Papillote

[Comfort Me]

I am going to be cooking for a family get together (everyone in town for a bar mitzvah) and I am trying to design the menu so as much of the preparation as possible can be done the morning of the dinner. That will give me (and the cleaning lady) time to get the house presentable before dinner!

I would love to do salmon en papillote, and I particularly like Alton Brown's recipe, but I want to bake rather than microwave.

So a couple of questions:

1. There isn't a huge amount of acid in the recipe -- just the orange segments and vermouth. Can I assemble the papillote in the morning and refrigerate until evening?

2. If I was roasting, I'd use a 400 degree oven, and would generally figure 10 minutes per inch thickness. But this is a whole different kettle of fish. Or papillote. Assuming I can assemble them in advance, what temp / what timing would you suggest.

3. Alton's recipe calls for "1 orange cut into wedges with white, pithy membrane removed". He means supremes, right? I'm easilly confused!

I'm planning to serve a pinot grigio and a full bodied cabernet -- when I drank, I always preferred a red with salmon. I was also thinking of serving a tossed ceasar salad, a celery root puree and roasted red peppers in basil oil.

Any suggestions? Comments? I welcome all advise. (Well, almost all. Once someone p-mailed me that a menu I had written about made them gag, called me a fat pig, and told me to eat less and exercise more! When i tried to e-mail them back to thank them for their concern about for my health, the e-mail was returned as undeliverable. I think it may have been my mother-in-law.)

Aidan

[reesek]

i can barely help at all - but i offer you both of my tiny shreds of wisdom.

1) supremes - yes

2) i wouldn't let the fish sit in the marinade all day, i'd worry about it breaking down - even something as sturdy as salmon - but you could certainly cut the oranges - even macerate them in the vermouth ahead of time, cut the parchment and jullienne the vegetables and just assemble right before baking.

i usually treat roasting in papillote the same way i treat plain old roasting - your timing looks pretty good to me - especially if you're assembeling at the last minute as fridge-cold salmon would take a little longer.

i love to serve steam-roasted salmon with saffron mayo or tarragony hollandaise. with your menu, i might make a basil or a red pepper mayo instead. sounds lovely.

*oh - and about the red wine - pinot noir is the generally recommended pairing with salmon here in the PNW - and it's definitely not unusual to see a fuller bodied red served with salmon.

[Comfort Me]

2) i wouldn't let the fish sit in the marinade all day, i'd worry about it breaking down - even something as sturdy as salmon - but you could certainly cut the oranges - even macerate them in the vermouth ahead of time, cut the parchment and jullienne the vegetables and just assemble right before baking.

←

So I need to do something else. (I can't possibly assemble 20 papillote just before dinner and still act as host AND have a presentable house.)

I'll have to re-think the whole menu.

Thanks.

[jackal10]

Just leave out the acid:

In each parcel put some butter or EVOO, a tsp of some white wine or a water, salt, pepper, and whatever herbs or flavourings you like - dill, or ginger and spring onion, or ginger and raisins, and do the parcel up.

20 mins in a hot oven just before service. (check one to see if it needs another 5 mins - should be under rather then over cooked) Let each guest open their own parcel and smell the delicious aromas.

The salmon will produce quite a lot of juice on the plate; serve bread or potato or something to mop it up.

Since you are serving this hot, I'd avoid a mayonnaise, but a hollandaise would be good.

[Abra]

Here's how I do it. I wouldn't hesitate to make these up ahead.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Salmon En Papillote With Leeks, Fennel, And Brandied Currants

Recipe By :Abra

Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

1 fennel bulb -- stalks and fronds discarded

2 small leeks -- white parts slivered

2 medium carrots (1/2 lb)

1/2 lb. small red potatoes

1/3 cup currants

1/4 cup brandy

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh dill -- chopped

2 large garlic cloves -- minced

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 tablespoons white vermouth

4 6 oz center-cut salmon fillets -- skinned

1 teaspoon fennel pollen

Salt and pepper to taste

Divide ingredients between 4 papillote packages. Preheat oven and baking sheet to 400 degrees. Bake papillotes for 20-25 minutes.

Oh, and I'll second the pinot noir with salmon - it's a classic pairing.

Edited March 2, 2005 by Abra (log)

[chefzadi]

Why not do a whole salmon? The presentation can be very appealing and "upscale". It will save you a lot of work and headache. Have a good time with your family and serve them somthing fantastic at the same time.

[Bond Girl]

Without changing your recipes too much, In would leave out the acid also I would put in as little liquid as possible because the fish releases some liquid when it's cooked. Go with a bit of butter or olive oil and some herbs (I like a combination of leeks with shallots and fennel or star annise).

I've never done papillote straight in the oven. I always heat it up with a little oil in the pan first than stick it in the oven.

[touaregsand]

20 people for dinner? Do a whole salmon. For the sake of your own enjoyment I think it's best to stick with family style service.

Prepare the whole salmon (clean and trim, or have your fishmonger do it for you), place it on a baking tray, prep the other ingredients and store them seperately in the morning. When your ready to bake compose your dish and pop it in the oven.

