Perfect Poached Salmon In A Bernaise Sauce

I am rushing around this morning baking like crazy for the week ahead.  Yesterday I made the traditional black beans for the Christmas Day family lunch as well as cocktail cheese biscuits AND this easy poached salmon for dinner.  I bought a piece large enough to use the leftovers for the salmon mousse I will be making tomorrow for Madame Mere's guests from out of town.  Yes, MM is entertaining in her new apartment already! who would have thought...

This recipe was perfect and very easy to make.  The salmon should be cold so plan ahead, but it is also very good at room temperature.  I have to confess that  I simply did not have the time to cool it properly and I made it primarily to have leftovers for the the salmon mousse I will be making today.   One caveat, though...the cooking time in the recipe is different from that in the video.  Bake it for 15 minutes unless you like a  medium rare salmon which is very sophisticated but not to my liking.   It will still be very moist.

I love Alex Hitz but he is a big proponent of using salted butter in his cooking and I am not.  I prefer to control the salt myself and I have been cooking too long to change all my recipes now.  It is silly to buy one pound of salted butter just to make his recipe, so adjust the salt in the Bernaise sauce accordingly if you decide to use unsalted.

The recipe appears in this month's House Beautiful.

Perfect Poached Salmon With A Bernaise Sauce

For the Poached Salmon

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons minced shallots

2 pounds boneless, skinless salmon

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

1½ cups white wine

2 tablespoons salted butter, cut into quarters

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Add 1 tablespoon of shallots to a 9" x 13" baking dish and spread them out evenly.

Season the salmon on each side with the salt and pepper, then place it in the baking dish. Spread the remaining shallots on top. Pour the white wine over the salmon and dot the fish with the butter. Lightly press a sheet of wax paper onto the top of the salmon.

Bake the salmon for 10 to 12 minutes, (notice in the video he says 13-15 mins.) until cooked through but still rare. Remove it from the oven, pour off and discard the liquid, and let the salmon cool. When cooled, cover the fish with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 3 hours or up to 3 days. Serve with the béarnaise sauce.

For the Béarnaise Sauce

Yield: 1 cup

Ingredients

¼ cup white wine

¼ cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon minced shallots

1½ teaspoons dried tarragon

⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

⅛ teaspoon plus ½ teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter

4 egg yolks

1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 pinch ground white pepper

Directions

1. In a large, heavy saucepan over high heat, combine the white wine, vinegar, shallots, tarragon, black pepper, and ⅛ teaspoon salt and boil until the mixture is thick and sticky, like syrup. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan.

3. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, combine the egg yolks, water, lemon juice, ½ teaspoon salt, and white pepper. Process until thick, about 2 minutes.

4. When the butter has melted and is bubbling, pour it slowly into the food processor, with the processor running, until an emulsion forms.

5. Remove the sauce to a warm bowl, stir in the tarragon mixture, and serve immediately.

Top photo House Beautiful
other Lindaraxa