Poached Salmon | Imamother

Bibi

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 3:39 am

I ate delicious poached salmon at a Kiddush years ago. I went and bought a beautiful thin, long salmon poached pot with an insert to rest the fish on. I never used it and don’t know how. Can someone help? I need a recipe and it would have to be on the stovetop. The fish was soft and delicate.
Would the fish in the insert stay on top of the water as in a steamer or immersed?
I want to cook it for Purim.

MiracleMama

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 4:14 am

Bibi wrote:

Sorry, no recipe. But poached is in liquid, not steamed. I think the point of the insert is just to easily remove fish from liquid without if falling apart on you.

Amarante

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 6:03 am

With poached salmon, you don't want to BOIL the salmon - it is simmered.

The liquid you poach in is generally flavored in some way as well so that it infuses the salmon while it cooks.

Like any fish, it should NOT be overcooked. The reason why it was soft and delicate was because it was not overcooked.

Here is a classic recipe for poached salmon from Martha Stewart. I sometimes replace a portion of water with white wine for additional taste.

Poached salmon is often served cold and traditionally it is served with some kind of hollandaise type creamy sauce.

Simple Poached Salmon

A beautifully poached piece of salmon is clean tasting and light. There's only one rule: Don't overcook.

Prep: 10 mins

Total: 25 mins
Servings: 4

Simple Poached Salmon
Ingredients

2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 small onion, peeled and halved
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
Coarse salt
4 skinless salmon fillets (6 ounces each and about 1 inch thick)
Directions

Step 1

In a large, deep, straight-sided skillet or heavy pot, combine carrots, celery, onion, lemon, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 6 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 8 minutes.

Step 2

Season salmon with salt and gently lower into simmering liquid (liquid should just cover fish). Reduce to a very gentle simmer. Cover and cook until salmon is opaque throughout, about 5 minutes (longer for thicker fillets). Using a wide slotted spatula, remove salmon from liquid.

Amarante

Mon, Feb 22 2021, 6:44 am

I wanted to add that steamed fish is also delicious. The Chinese do a lot of steamed fish dishes and I have made a few with Asian type flavors which I liked. Often they use thinner fish pieces.

Poached chicken is also delicious and is traditionally the best way to cool fish which you intend to serve cold or in a salad.