Poaching is Permissible

Once upon a time, salmon was so plentiful that it was poor man's food. Not the artificially pink fleshed farmed fish, real wild salmon. Yum yum. What's all the fuss about how to cook it? Easy peesy. It's not cooking it, it's overcooking it that makes it troublesome. One of the many delights of living where I am is the availability of poached salmon, as in caught without permission. 

paolos~ from yesterday - thanks for the lullaby. xxx

Tommy Typical (from yesterday) life indeed is good when the vanilla wafers in

nana pudding are crunchy.

Want to be a dinner party champion? Amaze your guests when you cook your salmon in the dishwasher. Take a 12-inch square of heavy-duty aluminum foil and grease one side. Put a couple of salmon filets (about six ounces each) side-by-side on the greased side of the foil. Drizzle a little lemon or lime juice over the fish, and season with salt and pepper (or any other seasonings that sound delicious to you). Then, fold and pinch the foil very tightly on itself to create a watertight seal. Check the seal by pressing down gently; if air escapes, unwrap the package and try again. Then, put the packs on the top rack of the dishwasher and set your dishwasher for a regular cycle. Once the drying cycle is over, unwrap the foil packets and top the salmon with some manner of sauce; I find beurre blanc works quite nicely.

For bonus points, you can even load up the dishwasher with dirty dishes and soap (lemon-scented is preferred for this, of course)! As long as you do a good job sealing the foil packets, the fish will be fine. If you go this route, make sure the other dishes (especially silverware) are properly secured so they don't pierce the foil. Oh, and make sure your dishwasher's heating element is working properly! If the dishes were warm the last time you unloaded the dishwasher, you're all set.

"Somewhat Snooty ???" I'd serve them something I KNOW they'd never had before, to MAKE them comment, one way or the other, but I guarantee it would pull their noses down out of the air ... Warshew Duck with a Brandied Tangerine Glaze, and Lime Curd to Top that with when served ... a Medely of Bamboo Shoots, Bean Sprouts, Broccoli, Slivered Almonds, Grape Tomatoes and Palm Hearts, stir fried in Leah & Perrins and Butter(NOT Soy Sauce) Sea Salt & White Pepper, and Egg Foo Yung and a little pot of Honey-Mustard or Durkee's Sauce to dip the Egg in(No Sub Gum) ... a '93 Veuve Clicqout, Formosa Oolong both Hot & Iced to accompany ... and Fried Pistachio Ice Cream for Dessert ... Snooty or not, there would be no Passive-Agressive, Silent Rejection or Disapproval ... I Guarantee, there WOULD BE, Comments ....... Since You Asked, Mr. Peterman ...

the Comic Jester ~ I'd never thought of using the dishwasher as a cooking device. Brilliant! Extrapolating that notion into a cookery book would make an amusing read.
Ivan~ I so want to get my legs under your table.
 

The usual typo, Cosmic, not Comic. Same difference. I hate to think of somebody hunting the backyard for a missing M.

Cosmic Jester, you remind me of the trick of wrapping a chuck of ground beef or a cubed steak in aluminum foil and putting it on top of the engine block of a truck and then eating it a couple hours later.  The engine block would get hot enough to cook it.  Yeah, farmed salmon is not the same.  Better than nothing, but not the same.  Frankly, there's nothing like fresh caught fish, popped into the skillet and fried.  We would go from Michigan into Northern Ontario when I was in high school and rent a cabin on a lake.  The fishing was good (walleyed pike which they called yellow pickerel), and the eating was better.

Ivan--2 words for you:  Yum, yum.                          and Lynn...walleye is the best fish ever--better than salmon!!!  Didn't appreciate it as a kid when living in Michigan, but now--when it's $15/lb (!!!!!!) I drool over it--don't have it, but drool over it.

I was served a perfect piece of poached wild coho outside at a restaurant on the river. It was moist, tender and tasty and most of the boaters mooring there looked a bit tipsy, overweight and there was not a life jacket anywhere in sight.
The dab of citrus-mango chutney did no harm.
The G&T I had (it went down like a hacksaw blade) was a reminder to specify a preference: Bombay Sapphire.

Stoney~ Now you are talking. Bombay Sapphire. O, yes please!

