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Olive Oil Poached Fish


Stone

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The method described in Fine Cooking was very detailed, but I can't remember why the fish goes in the cold oil, and I can't find that particular issue. I did try it, though, and it was awesome. The recipe for Salad Nicoise that accompanied the article was equally delish. I served it to "the girls" for lunch, and they loved it. It also made a super tuna salad served in a tomato.

Stop Family Violence

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Steve P: probably so you don't overcook the very outside of the fish before the inside is done. No accident, just careful thinking; no "crust" wanted.

Okay, I've got the FC article in front of me. First she (Lisa Hanauer) infuses the oil with the flavorings (sliced yellow onions, rosemary, thyme, and bayleaf, coarsely cracked black peppercorns, zest of 1 lemon, and what seems like a lot of salt) by cooking them at 140 to 150 degrees F for 20 minutes. Then she turns off the heat and cools the oil down to warm. She turns the heat back on to medium-low and adds the tuna to the "barely warm oil" in one layer. (If the fish isn't completely covered, add more oil). Bring it back up to 150 degrees F; turn off the heat; remove the pot and let it sit a couple of minutes until the fish is medium rare. That's basically it. She cools the fish and oil separately, and strains the oil before pouring it over the fish for storage.

On the other hand, Pasternack just seasons the fish, puts it in a pot with smashed garlic cloves and oil, and THEN turns on the heat to bring it to a simmer, and cooks it for about 10 minutes. Off the heat, he adds herbs and then lets the fish cool in the oil. The recipe says: "Tuna can be used at this point but is better if allowed to marinate overnight."

Kerouac1964: since the fish is supposed to pick up at least a little of the oil flavor, you might want to use something more than peanut oil. Unless you really like the flavor of peanut oil (I don't). And your crumbing suggestions sound quite tasty to me. Do you have to worry about the cooking temperature, or are the normal temps okay? FWIW: one chef I worked for used ground "Corn Nuts" to crumb-coat fish. Hey, not bad!

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When you're all saying that the oil is "simmering" do you mean when the fish is in, it's "simmering" in the oil (as opposed to dropping a piece of fish in a deep fryer); or do you mean "simmer" like a pot of water?

(Is it obvious that I've never poached anything in my life?)

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Dstone: both. "Simmer" as a verb can be both intransitive ("the water simmers when it remains just below the boiling point") and transitive ("the fish simmers in the barely-bubbling oil"). Got that? Whichever you think it is, you're right.

G. Johnson: I don't know if it's better, per se, but at least you know exactly how fresh the fish was before it went into the pot, and exactly what else went in with it. It's a paranoid, control-freak thing. (Just kidding, mostly.) In any case, it tastes great and is very little work at all.

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Do you have to worry about the cooking temperature, or are the normal temps okay?  FWIW: one chef I worked for used ground "Corn Nuts" to crumb-coat fish.  Hey, not bad!

Suzanne: I think the temps are basically the same. My mom did the frying both times. The pretzel coating gives you a nice dark brown color, and of course the salt is already in the breading. :wink:

I love corn nuts! Never thought of trying them. Yummy. Wonder if they wouldn't crunch/spice up a corn fritter as well? Perhaps add unique texture to masa harina dough-paste for tomales?? Hmm.....nacho cheese flavored ones in corn muffins.... oh, yeah! :laugh:

Umm...the scary thing is Bobby Flay may like it! :huh:

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I am reminded of the technique, credited to Thomas Keller, of poaching lobster in butter extolled not too long ago in the NY Times.

The last chef I worked for stole that technique from the FL cookbook to use on our banquet menu (we used shrimp). Use a beurre monte as the poaching liquid and be careful it doesn't break while cooking in it.

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my ha pen'oth worth (better late than never)

- according to heston b the magic temperature for fish is 45c (think he does red mullet this way) - best way to get this on an oven top is to stick the pan on a heat diffuser (or baking tray) over the lowest gas. sugar thermometer good for checking.

