4/30/2023 0 Comments Steam overcooked![]() In the history of Absolute Best Tests, the sous vide method has rarely raked in top honors (see: steak, hard-boiled eggs). (I’d guess this was because the cooking temperature wasn’t quite as low as, say, sous vide.) The fish was slightly less tender than some of the other fillets, but so delicious, I barely noticed. ![]() ![]() Internal Texture: Oil-poached salmon was the sleeper hit of this whole thing. Otherwise, determining when the oil has reached 180 degrees Fahrenheit is at best confusing, and at worst, could result in a lot of oil past its smoke point. This produced a wonderfully nuanced piece of fish with concentrated flavor layered with grassy olive oil notes and the perfect amount of salt.Įase of Method: I would recommend this method only to a home cook with an instant-read thermometer. The method is simple, if extravagant: Bring a saucepan of olive oil-enough to cover the fillet-to a gentle simmer, around 180 degrees Fahrenheit, then add the seasoned salmon and cook for 13 to 15 minutes. I never worked up the courage-or olive oil reinforcements-to give it a go until this round of Absolute Best Tests, but man am I glad I did. This memory became wedged in the recesses of my mind: decadent, intimidating, frivolous, impossibly pink. There’s a lot to unpack there, but in the spirit of filing my draft on time, I’m going to skip ahead to the relevant bit, which is this: I once saw someone poach a piece of salmon in olive oil. Skin Crispness: None to speak of in the future, I’d use skinless fillets for this method.Īs a child, I regularly faked sick so I could stay home from school and watch cooking shows. Internal Texture: The fillet cooked en papillote was full of flavor and tender, despite bare-bones seasoning and a layer of albumin that hinted otherwise. (I used a finger to press the center of the packet and judged by feel.) And perhaps most importantly, salmon en papillote provided the opportunity to unwrap a personalized gift before tasting.Įase of Method: The main drawback was the tricky business of determining whether the salmon had finished cooking, since it lurked beneath an opaque layer of parchment. The close quarters created the opportunity for deeply flavored fish were I not conducting a strict experiment, I could’ve stuffed it with aromatics and seasonings, like ginger and garlic. The steam trapped by the parchment seal ensured that the fillet was juicy. In addition to providing endless opportunities to say en papillote to my significant other and dog, cooking salmon this way-folded into a parchment paper packet, then roasted at 400 degrees Fahrenheit-offered many benefits. Hey, who unwrapped my personalized gift? Photo by Ella Quittner En Papillote Within each category, methods are presented in alphabetical order, because I thought about this too hard, for too long. The higher the heat, the more quickly the flesh contracts, and the more albumin becomes visible.” In other words, more albumin can be an indicator of a particularly aggressive cook method.īelow, I’ve broken out the 12 methods into “Most Delicious,” “Most Efficient,” and “Fine But I’m Not Renting a Plane to Skywrite About Them Anytime Soon,” categories, based on the results of side-by-side tastings. As salmon cooks, the flesh contracts, pushing out albumin to the fillet’s surface. The water inside the fibers of the cloth is pushed out as you squeeze the fibers closer together. Alex Delany at Bon Appétit explains: “Think of what happens when you wring out a wet towel. The smaller the instrument, the prettier the fillet.”)įinally, a note on albumin, or that white coagulated protein goop you’ll sometimes see on salmon: It’s perfectly fine to eat, if unpleasant to peruse. (Another clever way to tell if salmon is done, according to Food Editor Emma Laperruque: “This line-cook trick works almost as well as a thermometer: Pierce the fish with a cake tester, skewer, or paring knife for a few seconds, then touch the metal-cold is not quite ready, warm is good to go, hot is get that fish out of the oven ASAP. ![]() This means just opaque all the way through, flaking easily when gently pressed. My goal for each fillet was a perfect medium just on the side of rare, between 120 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant-read thermometer. For others that involved high heat, I used avocado oil. Photo by Ella Quittnerįor all 12 tests, I used boneless, skin-on, center-cut salmon salmon fillets, which were roughly six ounces apiece. ![]()
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