Years ago I was hired by a rod and reel company to go to Alaska and film a few famous folks fishing at a grand Salmon lodge in Salmon, Alaska called King Salmon Lodge. The owner, an incredibly colorful character - wild and wonderful, had a great lodge and the food, rooms, etc., along the river was spectacular. One of the guests was Chuck Yeager and I was pretty excited to direct this shoot.
I was to film them fishing for Salmon on the Brooks range where lots of Grizzlies also go to fish.
My first hint at how the shoot was going to go was the range guide that met us. Part of his face was missing but he seemed genuinely happy guiding there. I asked if he were in a plane accident as one must fly into the area in those small planes. He answered no and explained that he had had an encounter with one of the bears and was very lucky - he lived. At this point I was quite ready to say the hell with rods and reels.
The next hint was him showing us these small log cabins with very large strong mesh on the corners where the logs intersect and cross over each other or "stack". I asked why the steel bars across. At this point he asked us to follow him to another cabin. The whole bottom 4 feet of intersected logs had been torn apart by a bear trying to get in where food had been kept. Now I really wanted to go back to Idaho and get a used car assignment or maybe a food shoot.
Before I get too far, I should point out that the bush pilot assigned to us had been, the night before, partaking of quite a few beverages and was passed out by 2 a.m. My favorite memory is watching Mr. Yeager's face as he boarded the little tin foil plane and realized who the pilot was. I think he was whiter than the snow peaks that surrounded us.
So off we go to film the fishermen casting out our product gear and going to get the mighty Pacific Salmon. We also had a guide who carried a large shotgun, just in case?
We get to the spot chosen by guide and he tells us to stick to this area and have fun. He goes off a ways and the men go about getting ready to cast. I notice further up river a very large gathering of gulls, seeming to hover over a spot above the water. I ask the guide, now about 40 feet from us, what that is all about. He just answers, "Brutus". I figure it is some breed of gull I have never heard of and go about my business trying to figure out how to shoot the damn rods and reels and make this look exciting, colorful, tasteful, hmm...not boring.
All is going smoothly and the two camera men, lighting guy, with large shiny reflectors to catch the light, and, mosquitoes, are doing a great job. I am mostly trying to see how many bottles of insect repellent I can dump onto my clothing before I fume myself out cold.
Our guide is nowhere to be found but who cares? After about an hour of moving down the river I notice the huge flotilla of gulls above the water, just around the bend and behind a bunch of bushes. I let all know about it and we watch. Another fisherman, not with our group, is on the other side of the river and points to us -to the spot where the gulls are hovering. He says in a calm voice, "Brutus". Now, I am very curious what the hell Brutus is? Is it a call of the wild? The gulls? Maybe it is a gathering of rather large Salmon. I decide, as director - boss - the only female - the idiot of the group, to go and inspect this Brutus thing.
I go forward, feigning bravado I do not possess, and round the bend, where the bushes are still thick as thieves and as I get past the dense growth, I find out, too late, who Brutus is.
He is not a gull, salmon or wild call. Brutus is one of the resident bears. The biggest bear on the Island range. He is not only the tallest Grizzly I have ever seen, he is the fattest, hugest bear I have ever seen or ever want to see. It turns out, the amount of gulls hovering above these bears is indicative of how good the bears fish. Since, at that time of year when we were there, bears, trying to fatten up for winter, get down to just ripping the skin off, which has the most fat, and eating that - thowing aside the rest of the salmon which the gulls get to eat - hence the large amount of hovering birds.
I think Brutus was as shocked as I when we were suddenly just a few feet apart. Maybe the only difference was he did not piss on himself.
Backing into the bushes very quickly, I then turned and ran back to the group to inform them we needed to move away, and quickly. Just about when one of the cam guys was about to call for the guide, we heard another HUUHH, a bear grunt. We turned toward the sound and saw a young cub, coming toward us. We had been told the night before that if you see a young cut, get the hell out of there as mamma is almost always, close behind and will not take kindly to you frolicking with her kids.
We yelled for Steve, our guide, who was behind the cub somewhere, as it turns out, sound asleep from-too tired from partying the night before - with the pilot.
Suddenly, mamma appeared and we all grabbed all our gear and started walking fast, then running away from this rather uncomfortable scene. I was carrying one of the very expensive cameras and we ran up river till it was quite narrow. The guys all jumped the river and made it across. I did too, but, didn't make it quite all the way across. Turns out it was kind of deep and I dropped the cam and it disappeared under the water. Steve was catching up to us but mamma was hot on his tail. We ran up the hill and watched to see if Steve would get away. He did. She lost interest after we were far enough away from her little brat. All was fine except we, excuse me, I , had lost one of the cams.
We did end up getting the footage we needed but I had made up my mind that maybe the wild and natural shoots was not my thing to do.
I did end up with a cooler full of Salmon and went back to Sun Valley, where I was living at the time, and had a nice dinner and showing of the footage we had managed to get. I always poach my Salmon on the grill with the Salmon, whole, placed in heavy duty foil with one cup of water, 1/2 cup white wine, sprigs of dill, lemon slices and whole peppercorns. Wrapped tight, laid on the grill, covered top, for a few minutes. Side of bear, not included.

