Sous vide halibut

[boudin noir]

I recently did some halibut steaks sous vide. They were about 1 1/2  inches thick. I did them for 30 minutes at 122 degrees. When i took them out to brown them, they were very fragile. As I browned them they fell apart. They were delicious, perfectly cooked from an eating point of view, but ugly. Too hot, too long or both?

Edited July 30, 2016 by Smithy
Added tag (log)

[Anna N]

36 minutes ago, boudin noir said:

I recently did some halibut steaks sous vide. They were about 1 1/2  inches thick. I did them for 30 minutes at 122 degrees. When i took them out to brown them, they were very fragile. As I browned them they fell apart. They were delicious, perfectly cooked from an eating point of view, but ugly. Too hot, too long or both?

I think it important to ask yourself if browning is really necessary. Yes, indeed for steaks and chops but for fish?  Perhaps a good sprinkling of a herb, some paprika or even a sauce would be a better choice. I think it is presentation that I would be aiming for rather than adding additional flavour by browning for a fish such as halibut.  YMMV

[Lisa Shock]

I tend to think of sous vide for fish a bit like cooking it en papillote and would not expect browning. If you are looking to improve the appearance on the plate, Anna's suggestions are good. You could also place a vegetable across the top of it as well.

[jayt90]

How did you brown them?  I would try 25 minutes sous vide with herbs, then carefully brown one side in foaming butter. If that failed, I'd have to wonder about the history of the fish, perhaps poorly frozen then thawed quickly.

Edited July 28, 2016 by jayt90 (log)

[boudin noir]

On 7/28/2016 at 7:26 PM, jayt90 said:

How did you brown them?  I would try 25 minutes sous vide with herbs, then carefully brown one side in foaming butter. If that failed, I'd have to wonder about the history of the fish, perhaps poorly frozen then thawed quickly.

 

Very hot cast iron pan with grape seed oil. Browned in 1 minute then fell apart. The brown bits did taste good; in fact the whole thing was great except for is appearance.

[KennethT]

I cook salmon once a week or so, and I use a torch to brown the top when I'm done.  Adds a nice flavor dimension as well as appearance.

[AlaMoi]

>>fell apart . . .

 

yup.  that's what fish does.

you might recognize the phrase:  "until flaky" or "until it flakes apart"

seems you cooked it quite right!

 

get a large spatula - something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Outset-QB59-Rosewood-Slotted-Spatula/dp/B000GBLPO8?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B000GBLPO8&linkCode=as2&redirect=true&ref_=as_li_tf_tl&tag=albin-20

 

_not_ stuff like this:

http://spatulamart.com/brand/oxo-kitchen-spatulas/

 

[Taveren]

Restaurants don't cook fish sous vide, so why are you?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Taveren said:

Restaurants don't cook fish sous vide, so why are you?

 

I am not a restaurant so I cannot comment on the veracity of the assertion.  I have successfully cooked whole gutted trout sous vide, and before that cooked whole gutted trout, with some difficulty, in a fish poacher on the stove at a controlled temperature.

 

What is your point?  Sous vide works well for fish, whether restaurants employ the technique or not.

 

[pastrygirl]

I've seen plenty of skin-on salmon swimming in sous vide in restsurant kitchens. 

[Taveren]

I have five Michelin stars on my resume.  Sous vide does not work well for fish.  End of story.

[Shalmanese]

24 minutes ago, Taveren said:

I have five Michelin stars on my resume.  Sous vide does not work well for fish.  End of story.

 

Tell that to Thomas Keller who has a whole chapter devoted to it in his SV cookbook.

Edited August 4, 2016 by Shalmanese (log)

[gfweb]

26 minutes ago, Shalmanese said:

 

Tell that to Thomas Keller who has a whole chapter devoted to it in his SV cookbook.

 

Beat me to it.

Of course SV works well for fish. May be better for some than for others. Certainly makes cooking fish easier for the less skilled.

But what a dumb thing to argue about.

[Qwerty]

I got some advice for you, as someone who does sous vide in my pro kitchen, and yes, I sous vide fish all the time. It can be wonderful. 

 

Number one thing: Make sure you are sourcing quality seafood. You may have gotten previously frozen halibut, which can lead to a mushy texture and a greater chance of flaking apart. That is probably your #1 thing to do, source better fish. 

 

We "cure" out fish for about 30-45 minutes before we bag it. I say "cure" because we don't do a traditional, heavy-ish cure on it, like if we were going to smoke it or dry it, for example. We make a pretty basic salt/sugar mix (I use 2 parts salt to 1 part sugar) and whatever herbs and spices you'd like. Dill is great, thyme is great, sometimes I use a black pepper/coriander/fennel seed mixture. I usually blend this with the salt/sugar mix and then sprinkle it on the fish. We generally eyeball it, but we season the fish as if we were seasoning it for immediate cooking, if that makes sense. So it is not as heavy as a salt cure (again, for smoking/making lox/etc) but it is probably more cure mix than a "normal" home cook might put on it. I wish I had a better description, but basically we sprinkle it on pretty heavy like we were going to go straight into the pan. I hope I make sense. 

