Michael Symon's Live to Cook_ Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen - Michael Symon [61]
4 6-ounce skinless salmon fillets
Pour the orange and lemon juices into a nonreactive saucepan and simmer over medium heat to reduce by a third, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, and salt. Return the liquid to a gentle simmer and whisk in the butter a few cubes at a time until they’re all incorporated, whisking continuously.
Bring the butter to 130°F—using an instant read thermometer to gauge the temperature—and adjust the heat to maintain this temperature. Submerge the salmon and poach it until it reaches an internal temperature of 110°F, 15 to 25 minutes. Remove the fillets to paper towels to drain before serving.
GRILLED RED SNAPPER WITH GRAPE LIVES AND AVGOLEMONO
This snapper gets briefly marinated in lemon and olive oil, wrapped in brined grape leaves, then grilled, and it’s served with a traditional Greek sauce of egg and lemon. Simple preparation, bold straightforward flavors—a simple, fantastic dish.
I love grape leaves, and my favorite way to use them is with fish on the grill. Any fish can be wrapped in grape leaves; they give the fish a briny flavor that reinforces its oceany background. They also help to keep the fish moist and protect it from charring. The grape leaves pick up some char, however, and this really enhances their flavor. Any lean meat would benefit from this treatment. I’ve sometimes wrapped lamb loin in grape leaves.
I prefer buying jarred brined grape leaves imported from Greece rather than brining my own; it’s hard to find leaves that are tender enough. You can purchase jarred grape leaves in supermarkets and specialty grocery stores, or they can be ordered online (see Sources).
Serves 4
2 2-pound red snappers, scaled and gutted
2 lemons, halved
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
¾ cup olive oil
Kosher salt
20 grape leaves (from 1 16-ounce jar)
1 cup shrimp stock or Shellfish Stock
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
Cut four horizontal slits down each side, through the skin and into the flesh, of each snapper.
Juice 1 lemon and whisk the juice together with the oregano and half of the olive oil.
Salt each fish liberally and place in a nonreactive container. Pour the lemon-oregano marinade over the fish and let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, turning once during that time.
On a work surface, lay out 10 grape leaves, making sure to overlap them to make a “sheet” that is as wide as the fish and long enough to wrap around it one and a half times. Roll one fish in the grape leaves. Repeat to wrap the other fish.
Light a medium-hot fire in your grill.
In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the remaining lemon halves, the stock, and the garlic and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Whisk together the egg and yolks and then whisk into the stock mixture.
Return the pan to the stovetop over low heat and stir the sauce until it thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Make sure you stir constantly and that the sauce doesn’t get too hot; if it simmers, the eggs will scramble. When the sauce is thickened, take it off the heat and set it in a warm spot on the stove.
Brush the fish with the remaining olive oil. Place the fish on the grill and cook for 4 minutes per side, making sure not to burn the grape leaves, until the fish is cooked through. Remove the fish from the grill, place on a serving plate, and top with the sauce.
Cooking whole fish on the bone is the easiest way to cook fish at home! The fish stays moist so there’s less danger of overcooking it, and cooking it on the bone enhances the fish’s natural sweetness. Look for 1- to 2-pound varieties of walleye, whitefish, trout, striped bass, or snapper.
The Power of the Hot Vinaigrette
When we think of vinaigrette we almost always think of an oil-and-vinegar-based dressing for cold preparations—salads, greens, or cold vegetables. And of course a vinaigrette is great in such cases. But what I love most is to finish a hot dish, a fish or a meat, with a vinaigrette I’ve made right