Salmon is something I have to be in the mood for, which isn't often.But there is a restaurant here that makes a poached walleye that will melt in your mouth. I must get back there soon.

Whole grain mustard is also a wonderful topping alternative to mayo.
Whole grain topped with dill weed and poached is great!

I wandered into the kitchen of the McNally Manse with Archie and we met up with Ursi who prepared us a noon repast featuring her smoked salmon with the dill-mustard sauce and some cripsy little toast points and a crisp pinot noir. We planned an afternoon swim before getting back on the case. Archiespoke of his grandfather, the Vaudevillian, whom his father never spoke of...at least in front of the Palm Beach elite.   

A mild correction and apologies to Grandfather McNally, aka Fast Freddy. Yes, smoked salmon was a different day, a breakfast with fresh bagels from Ziggy Freud's Bakery and laughing with Archie's friend, Binky. It was actually cold poached salmon and we asked Ursi's husband, Jamie the houseman to join us. Jamie is as verbose as a stone. Not a bad trait in a town of busybodies as Lolly Spindrift will attest in his gossip column. I miss Lawrence Sanders, quite the wordsmith.

jackrabbitjane I completely agree about the mustard. It is not meant as a topping but rather a seasoning--reallly lightly cover it--it helps maintain all that moisture and tenderness but works with mayo or mustard.

Now Tommy, smoked salmon is another whole department of deliciousness, and oh yes Pinot Noir, altho Champagne is always appropriate.

Garnish idea...take a couple tablespoons of capers...dried them off on paper towels and quickly saute them in 1Tbls butter 1 Tbls oil. Nice and crisp back on paper towel and wow you will wonder why you no one told you about this before.

TT............HA! I just returned from Asheville visiting my mother & brother. My mother is a librarian and she had collected 4 Lawrence Sanders books for me from their annual booksale. I was in heaven reading away. Two of them were Archie McNally books; I laughed w/ delight when I read your post. Archie McNally just makes me so happy...........he is the ultimate enjoyer of life! Thanks!
 
CHEFD................love the idea of putting the lemon slices on the bottom, I always do the top. I tried salmon on the grill & DID not like the smokiness that the grill imparted. I put them in the oven drizzled w/ my trusty balsamic. olive oil vinegraitte (why does that spelling look so off???). I always make enough to have cold salmon w/ lemon mayo the next day. Mayo, fresh lemon, salt, lots of pepper. Have w/ crackers or bread & mmmmmmmmmmmm................................. You're like our own mini cooking channel except w/ charm, wit and no annoyance or cutesypieness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hats off!
 
STONEY.....................sounds like a perfect meal. I have a long time best girlfriend who says it makes her happy to see her beautiful bottle of Bombay Sapphire glowing and ready to pour!
 
JRJANE.................I LOVE dijon mustard as a coating for chops, will try w/ the fish.

Ahhh yes, Sauteed Capers.- Sounds marvelous and will do Chef Deb- & the super chilled bubbly = big happy face on any occasion. We have a local establishment that does the Blood Orange Mimosas of bodacious flavor that has me routinely believing I can actually finish the Sunday Crossword in an honest fashion.

Thank You MISS CAROL .......
 
and MISS HAZEL, you are most Welcome'd ....... Did I ever tell you to watch out for giving me Straight Lines ???  I resisted tho' .......
 
 

As an aside, when I saw Mr. Poppers, part of the storyline was about saving Tavern on the Green and my wife and I looked at each other remembering as a young couple of southerners in the City when we stayed at the Waldorf for the first time and lunched there after shopping. The interior shots in the film brought back memories that go right along with this topic. Salmon is an elegant food. Love the color.

