Category Menus & Recipes

Sous Vide Cooking is Back and Better Than Ever: Salmon Recipe

One method of cooking that has been around (primarily in France) since the 1970s is making a big comeback in the United States these days. French for “under vacuum”, Sous Vide is a method of cooking that involves SLOWLY cooking food at a relatively low temperature – some recipes call for a cooking time of 72 hours! Ingredients are placed in airtight plastic bags and left in hot water (usually around 60°C or 140°F). Because the ingredients do not have direct contact with the water, when properly sealed, sous vide food retains its nutrients! Also, because the ingredients are completely submerged in the water, sous vide food cooks evenly all the way through! The results are an amazing texture and powerful flavor that has been said to be “Life Changing”.

Don’t worry, we are not about to make you stand over the stove for 72 hours. In fact, this recipe provides a twist to sous vide you would expect from Tim “The Toolman” Taylor. By slightly raising the water temperature, we can cut the cooking time. All without straying from the sous vide benefits! This recipe will leave you with the most evenly cooked salmon EVER. And this traditional beurre blanc, literally translated from French as “white butter”, is a rich, butter sauce infused with just the right balance of mustard and tarragon.

Parties That Cook debuted this Salmon Sous Vide recipe THIS SEASON as a menu option for its team building events and cooking parties, and the feedback has been fantastic!

Salmon Sous Vide with Mustard-Tarragon Beurre Blanc
This recipe can also be found in our entree recipes section.
For more tried-and-true entree recipes, check out the PTC main dish list!

Ingredients
Salmon:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
2 Tablespoons tarragon, chopped + 8 sprigs for garnish
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 six-ounce center cut filets of salmon, skin off, pin bones removed
Ice cubes to maintain water bath temperature
Vacuum sealer and bags

Mustard Tarragon Beurre Blanc:
1 cup dry white wine
¼ cup vermouth
3 shallots, sliced thin
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cut into small cubes and kept cold
2 Tablespoons tarragon, chopped
2 Tablespoons chives, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Methods/Steps
Preheat a water bath to 160ºF. Keep a thermometer hooked to the water bath to ensure the temperature remains constant. Add ice cubes as needed to regulate temperature.

Salmon:
Combine the olive oil, garlic, parsley, tarragon, salt and pepper in a small bowl and pour over the salmon. Massage oil all over the salmon. Transfer the salmon to  vacuum packing bags, 2 filets per bag, and seal using the food saver. Submerge the bags in the water bath and set a timer for 12 minutes. Make sure the temperature remains constant!

Make Sauce: In a small sauce pan, combine the wine, vermouth, and shallots. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Add the Dijon and whisk to combine. Turn the heat to low or simmer and slowly add the cold butter one cube at a time, whisking constantly. Once the butter has melted add another cube and whisk. Repeat until all of the butter has been incorporated. Strain the sauce into a small bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place over a low simmering pot of water until ready to serve. When ready to serve add the chopped herbs, lemon zest/juice and salt.

Serve: Remove the filets from the bags and place on the serving plate. Spoon some of the mustard sauce onto each filet and garnish with a sprig of tarragon.

This recipe serves 8.

The Perfect Cocktail Party Appetizer: Buckwheat Blinis with House Smoked Trout and Sour Cream

We are smack in the middle of San Francisco’s Cocktail Week! Presented by the Barbary Coast Conservancy of the American Cocktail, and in its third year, SF Cocktail Week is prided as the World’s First Cocktail Week. Cocktail fans and aficionados can attend various special events such as classes on cocktails, booze-related educational seminars, a cocktail crawl, distillery tour, and cocktail cookout! Check out the full schedule of events here.

Of course, this week is also choc full of cocktail parties. But why should the fun end after this week? Throw your own cocktail party, and keep the fun going until those Holiday parties take over! Keep in mind, guests need to eat. Solution: an appetizer of Buckwheat Blinis with Smoked Trout and Sour Cream. Trust me, they are AMAZING, and are sure to be a hit with co-workers, friends, and family! Be sure to save this recipe, because Buckwheat Blinis transition seamlessly from Fall to Winter Holiday parties.

Buckwheat Blinis with House Smoked Trout and Sour Cream
This Parties That Cook recipe can also be found here.

Ingredients

Trout Brine and Smoke Mixture
1 cup kosher salt
2 quarts of water
2 whole fresh trout (about 6 ounces)
1/2 cup raw rice
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 sticks cinnamon
4 large strips of orange rind

Buckwheat Blinis
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large eggs, separated
1 cup milk
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Garnish
1 cup crème fraîche
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Chive tips for garnish

Methods/Steps

Brine: Dissolve salt in water in a large bowl. Place the fish in brine. Let the fish soak in the brine for 20 minutes. Remove from brine, pat dry.

Smoke Trout: Line a 12-14 inch wok with aluminum foil, allowing 4 inches of overhang to seal around lid. Put rice, brown sugar cinnamon and orange peel in the bottom of the foil lined wok. Set a round cake rack or pan about 3 inches above the smoking mixture (you may need to make a ring from foil to support the rack). Cover the rack with a piece of foil and place the trout on the foil in a single layer. Place the cover on the wok, crimp the overhanging foil around the lid to completely seal the wok and to prevent steam from escaping. Turn the heat to high, smoke for 10 minutes then turn off the heat and leave for another 5 minutes. Remove trout from smoker and remove skin from the trout. Gently pull the flesh off the bone and break the meat into small pieces. Set aside.

Blini Batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, milk and melted butter. Pour into flour mixture, whisk just to combine. Set aside.

Beat Egg Whites: Using a hand or stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Do not over mix. Some egg white can still be visible.

Cook Blinis: Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Drop 1 heaping tablespoon of batter into skillet for each blini.(Make the blinis the size of a silver dollar).  Cook until blinis are covered with holes and have set, 1 to 2 minutes.  Flip; cook until brown, about 1 minute more.  Repeat with remaining batter.  Keep finished blinis warm by covering loosely with foil.

Garnish: With a fork, mix together the crème fraîche, lemon juice and salt.  Adjust seasoning if necessary. Pour into a squeeze bottle.

Serve: Top blinis with a piece of smoked trout  and squeeze a dollop of crème fraîche on top. Feel free to try fun designs, too!  Garnish with two sprigs of chive.

Makes about 32 blinis.

Check out more great cocktail party and Holiday party appetizers in our Appetizer Recipes Library!