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court-bouillon poaching liquid (recipe follows)
mousseline sauce—optional (recipe follows)
garnish
Procedure
1. Rinse the fish in running water. If it is too large, cut it in half crosswise as described
above. It is helpful to wrap a large fish in a single layer of cheesecloth or a thin kitchen towel to
aid in lifting it out of the poaching liquid. To make sure you have enough liquid to cover the fish,
place the fish in the cooking pot, cover with water, then measure how much water you used. That
determines the amount of poaching liquid you want to prepare. Let the fish warm up 30 minutes
before putting it into the boiling liquid so as not to reduce the liquid’s temperature too much.
2. Bring the poaching liquid to a boil over high heat and with great care ease the fish into
it. Keep the heat high until the liquid comes back to a good simmer, then turn it down to medium
or lower until the liquid barely simmers. Cover the pot and start the timer. A large eight to ten-
pound fish takes 50 to 60 minutes, a smaller fish anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes to cook. Fillets
take 20 to 30 minutes. The only way to tell for certain the fish is done is with a thermometer.
Aim for an internal temperature, measured in the center of the thickest part, of 140°F (60°C).
Remove the pot from the heat just before the temperature reaches that. It continues climbing for
a few more minutes in the hot liquid.
3. Cool the fish covered in the poaching liquid until you can handle it. (If you are short of
time, you can take the fish out of the liquid now and air cool it.) Transfer the cooled court-
bouillon into a labeled freezing container and freeze for future use.
4. Very gently lift the fish from the liquid. At this stage it is not yet firm and may fall
apart if you handle it carelessly. Transfer to a large baking sheet or tray and chill for several
hours. If it doesn't fit in your refrigerator, chill it on a thick bed of ice.
5. While the fish is chilling, prepare the optional mousseline sauce.
6. Remove the chilled fish from the refrigerator. Peel the skin off with the help of a fork,
starting at the tail end. If the fish has a lot of dark red meat, scrape it off with a small knife or
scoop it out, if too deep, and give it to the resident cats. (It has too strong a flavor for most
people.) Also scrape away any gray surface substance so only the fine pink coloration of the fish
shows.
7. Now is the time to transfer the fish to a serving platter. If you have an attractive platter,
use it as is. If you don't, prepare a bed of greens on any large flat container, tray or cutting board
covering it completely. Flat leaves of any attractive greens or a bed of parsley are suitable.
Gently place the fish on the bed of greens and cover with a thin glaze of mousseline sauce, using
a small icing spatula and serve the extra on the side in a bowl.
8. The fish is now ready to be garnished. It is almost mandatory to garnish a whole fish
but over-garnishing is a mistake. It takes the focus away from the fish itself. Slices of colorful
contrasting vegetables, fruits, sprigs of herbs, hard-cooked egg slices, olives or edible flowers
artistically arranged around and on top of the fish are a few of the choices. Slices of lemon or
lime are particularly appropriate.
9. Refrigerate the fish if you don't serve it within the next hour or two (depending how
warm your storage area is). If your platter is too big for the refrigerator, set it in a large tub or
sink on a bed of crushed ice until serving time. Cover the fish and make sure no cats are in the
same room. It is amazing what even the gentlest cat will do when confined in close proximity to
a source of one of its favorite foods.
play © erdosh 112
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