Poaching Whole Fish

[David Ross]

A wise, (sensible is actually a more appropriate description), French Chef of note once told me that fish should be cooked in the environment in which it lived. In other words, poached in liquid whether it be water, salt water, stock or a "court bouillion." He went on to instruct that only whole fish (fresh, on the bone, skin on), should be poached in order to maximize the benefits of the technique-incredibly moist, tender fish that is the essence of the waters in which the fish swam.

Of course, the first and most important consideration is to find the freshest of fish for poaching. Last week I bought some frozen Sea Bass at the local Asian market. Sometimes frozen seafood in Asian markets is of questionable quality. I've often wondered who would buy a whole fish, guts included, stuffed into a plastic bag that isn't fully sealed or vacuum-packed to preserve it from the depths of the freezer. When a dried out, frozen fish tail is sticking out of a bag, you know it probably won't taste good. For whatever reason, the urge to buy a whole fish overtook my sensibilities last week and I bought a whole frozen sea bass to poach. It wasn't the dried out skeleton of the other fish in the freezer and it looked and smelled decent when I thawed it. But after the sea bass was poached, it literally turned into a soft, gooey mess that had no texture and little flavor. I don't have the evidence to support my claim, but I tend to think the fish suffered from a combination of problems--it was frozen which dried the poor devil out and littered the flesh with ice. Leaving the guts in the sea bass furthered polluted the flavor.

I wasn't going to give up on poaching a whole fish after last week's disaster. I set off to Costco yesterday with a mission of buying whole trout to poach. What I found were fresh, whole, farm-raised Striped Bass on ice. I didn't wince that the Striped Bass was farm-raised and set back home with two of the beauties in tow.

I don't have a pan specifically made for poaching fish, but I don't think that's an equipment requirement. I use a large roasting pan that is large enough to allow the whole fish to rest flat without having to turn it into a shape to fit a pot.

I've poached fish filets in olive oil in the oven, but I didn't think that buying enough olive oil to poach a whole fish would be worth the cost so I settled on a traditional French "court boullion" for the poaching liquid. The court boullion included carrots, onions, celery, garlic, fennel, thyme, marjoram (to add a delicate perfume to the broth) and white peppercorns sauteed in olive oil. I then deglazed the pan with Aquavit, (a nod to the Norwegians. Pernod would have been more in keeping with the French traditon). I used both water and an Italian white wine blend for the liquid.

I gently placed the whole Striped Bass in the simmering poaching liquid and left them undisturbed while they poached. They weren't fully submerged in the liquid, but no worries, I simply spooned the hot poaching liquid over the fish. The cooking process for these Striped Bass took about 20 minutes.

I served the Striped Bass with radishes and "Anchoiade"-garlicky anchovy sauce. The anchoiade is a mixture of anchovies, parsley, basil, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, pepper and capers.

Poaching whole fish is very easy, but the most impressive aspect of poaching a whole fish is when you bring it to the table.

Poached Striped Bass with "Anchoiade" and Radishes-

[nibor]

Did it taste good?

[David Ross]

Did it taste good?

Deliciously moist and tender with a clean flavor. The radishes were just a last minute idea--saw them in the market and thought they would add a bit of pepper flavor and crunch to accent the fish. I forgot to mention in the first post that I added some dried red pepper flakes to the Anchoiade. It was a nice salty and spicy accent to the Striped Bass. Really turned out to be a nice dish.

[heidih]

Although the poaching concept makes sense and I have done it - I really really love a whole fish in a salt crust. Nothing leaches out and it is super simple.

[Dejah]

When I can, I like to get fresh off the boat pickerel (Gimli, Manitoba) and poach it whole in water with slices of fresh ginger, celery, and stalks of green onion. Once done, I scatter on some slivers of fresh ginger, green onion, light soy sauce, followed by very hot vegetable oil. The hot oil takes the rawness off the ginger and onions.