BEBE you are so sweet! You know how it is, you do something long enough you know a lot, but in actual life its difficult to pass the information on, even if your daughter does call everyday to discuss her dinner menu, so I am always so happy to be able to share with you guys since most of what I know I learned from someone else!

Bebe try salmon on the grill one more time wrapped really well in foil. or even just a little piece to taste it.

I love coating pork chops in mustard as well and a coupleof chicken cutlets sauteed and finished with a big gaboon of mustard & broth or wine --delicious. My favorite thing to do is mix the grainy and smooth dijons together.

Thanks again Bebe you made my day!

Horseradish does lovely things for salmon. Our favorite salmon recipe, delicious hot or cool.. or even served on a bun with lettuce. People who claim to not like horseradish all seem to love it. Taught to me by the late, lovely Vermont chef and author, Libby Hillman
 Take a rather thin salmon steak.Press handsful of grated prepared horseradish onto both sides of the steak, then press the steak into fine bread crumbs.Saute one side in butter in an oven-friendly skillet.Flip the steak in the pan. Throw a handful of shallots and a splash of white fine into the butter.Bake for 10 minutes at 375.   

My Beloved teases me that I am a River Indian as opposed to the Northern Plains Indian that my family claims to be (shout out here to the Lakota). This is because every time we go out for dinner, a rare pleasure at the moment, I have salmon. I love this wonderful fish in almost all of its culinary forms. Have never taken to smoked salmon, which would disprove my Beloved's take on my heritage.

One of the best poached salmon recipes I have found came from a mystery series. You take heavy weight tin foil or two layers of regular weight and form a pouch. Lay 4 or 5 stocks of Rosemary, place fillet on top and pour in a cup of champagne (I admit I use domestic "sparkling wine") close up the packet and place in a pre-heated 400 degree oven or grill. Poach for 10 minutes maybe a tad longer if the fillet is extra thick. It is so flavorable it needs no sauce, just a squeeze of lemon. I serve it with a salad and boiled new potatoes, even my non-fish eating Hubby loves this. It is wonerful seved cold the next day with just a touch of mayo.

By the way IVAN...yum! Love the Lea & Perrins sub for soy sauce!

Mr. P. -- being the man of great wisdom that he is -- knows how to keep us Villagers on topic.

Just make the topic food.

IVAN, IVAN is the man, if he can't do it, no one can!
 
CHEFD...............I calls em' as I sees em'.................
 
Now I'm off to town to have a life....................

A day late and and hour, or more, short I now have a double rercipe of Kraft Minute Tapioca.
 
The fluffy creamy kind where you beat the egg whites.
 
Minute Tapioca is a misnomer. But it's worth the work.
 
Now for toppings?
 
Today I'll either go with McCutcheon's (Frederick, Maryland, www.mccutcheons.com, 800.8887537) black raspberry preserves or Maury Island red raspberry jam (www.sealtlegourmetfoods.com, 800.8009490).
 
Some today, some tomorrow.
 

Once saw an episode of Two Fat Ladies where they poached salmon in red wine and garnished with orange slices. Tried it, pretty good. Its just soooo good in its classic way thought--not broken, doesn't need fixing. And again, Mr. P. nails it by mentioning cucumber salad in the same breath. Perfect accompaniment and I would venture a guess that every single one of us has a different recipe for cucmber salad..and they're all good!

Someonoe get me to the grocery store now!

Eeeew, Chefdeb~ my son 'borrowed' my fish kettle, a slender oval thing that needed two burners on the stove. Cook a whole salmon easily. In a few minutes. Cool it down, de-skin it and make a pretty cucumber slice decoration that looks like fish scales. Mega-salad, specially a diced new potato with dill mayo.

Three cheers for poached fish, cold or hot, I say.   Ya know those thick fish steaks that chic chefs insist must be only partially cooked, leaving the inside warm, mushy and bloody.
 Am I the only self-defined foodie to find this preparation unpleasant? I eat sushi. I'm fine with raw fish. I eat rare roast beef. But warm fish blood is a no-can-do.  When I ask a waitperson to ask the kitchen please to cook my fish steak to opacity, the server usually turns pale with terror or, worse yet, sneers at me. I have stopped ordering fish steaks in restaurants. I'm sorry, because some of the sauces described in menus are quite intriguing.  Can you offer reassurance that I'm not beyond the pale of civilized dining? 

