To Boil a Turbot
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fish
Clean the turbot thoroughly, washing the inside until perfectly clean.
Rub a little coarse sea salt over the outside to remove slime.
Make a shallow incision in the thickest part of the back, avoiding the fins.
Poach
In a fish kettle, dissolve the salt and saltpetre in enough cold spring water to cover the fish.
Place the turbot, white side up, in the kettle and bring the water to a slow boil.
Skim off any scum that rises and let the water simmer gently.
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
- Turbot
- The main fish, which becomes flaky and tender as it cooks gently in the water.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the fish and draws off surface slime when rubbed over the skin.
The step that matters
Bringing the water to a slow boil and keeping it at a gentle simmer. Boiling the water hard can break up the delicate flesh and toughen it, while a gentle simmer cooks the fish evenly and keeps it moist. Skimming off scum keeps the broth clear.
“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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