To Boil Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the poaching liquid
Fill a pot with 1 quart of water.
Add 1 oz of coarse sea salt and 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the water.
Heat the water until it is just below boiling, avoiding bubbles.
Poach the fish
Carefully add the fish to the pot.
Cook the fish gently until it is done, ensuring the skin does not crack.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity to the poaching water, which helps the fish keep a firm, pleasant texture.
The step that matters
Heat the water just below boiling. Water at a full boil churns hard and can break the fish apart and crack the skin. Keeping it just below boiling lets the fish cook gently and evenly, so the flesh stays tender and intact.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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