Jane Grigson's Fish Book - Jane Grigson [148]
Recipes for salmon and salmon trout are interchangeable (except of course where 1 kg/2 lb of middle-cut is required, which can only be provided by salmon, as even the biggest salmon trout are no more than 2 kg/4 lb in all). Especially in some of the new recipes, quite small escalopes are required which can come equally well from both.
The problem with Salmo salar and his relations is that although they are rich – and therefore filling – they also have a tendency to dryness. In the past this has been balanced mainly by unctuous sauces made with egg yolk, butter, cream, and by crisp salads of cucumber or sharp sorrel purées and sauces. In the last twenty years, chefs and cooks have concentrated on not overcooking the fish in the first place, in applying heat so that the salmon sets in the centre rather than cooks to the opaque, flaky style of the old days. The new taste for eating salmon ‘cooked’ by other means, citrus juices or vinegar or salt and sugar cures, means that we have come to expect a new freshness in salmon.
When you prepare the salmon, you should first scale it. Clean out the cavity, saving any roe, especially the hard roe (see Caviare). If you have the head removed, save it for soup and stock.
HOW TO DEAL WITH A WHOLE SALMON
One of my most persistent early memories of Three Choirs Festival at Gloucester is, I am ashamed to say, not the music but the spectacle of a whole boiled salmon, a large one, consumed at a luncheon party. It came from the Severn or Wye, and tasted glorious. The cooking of it must have been agony.
Salmon these days seem to be smaller, or at least only the smaller ones seem to be sold in one piece. Larger sizes go for steaks and fillets. And in spite of the perfection of that great salmon, fifty years ago, I would rather prepare three 2-kg (4-lb) grilse salmon for a party, than one salmon at 6 kg (12 lb). My feeling is that the smaller ones taste better, and make for easier serving as well.
Since the point of the following methods is to keep the flavours of the salmon inside the salmon, they are only suitable for wild salmon and the very best farmed salmon. Lower quality fish needs purifying, as it were, by fire: open it up, season and/or marinade it in advance and grill it as in the next recipe. That is the only way to transform the flat river-bottom taste and the soft mushy texture into something worth eating.
If the salmon is too long for the fish kettle or oven, cut off the head and cook it separately (or keep it for soup). When dishing it up, the separation can be disguised by a ruff or parsley, or bay or cucumber.
METHOD 1: With a Fish Kettle
Builders and architects make kitchens too small: equipment manufacturers collude by making pans and machines too small. They have a picture of dolls cooking in a doll’s kitchen. Break out and buy a fish kettle. You will find it surprisingly useful for other things.
Keep the measurements of the fish kettle in your head when you buy a salmon, which you should have cleaned and scaled by the fishmonger.
Fill the kettle half-full of water. In it, dissolve 175 g (6 oz) coarse salt for every 2 litres (4½ pt). Salting at this strength, which is even stronger than seawater, has an excellent effect on fish without spoiling its flavour. You can make up a court bouillon* if you like – wine, vinegar, vegetables, aromatics – but I now conclude that there is no point in it. A good salmon keeps more of its good flavour when cooked in brine.
Put the fish on to the strainer tray and lower it into the kettle. Put a long dish or board on top to keep it submerged. Add extra water and salt, if need be, to cover it.
Place the kettle across two burners on the stove.
TO EAT HOT Suspend a thermometer in the pan. Switch on the heat and bring the water to 65°C (150°F). Make sure it never goes above 80°C (175°F) while the salmon cooks: if it shows signs of doing so, and you cannot make a swift adjustment to the burners, pour in a little cold water.
Assuming the fish to