Clean and scale a 10 pound salmon, lay it on a thin wooden board that will fit on the rack of a fish kettle, wrap the fish and board in cheesecloth, and tie the fish to the board with string.
Prepare a court-bouillon with 1 quart water, 1/2 cup vinegar or the juice of 2 or 3 lemons, 1 to 2 tablespoons salt, 2 onions and 2 carrots, both chopped, 2 bay leaves, a small bunch of parsley, a few stalks of celery with the leaves, and 10 peppercorns. Simmer the court-bouillon for 1/2 hour and cool it. Lower the salmon onto the rack in the kettle, bring the court-bouillon to a boil and simmer the salmon for 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending upon the thickness of the fish, until it flakes at the touch of a fork. Turn off the heat and leave the salmon in the stock, covered, for half an hour. Lift out the fish, drain it well and carefully remove the string and cheesecloth. Serve it with hollandaise sauce.
This exclusive recipe is pulled directly from Gourmet's archive. It has not been re-tested by our food editors since it was published in the magazine, but it's a pretty good indication of the kinds of things we once cooked—and ate—with great pleasure.
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