- don't do it when the oil is "simmering" as that's too hot - the outside of the fish goes opaque and it flakes. when doing confit with duck legs, yes, the oil can simmer but for fish its too high (qv£©

- cos of the lower temperature you can cook it for much longer than if poaching a normal fish (eg 20 mins +)

- the alternative low temperature method is to zap it in a very low (gas mark 1/2 or lower) oven, well basted with oil. this is the recipe tetsuya uses for his slow-roast sea trout thing. have done it with salmon, olive oil and dill many times and its a very good - takes about half an hour - just keep poking around until the inside is just translucent

cheerio

J

More Cookbooks than Sense - my new Cookbook blog!
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let me add my two cents.

Really good olive oil is important when poaching in olive oil. You want it to pick up the flavor of the good oil. Use shit get shit!!!!!!!:biggrin:

You would start the tuna in cold oil to perform the root vegeatable rule. laways start in cold so it cooks evenly. But thats only if your going to cook the fish completely through. Ive done a salmon dish poached in olive oil but the fish was started in warm oil and served medium rare. So thats my rule on oil. Cook through start cold, Cook raw start warm.

I like cooking in beurre monte. We do our lobsters this way. But i have also seen whole lobsters in the shell cooked this way. I dont like finishing my vegatables with it though. I think it takes away from the vegatables. To many flavors competeing with the vegatables. If i glaze my veg its with a little butter and vegstock.

There is my two cents

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  • 6 months later...

I made one salad with some tiny arugula and salad cress (the thinnings from my garden...I actually spilled some arugula seed onto the path between the raised beds and of course it's going like gangbusters there, more so than in the official planting...but a good source of early season greens)..also added preserved lemon, capers, shallot, celery (leaf and diced stalk) and parsley, with lemon jiuce and olive oil. This was good.

Tonight probably eat it warmed with some Corona beans (also called gigante, used a lot by Greeks). I'm driving to California tomorrow, so I'll make up a container of tuna salad for road food.

I've kept this in the reefer covered with oil for more than a week.

Jim

ps...That Ben really is a turd-polisher, isn't he?

olive oil + salt

Real Good Food

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This reminds me of something a young chef at Lucca in Boca Raton taught me. You chopped some garlic , onions and fennel. Drop some pepper corns, thyme and bay leaves in that condiment. Place tuna back into dish on top of condiments and cover in olive oil. Bring to a simmer on stove top and then to a shiver for 2.5-3 hours then cool and can it or refridgerate.

In the summer I would keep a whole batch in the fridge, and make salad and sandwiches with it.

Ya-Roo Yang aka "Bond Girl"

The Adventures of Bond Girl

I don't ask for much, but whatever you do give me, make it of the highest quality.

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  • 3 years later...

I poached some wild salmon in olive oil last night and am curious how long the olive oil would last in the fridge for future uses. I filtered it through cheese cloth and the oil does not have any salmony overtones.

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I wouldn't use it again for anything other than poaching more fish. You can tell when olive oil is rancid from the smell. It should keep in your fridge indefinitely: just let it come back to room temp and give it a sniff and a taste the next time you want to poach. I'd probably use it once or twice again for the same purpose.

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How did you poach the salmon, ie temperature, oil depth, time, etc.. Try using up the oil to cook some seafood fettuccini, crab cakes or shrimp scampi.

"I drink to make other people interesting".

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If you're going to save the olive oil (something I am not at all sure is a good idea), you should keep it well sealed in the freezer.

Poaching in olive oil is expensive, which is one reason it's great to use sous vide techniques for olive oil poaching. A very small and economical amount of olive oil can completely surround the fish when it's in a sous vide bag.

--

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I wouldn't use it again for anything other than poaching more fish. You can tell when olive oil is rancid from the smell. It should keep in your fridge indefinitely: just let it come back to room temp and give it a sniff and a taste the next time you want to poach. I'd probably use it once or twice again for the same purpose.

I heated the oil to 120 degrees, monitoring with a thermometer, and cooked the salmon for about 35 minutes. Came out great, but like the other person suggested, it can be expensive. That's why I really do not want to throw out all that oil. Thanks for the suggestions.

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that reminds me of the time an italian cookbook author argued with me for a long time about the absolutely necessity of using the best quality extra-virgin Tuscan olive oil to deep-fry potatoes ... of course, that was Lorenza de Medici.

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