Tricks of my Trade

Boiled Salmon

To make a court-bouillon, put about 2 quarts cold water in a deep kettle and add ¼ cup vinegar or the juice of 1 or 2 lemons, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 onion, chopped, 1 carrot, chopped, 1 bay leaf, a little thyme, a few sprigs parsley, a few stalks celery, and a few peppercorns. Put in a 3- to 4-pound piece of salmon,bring to the boil, and simmer for 30 to 35 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the fish in the cooking liquor with the pan partly covered for 10 to 12 minutes, If the salmon is to be served cold, remove the cover when the liquor has become warm and leave the fish in the court-bouillon until cold. Chill in the refrigerator after removing from the pan.

Another bête noire of many people is the problem of serving boiled salmon. I'm sure the tricks we use in the hotel kitchen will also help you in your own kitchen. The piece of salmon will naturally lie on one of its flat sides on the serving platter. If you attempt to slice straight down through fish and bone as you do when dicing uncooked fish, you are going to run into trouble as well as bones. The fish invariably breaks apart, and unattractively. Here is the correct way to carve salmon. Be sure all the water has drained from the fish before it is placed on the serving plater. Carefully remove the skin and the dark flesh next to the skin. (Although this dark meat is edible, it is very rich and oily and usually indigestible.) Dip a thin, sharp knife into warm water. Holding the knife parallel to the platter, slit the fish from edge to center just above the bones, to detach the flesh from them. Turn the platter around and repeat, working from the other edge to the center. The flesh thus loosened from the bones should lie in place and not be the least disarranged. To serve, cut through the top half of the fish just to the bone, making pieces about two inches wide, and lift up each piece (already detached from the bones) onto the plate which you are serving. When the whole top part is served, lift off and set the bones aside. Cut and serve the bottom section the same way, but slip the knife between skin and flesh as each piece is removed from platter to plate.

When cooking a whole fish, you really need a fish kettle—a long, narrow utensil having a rack to hold the fish and handles to lift it out. We call this a saumonière. But because a whole fish may curl in cooking and then not lie flat on the serving dish, here's another trick. Place it on a thin wooden board, the right size to fit on the rack in the kettle, wrap the board and fish in a piece of cheesecloth, and tie in place with soft string.

Boiled Whole Salmon

Clean a 10-to20-pound salmon, place it on a thin wooden board that will fir on the rack of the saumonière, or fish keltic, wrap the fish and board in a piece of cheesecloth, and tie in place with a soft string. Put this in the kettle with enough water generously to cover. For 3 to 4 quarts water, add ½ cup vinegar (or the juice of 2 or 3 lemons), 2 tablespoons salt, 2 onions, chopped, 2 carrots, chopped, 2 bay leaves, a few sprigs parsley. a few stalks celery, and 10 peppercorns. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 1 to 1 ½ hours, allowing about 10 minutes for each pound of fish. Turn off the heat and leave the salmon in the water, covered for the first ½ hour, then uncovered, until the fish is cold. Lift out, drain well, and remove the string and cheesecloth.

Here is how to prepare the salmon for the buffet where it will probably be served. After the string and cheesecloth have been removed, take off the skin and the dark flesh from the top of the fish. Then very carefully turn the fish onto the serving platter so that the side you have skinned is underneath. Remove the skin and dark flesh from the side now uppermost. This is le roi du buffet, and frequently the king is garnished very elaborately with tarragon leaves, chervil, parsley, and chopped hard-cooked eggs. The salmon should be covered with aspic, and the whole chilled in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, garnish with tomatoes stuffed with diced cucumber, nests of lettuce with vegetable salad made of cooked peas, diced cooked carrots and turnips, tiny cooked siring beans, and small Limas, with halves of stuffed eggs and ripe and stuffed olives