Hello! Absolutely love your blog! I've made it a goal to eat healthier this year and your blog has helped me so much, so thank you!! 💕 Just wanted to know how exactly do you poach salmon? I've heard of poaching eggs, but never salmon before. Sending much love your way~
Hi friend! I’m really glad you enjoy the blog 👍 Poaching is a quick, healthy and simple way to cook fish, eggs or even chicken. One of my favourite memories is of childhood summer picnics of cold poached salmon eaten with a lovely green salad, flavourful sliced tomatoes and still-slightly-warm, tiny new potatoes. Perfect! Poaching leaves the fish moist and tender and is ever so easy to do.
There are various methods, I believe (I know my mum did this differently) but I like to do things as follows, which now I think about it, perhaps should be called steam-poaching as it’s sort of a bit of both methods!
I use a small, deep-sided frying pan because its shape allows me to use a fish slice to gently lift out the fillets without breaking them when they’re cooked through; saucepans with higher sides make this more difficult. The sides do need to be fairly high, though, as you’re going to be using enough liquid to come perhaps two thirds of the way up the fish fillets. The pan you use also needs to have a lid.
You can use whatever aromatics you like but I’d suggest sliced onion, spring onion or shallot, perhaps celery and carrot or just lemon or lime slices and herbs. You could use dill or parsley and in this case, I do find fresh herbs rather than dried are ideal. You could alternatively use Asian flavours like lemongrass, lime leaves, root ginger and garlic if you like.
As regards the liquid, you can use just water or do half and half water with white wine. How much liquid you use depends on how big your pan is and how many fillets you are cooking- as I said, you want it to come about two thirds of the way up the salmon fillets.
So, season the fish with a little sea salt and freshly ground pepper and put them to one side. Next, put your aromatics in the pan along with your liquid and let them come to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and add the fish. Cover the pan and simply allow the flavourful poaching stock and hot steam to cook the fish. Depending on the thickness of your fish fillets, this will take 5-10 minutes so start to check after five.
Hope that helps! Good luck with the healthy lifestyle- well done for taking care of your lovely self 💕
