I like to poach fish. I especially like poached salmon. It is one of the fish that is built perfectly for poaching, meaty but still gentle. It comes out nice and tender and it really is simple to do. Plus, it can be done in one pot and, if I use a classic white wine court bouillon, I can keep the resulting liquid as a fish stock or fumet (fancy word for fish stock) of sorts for other cooking! Poached salmon (or other fish) gets a lot done! I like that.
The details of poaching are easy (check out the video about poaching, simmering and boiling at the end of the post). In a skillet or medium pot, make a court bouillon, bring the temperature of the court bouillon to about 175F and add the fish. I use this rule of thumb for poaching – poach for 10 minutes for each inch of thickness but I am flexible depending on my fish.
A Court Bouillon?
Let’s start with the court bouillon. This is a fancy way of saying the liquid in which you poach stuff. The simplest court bouillon is salt water, but we can do better in terms of getting nice flavors. There are 3 classic court bouillon – Vinegar, White Wine, and Milk. These should be made ahead that is – bring the ingredients to a simmer for 30 minutes then use the liquid to poach (it cane stored in freezer) A little more speed is needed nowadays so we will take time to see what the classics look like but we will use a 10 minutes court bouillon in the recipe below. It is nice to make court bouillon and store it, but making it a’la minute or as needed is just as easy and we can have dinner done in way less than an hour.
3 Classic Court Bouillons for Poaching Fish
The 3 classic court bouillon can be used for poached salmon or for a variety of seafood. Try them out, change them up and see what all the possibilities are!
| 3 Court Bouillon For Poached Salmon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vinegar | White Wine | Milk |
Ingredients
Directions
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Ingredients
Directions
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Ingredients
Directions
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The above classics are fine for the poached salmon recipe below but, as discussed, we want something a little faster and something that imparts a little more flavor in the short cooking time.
Here is my poached salmon recipe. I like to serve it on buttery noodles or brown rice. Add a vegetable, like asparagus and you have a great meal.
Poached Salmon with Buttery Noodles Recipe
- 1 orange
- 1 bunch of fresh tarragon
- 1 medium sweet onion
- 1-1/2 cups of water
- 1/2 cup of white wine – like slightly dry reisling
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 whole peppercorns
- 4 salmon filets – stick with smaller filets for efficiency.
- 1 pound of spaghetti or soba noodles
- 2-3 tbsp of butter
- a small bunch of fresh parsley.
- salt and pepper
- Zest the orange with a fine rasp.
- Peel the orange and slice the orange in rounds. You can keep what is left of the skin on.
- Clean and rough chop the tarragon
- Peel and dice the onion finely
- Add the zest, orange slices, onion, tarragon, water, wine, salt and peppercorns to a wide pan or pot big enough to hold the liquid and fish filets so that the fish are just submerged.
- Bring the contents of the pan to a poaching temperature of 175F and let it cook for 8-10 minutes so flavors can come together.
- Season the fish with salt and pepper. Add the salmon. Poach about 10 minutes for every inch of thickness until the salmon reaches an internal temperature of at least 145F, the flesh is opaque throughout and separates easily with a fork.
- Using a spatula, gently lift the filets out of the pan and serve on a bed of buttery noodles.
- For the Noodles
- Fill a large pot with water and bring it to boil.
- Clean and chop the parsley leaves finely.
- Add the noodles and cook al dente according to the manufacturers directions or to taste.
- When cooked, drain the noodles and return them to the pot. Add
- Add butter and parsley to taste. Season with salt and pepper.
- To Serve
- Using a spatula, gently lift the filets out of the pan.
- Place a nice bed of coiled noodles on plate.
- Top the noodles with the salmon
- Yield: Serves 4.
- You can use a variety of different fish and shellfish in this court bouillon. Talk to your fish monger about which is best. You can even use chicken if you are not a fish fan.
- If you want to serve the fish cold, it used to be recommended to let the fish cool in the court bouillon. This can present a food safety hazard. You must be very confident that everything has cooked through and reached 165F or hotter.
- For the same reason, if you do choose to save the used court bouillon as fish stock, make sure it comes to a rolling boil the next time you use it so as not to create a food safety hazard.
- Any fish stock or court bouillon is best stored frozen. It has a short shelf life in the refrigerator – about 2 days.
- This is a very gentle and slow method of cooking. It is best to use smaller filets or it could take longer then expected. Yes, the rule of thumb is 10 minutes per inch, but it could take longer, especially if the salmon goes in cold. Since we are all good, food safety minded cooks, it is likely to be cold because we refrigerate our fish. The fish should be cooked until it reaches an internal temperature of at least 145F, the flesh is opaque throughout and separates easily with a fork.
- Want to Cheat? Ask your fish monger if they have any fish stock or court bouillon for sale. You can buy canned fish stock on the internet. Fish stock is great for poaching.
The beauty of court bouillon is that it can be changed in so many ways. If want your poached fish to be a little spicy, half a chill pepper and add it to the poaching liquid. If you want an italian twist, use basil and some cut up tomato. French? Herbs de provence and lemon. You get the idea. There are so many ways to do it. With a little practice you will be poaching to your hearts desire. Remember, too, it is not just poached salmon to consider. There are a bevy of different fish and shellfish that can be poached.
Keep Eating! Keep Innovating!
What is your recipe for poached salmon? How do you make your court bouillon? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook.
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