Poached Whole Salmon

Recipe by: Colman Andrews | from The Country Cooking of Ireland

Cookstr

Course: Main Course

Total Time: Under 1 Hour

Skill Level: Moderate

Cost: Moderate

Photo by: Joseph De Leo

A necessity for making this dish correctly is a fish poacher or deep elongated baking dish (with a cover) large enough to hold the salmon with a little room around the sides—typically at least 20 in/50 cm long and 5 in/12 cm deep.

Yield: Serves 8 to 10

INGREDIENTS

12 cups/3 L Fish Stock
2 cups/475 ml dry white wine
Salt
1 whole 6-to 7-lb/2.5-to 3-kg salmon, wild-caught if possible and preferably with head on, cleaned and scaled
Lemon slices for garnish (optional)
Green Mayonnaise for serving

Directions

Put 8 cups/2 L of the stock and the wine into a large fish poacher and season to taste with salt. Cover, then place over two burners on the stove. Bring just to a boil over high heat.

Meanwhile, wrap the salmon in several thicknesses of cheesecloth, then tie the ends with kitchen twine. Put the remaining 4 cups/1 L of stock into a small pot and bring to a boil over high heat, for use as needed.

Carefully lower the salmon into the poacher. Add more hot stock, if needed, to cover the salmon entirely, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the salmon is just cooked through, about 30 minutes. Remove the poacher from the heat and set aside until the salmon and its liquid cool to room temperature.

Carefully remove the salmon from the poacher, holding the cheesecloth by the ends, and transfer to a cutting board, then gently cut off and discard cheesecloth. Keep the skin on, or carefully remove it from the top side of the fish, leaving it intact on the head and tail.

Garnish the salmon with lemon slices, if you like, and serve at room temperature with the mayonnaise.

Editor's Note

Nutritional information is based on 10 servings, using a 6lb whole salmon, 1 teaspoon of added salt, but does not include Fish Stock or Green Mayonnaise. For nutritional information on Fish Stock or Green Mayonnaise, please follow the links above.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Nutrients per serving (% daily value)

Calories 382kcal (19%)

Calcium 17mg (2%)

Vitamin C 7mg (12%)

Vitamin A 0mcg RAE (0%)

Potassium 662mg

Magnesium 50mg

Protein 37g

Sugar 0g

Fiber 0g

Total Carbohydrate 0g