If you're REALLY keen on the papillote, same concept. It's all in the mise en place. Portion out the salmon, prep all your ingredients, cut 20 sheets of parchment paper. You can do all of this the morning of. It really won't take that long to put it all together a la minute. With a little help 10-15 minutes max. Voila!

[whatsup1]

Without a commercial oven and commercial equipment, papillotte for 20 will be difficult but not impossible. Figure out ahead of time if you can fit all of them in the oven at the same time. Also, doing them assembly line fashion makes things go much easier. But I only have enough counter space to prep seven at a time.

[chromedome]

I routinely do sides of salmon en papillote at work. Two-three goodly sides would serve 20 people adequately, and be a lot less work. Besides, you would likely find it easier to do the big dramatic gust-of-fragrant-steam tableside thing with one or two larger packages.

I usually trim the belly meat or fold it under, so that it makes a more uniform thickness; same with the tail meat (I should clarify...I *trim* at home where I have specific uses for the trim; I tuck under at work where I'm feeding hundreds every lunchtime). A herbed or savoury butter of some kind works well in this sort of scenario. In fact, if you really wanted to do the oranges, you could place each supreme onto a small pat of the butter. This would minimize the "ceviche effect" while your salmon is in the fridge, but would allow the flavours to meld nicely during cooking.

You could even pre-portion your fillets and then reassemble them in the parchment; giving you the dual benefit of speeding the meal and reducing your work.

I find a decently-sized side of salmon is a perfect fit for standard full-sheet parchment; leaving just enough room around the edges to make a good fold for sealing purposes. I can get three or even four sides onto a standard baking sheet, depending on their size.

[jackal10]

Have you considered salmon in puff pastry?

Its my standard hot salmon dish for large numbers.

You can do it whole or individual. Makes the salmon go further as well, and a whole one looks spectacular

[whatsup1]

jackal --

Can you describe further, and give a general recipe? This sounds luscious.

Thanks.

[jackal10]

This is from my foodblog http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...foodblog&st=120

Salmon en croute. Good easy party dish

Can make individual portions instead on one large one

Cheat by using shop bought puff pastry, but given a couple of turns with more butter. Roll out the pastry and put the skinned salmon fillet on it. Make forcemeat stuffing with breadcrumbs, parsley, rosemary, onion, salt, pepper, bound with an egg. Make it quite green with lots of spinach or parsley or other soft herbs to give a colour contrast.

Layer the salmon with the stuffing, and lay the other salmon fillet over the top.

Cover with more puff pastry, cut into the sahpe of a fish if you like, eggwash, and decorate - scales made with a small pastry cutter and a head and tail are traditional.

Bake for twenty minute or so. Unfortunately I wasn't paying enough attention, and the brick oven was much hotter than I expected, so it burnt.

Artistic slicing saves the day (colours are a bit washed out)

Lots of variations: ginger and raisin is a tradtional stuffing. Hot or cold, or make individual ones

Edited March 4, 2005 by jackal10 (log)

[whatsup1]

Yumm, jackal, and thanks.

[Comfort Me]

I routinely do sides of salmon en papillote at work.  Two-three goodly sides would serve 20 people adequately, and be a lot less work.  Besides, you would likely find it easier to do the big dramatic gust-of-fragrant-steam tableside thing with one or two larger packages.

I usually trim the belly meat or fold it under, so that it makes a more uniform thickness; same with the tail meat (I should clarify...I *trim* at home where I have specific uses for the trim; I tuck under at work where I'm feeding hundreds every lunchtime).  A herbed or savoury butter of some kind works well in this sort of scenario.  In fact, if you really wanted to do the oranges, you could place each supreme onto a small pat of the butter.  This would minimize the "ceviche effect" while your salmon is in the fridge, but would allow the flavours to meld nicely during cooking.

You could even pre-portion your fillets and then reassemble them in the parchment; giving you the dual benefit of speeding the meal and reducing your work. 

I find a decently-sized side of salmon is a perfect fit for standard full-sheet parchment; leaving just enough room around the edges to make a good fold for sealing purposes.  I can get three or even four sides onto a standard baking sheet, depending on their size.

←

Thanks, Chrome. I think this is the way I am going to go. I need it to be as fuss-free as possible. And portioning it before assembling is a great idea. It'll make it so easy.

Thanks everyone for your ideas -- I'd do whole salmon save for the fact that at least two of the people who will be in attendance have this thing about fish with bones. It isn't uncommon, and since I am offering hospitality, it is the least I can do to accomodate them. The puff pastry looks so spectacular, but I just couldn't do it for this dinner. Maybe I'll try it out for shabbat dinner before it gets too warm.

[Comfort Me]

Things went PERFECTLY. THank you all so much for your input.

And I have one salmon in the freezer, just waiting for me to roll out some puff pastry!

[chromedome]

Glad it worked for you!

I've coaxed a few acquaintances out of their "I can burn water" hidey-holes by explaining how easy and impressive fish in parchment can be.