 

There are a few reasons why we do this. First, it seasons the fish and makes it taste better, obvi. It also pulls out some protein rich liquid, which helps prevent a lot of the albumin protein from coagulating on the fish as it cooks. Basically, when ever you cook fish sous vide (or any other way, really) you get a egg white looking protein leech out of the fish. This is totally normal--most people notice it the most on salmon but it happens a lot on halibut too--but leeching out some of that protein rich liquid by salting ahead of time prevents this. You will still most likely get SOME albumin, but it really cuts down on it and makes the final appearance easier to clean up and look nicer. It also firms up the flesh of the fish, making it less prone to flaking apart after it is cooked--which is a big deal when cooking fish sous vide. We then bag it with whatever fat and aromatics we are using for the dish. Duck fat, pork fat, butter, EVOO, are all options. Dill and thyme are my favorite herbs. 

 

I generally don't sear my sous vide halibut (I do for salmon on the skin side only), but curing the fish should help quite a bit. Just make sure your oil is hot and try not to move the fish in the pan until it releases. I usually like to add texture to the plate in other ways other than searing, but again, this should help. A hot cast iron pan (well seasoned) should work just fine. You might try gently patting the fish dry before you sear, as moisture on the outside of the fish could cause it to stick. 

 

Good luck. 

[Anna N]

@Qwerty

Thank you.  That is so much more helpful and generous than snide remarks. 

[gfweb]

The albumin issue is a big one when I steam/poach salmon. Often lots of milky stuff spoiling the look of a great piece of fish. Oil coating helps a little. What @Qwerty says makes great sense. Next time Ima cure the salmon first.

[boudin noir]

7 hours ago, Qwerty said:

I got some advice for you, as someone who does sous vide in my pro kitchen, and yes, I sous vide fish all the time. It can be wonderful. 

 

Number one thing: Make sure you are sourcing quality seafood. You may have gotten previously frozen halibut, which can lead to a mushy texture and a greater chance of flaking apart. That is probably your #1 thing to do, source better fish. 

 

We "cure" out fish for about 30-45 minutes before we bag it. I say "cure" because we don't do a traditional, heavy-ish cure on it, like if we were going to smoke it or dry it, for example. We make a pretty basic salt/sugar mix (I use 2 parts salt to 1 part sugar) and whatever herbs and spices you'd like. Dill is great, thyme is great, sometimes I use a black pepper/coriander/fennel seed mixture. I usually blend this with the salt/sugar mix and then sprinkle it on the fish. We generally eyeball it, but we season the fish as if we were seasoning it for immediate cooking, if that makes sense. So it is not as heavy as a salt cure (again, for smoking/making lox/etc) but it is probably more cure mix than a "normal" home cook might put on it. I wish I had a better description, but basically we sprinkle it on pretty heavy like we were going to go straight into the pan. I hope I make sense. 

 

There are a few reasons why we do this. First, it seasons the fish and makes it taste better, obvi. It also pulls out some protein rich liquid, which helps prevent a lot of the albumin protein from coagulating on the fish as it cooks. Basically, when ever you cook fish sous vide (or any other way, really) you get a egg white looking protein leech out of the fish. This is totally normal--most people notice it the most on salmon but it happens a lot on halibut too--but leeching out some of that protein rich liquid by salting ahead of time prevents this. You will still most likely get SOME albumin, but it really cuts down on it and makes the final appearance easier to clean up and look nicer. It also firms up the flesh of the fish, making it less prone to flaking apart after it is cooked--which is a big deal when cooking fish sous vide. We then bag it with whatever fat and aromatics we are using for the dish. Duck fat, pork fat, butter, EVOO, are all options. Dill and thyme are my favorite herbs. 

 

I generally don't sear my sous vide halibut (I do for salmon on the skin side only), but curing the fish should help quite a bit. Just make sure your oil is hot and try not to move the fish in the pan until it releases. I usually like to add texture to the plate in other ways other than searing, but again, this should help. A hot cast iron pan (well seasoned) should work just fine. You might try gently patting the fish dry before you sear, as moisture on the outside of the fish could cause it to stick. 

 

Good luck. 

 

 

Thanks.

[rotuts]

"""    makes cooking fish easier for the less skilled  ""

 

fish is one of the more tricky items to cook.   a little too long in the heat and its ruined.  SV solves this problem.

 

it can also be done in advance and rapidly chilled then reheated.

 

not all fish does as well in the SV.   but oily fish does very well.

 

as mentioned above, make sure its very fresh.  what's very fresh ?  it should have no odor what so ever

 

if its already been cut up.

Edited August 4, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[daveb]

On 8/2/2016 at 1:26 AM, Taveren said:

Restaurants don't cook fish sous vide, so why are you?

 

I know of at least one restaurant that does....

 

Salmon is a big seller, especially among our aging population.  104F makes a great app for the metros. Pre-portioned and SV filets have virtually eliminated send backs for over cooking, under cooking.  I cook it SV at home as well.  I like it seared, some don't.

 

Also great as prep for fish tacos with any fish.  (Most popular food truck dish)

 

For halibut, I would portion fish then bag it.  Brief SV as described above.  Sear in pan or with torch, sauce, garnish and serve.

[ninagluck]

I put my fish fillets for abt 1,5 hours in a 4% salt solutions, the flesh holds together after the bath and can easily be browned after.