Poached Salmon with Lemon Butter Sauce

Updated July 06, 2016

Chef

Cookbook

French Food, American Accent

Published by Clarkson Potter

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This image courtesy of Joseph DeLeo

Salmon fillets take to poaching beautifully, and it is a snap to turn the poaching liquid into a glossy, buttery sauce. For extra flavor, sprinkle the fish with 1 to 2 teaspoons chopped herbs (dill, tarragon, or chervil, or a mixture of these) before poaching, add a bit of lobster syrup to the poaching liquid. This sauce is lighter than a classic french beurre blac, which it resembles.

This preparation may be used as well for cod, halibut, and other fish steaks or whole fish, and scallops.

Lemon butter sauce can be thick or thin, depending on the ratio of stock to butter. For a thicker sauce, use 3 tablespoons stock and 4 to 6 tablespoons butter.

For cold poached salmon:

• Cool the poached fish at room temperature

• Place it on a rack or plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled through, from 1 hour to overnight

• Serve with Mustard-Dill Sauce

Lemon butter sauce additions:

• 2 to 3 tablespoons diced tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, or blanched carrots

• 2 tablespoons roughly chopped pale green celery leaves

• 2 tablespoons sliced scallions

• 2 to 3 mashed roasted garlic cloves

• 1 to 2 tablespoons french dijon or whole-grain mustard (especially good with scallops, skate, salmon, or swordfish)

Order of preparation:

• Poach the salmon and keep warm.

• Prepare the lemon butter sauce with the poaching liquid.

Makes4 servings

Cooking Methodpoaching

CostModerate

Total Timeunder 30 minutes

Make Ahead RecipeYes

Kid FriendlyYes

One Pot MealYes

OccasionBuffet, Casual Dinner Party, Formal Dinner Party

Recipe Coursemain course

Dietary Considerationegg-free, gluten-free, peanut free, soy free, tree nut free

Five Ingredients or LessYes

Mealdinner

Taste and Texturebuttery, creamy, herby, savory, tangy

Ingredients

4 salmon fillets, 6 to 8 ounces each
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Poaching liquid to nearly cover fish, such as Chicken Stock, half Chicken Stock and half Fish Stock, or half water and half wine
2 to 3 tablespoons finely diced shallots
Poaching liquid (above)
2 to 3 tablespoons cold butter
Few drops of lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped dill, tarragon, or chervil, or a mixture of these (optional)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

For the salmon:
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
Place the fish in a medium to large roasting pan or ovenproof casserole and add the liquid to come seven eighths of the way up the sides of the fish. Place in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, depending on thickness of the fillets. When done, the salmon should be opaque and firm to the touch. Remove from the liquid and cover with foil to keep warm, reserving the poaching liquid for the lemon butter sauce.
For the lemon butter sauce:
In the same pan the fish was cooked in, add the shallots to the poaching liquid. Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil and reduce until slightly syrupy, 12 to 15 minutes. Whisk in the butter, lemon juice, and optional herbs. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
To serve, place a fillet on each serving plate and spoon the lemon butter sauce on top.

1996 Debra Ponzek and Joan Schwartz

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