ChefDeb--I always kind of enjoyed Two Fat Ladies.........would never dream of going to all the work that they inevitably did.  It always looked scrumptious, though.  I confess I also just liked seeing the Agas being used and the local pottery and crockery..........I don't think I'd ever master an Aga, however.

ginag! You are 110% correct! I NEVER serve salmon "rare" and I simply do not like fresh tuna because I'll take my carpaccio made from beef pleasse and tuna cooked all the way through requires copious amounts of anything wet to get it down.

Hazel! Sounds divine!

Carol! Two Fat Ladies was always a hoot including the motorcycle with side car and the cigarettes, and they were in fact quite adept at cooking. But you know since there is nothing new under the sun a lot of cooking shows tend to complicate rather than simplify.

and ginag...in terms of ordering what you want how you want it in a reataurant feel free to return anything special request anything or ask the server to dance the Irish jig when pouring coffee. You just would not believe what customers demand and get! Fish cooked all the way through is NOTHING!

Now  Now, MISS BEBE ... You'll turn my head ....... You're only saying those things because its true ....... And I Thank You for mentioning .......
 
 
CHEFDEB:  Don't forget the Butter ... Gives the L&P the texture of the Soy Sauce, with one tenth the Salt, and so little Estrogen, compared to Soy Products, that Men don't have to worry about their Gonads shrinking and their suddenly singing Soprano (say that fast three times)

Love salmon and have only tried it with a few of the variations mentioned.  Can't try them all at once but have made a list.  Tomorrow is Lady J's poached salmon in sparkling wine on the grill with served with dill sauce, seasoned potatoes cut in small pieces grilled beside it and a nice spinach salad.  That is if we don't get the scattered thunder storms.  Then it goes in the 400 degree oven.

Ivan I never forget the butter.

I'd rather have LOBSTAH!!!!!

Our fish lady told me this afternoon that she had had a run on salmon steaks today...hmmm. So I bought tuna steaks and will try to poach them in olive oil. I think I'll top it with muffaletta and some white balsamic-ish vinegar. Can't hoit, right?
 The new BBC series on Elizabeth David sounds like real foodie porn. I can't wait. Click on Mr. P's Elizabeth David link above for details.

PAOLOS ~
Thank you for providing the recipe yesterday... good man.
KORTHALS ~
I hope you try it and enjoy it.

CHEFD.....................I would want to be a long time, well mannered and liked customer before I would return something to the kitchen.................I have heard too many horror stories..................
 
KORTHAL..................I am buying tapioca tomorrow, you made me do it!

At schoolunches, we called tapioca frogspawn. Enjoy.

 Fish eyes.

Why does my Chef's hat given me confidence as I approach the grill? It's like I feel when I wear my Duster into a business meeting. Tools of the trade I suppose.

BEBE I understand your reticence but most of the stories you hear are just Urban Legend. Restaurant owners, mgrs, chefs & servers understand and take it in their stride when customers are not happy. Sometimes it is the fault of the kitchen sometimes confusion in ordering or sometimes, just a difficult person, but a restaurant's survival depends on repeat business and it is in their best interest just to give you exactly what you want without any of those dreadful stories. So if you order rare and it isn't or it smells funny or you weren't informed there were mushrooms in the sauce & you're allergic or you just hate it, SEND IT BACK! If you buy red socks and you get home and the socks are green.......

GREAT PLACE!

I like tuna, specifically the Italian oil-packed stuff that tastes like something.
A seared, rare and spendy piece of ahi does nothing for me in terms of texture or taste.
Sushi, or as we call it: expensive cut bait, is one thing. Undercooked salmon is another and I went, with permission, into the kitchen of our favorite Italian restaurant to show them what the "give" in a salmon filet feels like when it is cooked... just.
They were not entirely gracious but later reported that a lot less uneaten rare centers were finding their way back into the kitchen.

Brook trout are picky about their surroundings: cold, clean water or nothing.
They could shake the throne of the lobster as the king of seafood and all that is required is fire, salt and a fork and the fork is not entirely essential.

I can't believe y'all talk about food all day and
don't have any dinner music for accompaniment.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfs3BJZxKkc
 
I can't believe y'all roll up the sidewalks at 7:51
pm EST.

Thats because we're all eating Salmon and Cucumber Salad paolos, but thanks for the dinner music!

I have an excellent recipe for poached rainbow trout.
A) get the hell away
B) dredge in flour salt and pepper
C) fry in peanut oil

STONEY.....................mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...........................