poaching method for fish. Comprised of 75% water, 25% dry white wine, a mirepoix of rough chopped celery, onions and carrots, parsley, bay leaf and if you want, lemon and herbes. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 30 mins before poaching. It also helps to have the fish be pretty much the same thickness to cook evenly. You can trim the thinner ends and poach separately or fold them underneath to create a more even cooking surface.

DML wrote:I made poached salmon tonight, and it ended up being pretty bad. I'm not sure if was a bad recipe, bad product, or bad technique. Any thoughts on the matter would be appreciated.

The recipe (from "For Cod and Country") called for two cups light red wine such as Beaujolais or Dolcetto, shallot, and thyme. For the salmon, I used organic Scottish (farm raised) from Fox and Obel. It was very thick in the center and pretty thin and fatty towards the edge. For the wine, I used a Beaujolais.

Any ideas would be welcome. I'm actually thinking the problem was all three (a bad idea, salmon that is not exactly Copper River, and the fact that when it comes to poaching, I'm clueless).

I've never been a fan of poaching salmon in red wine, I really, really dislike that combination, so from my view starting problem would be a bad recipe.

IMO simpler is better when it comes to poaching salmon, this Gordon Ramsey recipe is my go to, its about as simple as it gets, I don't need to worry about whether I have wine handy if I'm just doing a portion or two for myself & it works just fine for fillets.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2451 ... basil-sauc

I don't mean to simply pile on (of course, I'm going to do it anyway), but count me in the crowd that isn't down with poaching salmon in red wine. I'm sure somebody's done it to fine effect somewhere, but my experience with it has not been positive. I'm with Jazzfood. Court bouillon all the way.

When finished, what does poached salmon look like? Should the inside be the same as if it came out of the oven or off the grill?
I had a very difficult time determining when it was done.

When the red wine/salmon rage first started with Oregon Pinot Noir, I tried the combination, lousy!
Agree that court bouillon is the way to go.
I always cook salmon until I can see a white coagulate on the top and I strive for a rare inner. The texture changes dramatically the higher the internal temp and if fully cooked the salmon loses all suppleness.
Try a court bouillon next time and cook until rare.
Note: if you don't have a good dry white wine, then omit the wine as it really doesn't add that much at all. I rarely use wine anymore and i poach a lot of salmon for serving both hot and cold.-Dick

DML wrote:When finished, what does poached salmon look like? Should the inside be the same as if it came out of the oven or off the grill?
I had a very difficult time determining when it was done.

No, that would be considered over cooked, IMO. You're looking for a point where you start to see the fish loose its translucency & form white coagulate, then add a few minutes depending on how well done you like your salmon. If you've got thin fillets, it will only take 5 minutes; with thicker pieces of fish 10 mins tops.

I always use a white wine either in a court bouillon or occasionally by itself. The trick is not to let the liquid boil--it should be just to the point of "nervosity" or movement of the liquid just before boiling. This is Julia Child's point in her recipe and it allows you to poach it slowly to rare, as others have noted above. My guess is you overcooked it (also the red wine part didn't help).

For my taste, if you see a white albumin like substance, you've gone to far, and yes on the barely simmering of poaching liquid, but that's after you've placed the salmon in the court bullion and brought it back up to boil, then dial it down to a "kiss". For what it's worth, you can strain the bullion and freeze for round two.

Reading the title of this thread I was ready to read about illegal fishing, and my interest was piqued, but then all I see is fish braising talk.

:/

My suspicion would involve the Beaujo. If it was from a decent year, there's going to be appreciable tannin in it, and there is a bad-tasting reaction between it and rich salmon oil (regular farmed salmon is less risky this way). I would always use a white wine. What was the vintage on the Beaujo? was it just a simple wine or one of the Villages? If the latter, then I'd really suspect the wine.

My method is to turn off the heat just as the pot comes back to the simmer after putting in the fish. Residual heat will cook it.

Geo

Ever since I put together the poor man's sous vide setup (rice cooker with separate thermostat/probe), I only "poach" salmon this way. Exact cooking temperatures (to suit one's preferred level of doneness) remove all guesswork for timing and fillet thicknesses. Brining beforehand will also eliminate the white coagulation. As a bonus, it allows for a wide degree of time flexibility when serving meals.

CH-

Could you give us some more detail on your device? Sounds interesting.

TIA--

Geo

I gathered most of my sous vide info a couple of years ago from sites found through Google searches. I can't remember most of them, but they should be easy enough anyone to find. The two key components of the cheaper home setup are a rice cooker (used as a water bath) and a PID temperature controller. I bought a Black & Decker rice cooker for about $50-60, and a Auber Instruments controller for ~$140. A crock pot could also be used for the water bath, but it is more difficult to maintain precise temps.

I also bought a Food Saver vacuum sealer around the same time, and it works fine. However, heavy duty freezer bags can also be used successfully. After putting the food in the bag, submerse the whole bag in a bucket of water (or filled rice cooker basin if the water is not too hot). The water pressure will force most of the air out of the bag, after which you zip it shut. While it is not actually a vacuum, the key part to sous vide cooking is removing most of the air rather than creating a vacuum.

A very good site for cooking times and food safety explanations can be found here: http://amath.colorado.edu/student/baldw ... -vide.html

http://makeprojects.com/Project/Sous-Vide-Immersion-Cooker/471/1