Butter Poaching Technique
Abigail Tyrie
Once the water has warmed a bit (about 2 minutes), add one piece of your unsalted butter. Whisk the butter and water slowly until the butter is completely melted into the water. Repeat this step with the next slice of butter.
Be attentive to the poaching process; the lobster tails should be cooked just until opaque. Ensure the poaching liquid is at a gentle simmer, and consider checking doneness a few minutes before the recommended time to prevent overcooking.
Actually, I do know why. It is the elephant in the room. Every time a chef or cooking personality extols the idea of gently cooking fish in a flavorful fat or oil, if you listen clearly you can hear most of the audience whisper: What on earth am I going to do with all that excess butter?
The answer is the same as it is with fryer oil: Save it and use it again. In both butter poaching and frying, you simply run the melted butter or oil through a paper towel to strain out any bits and into a container. You can leave the oil on the counter, but keep the butter in the fridge.
Why not use salted butter? Well, you could, but I find that in many cases using salted butter results in very salty fish. Professionally, I never use salted butter because I want to control the amount of salt. I recommend that you do, too.
You gently cook the fish, too, so it will not seize up like fish tossed into boiling water, or over-fried. You get that pretty flake, and as the flakes begin to separate just a little, the butter seeps in. The texture is remarkable.
Jeri: I chill it, then remove any stray liquid. Scrape off any debris and store the butter in the fridge, wrapped tightly, for the next batch of poached fish. You can use it three or four times this way.
Poaching fish in butter is a delightful and simple way to enjoy seafood. The technique is easy but the taste is sophisticated. Butter Poached Fish will become a favorite of yours like it is mine!
I like to season my butter with a touch of lemon juice, and a small shallot diced up. The fish cooks in the seasoned liquid and it tastes heavenly. This has become one of my favorite ways to prepare fish.
I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.
Ben? Why are you such an asshole? She worked hard to make us this recipe with photos. Is that you justify your meaningless little life? By tearing others down? You could have asked for clarification on amounts.
Really curious about what Ben had to say
Looks like his comment was deleted
I am cooking this tonight and am serving with spanikorizo, fresh asparagus and sliced tomatoes with basil
Mmmmm
Ben, I said 6 ounces of butter in the ingredients. I asked for the person to saute the shallots in 2 tablespoons of butter, and then add the remaining butter. I will tighten up my horribly written recipe. Let me know if you need anything else.
Just letting you know that I featured this in my May round-up of Deliciously Healthy Low-Carb Recipes, which was posted this morning. Love the recipe; I hope a lot of my readers will click over here and try it!
In a large saucepan over medium high heat, saut garlic and shallots until fragrant and translucent, about 2 minutes. Deglaze pan with wine and allow to completely reduce. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and, while using an immersion blender, add butter slowly one tablespoon at a time while blending to form an emulsion. Do not boil (keep below 190) or the mixture will separate. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Finish with fresh thyme.
In a medium saucepan bring the Butter Poaching Liquid to120 degrees. The temperature must be carefully monitored. As long as the temperature does not go above 120 degrees, nothing will overcook. Add the fish and poach for 15 to 20 minutes.
Note: Save your once-used poaching liquid. It can be frozen for several months. Reuses it to poach shrimp, cod, lobster, scallops even duck breasts. I have used mine three times, and then added the remaining liquid to a good fish bisque or chowder.
Once the lobster is done cooking, it can be eaten as is, or the entire dish, along with the poaching liquid, can be tossed with cooked and strained pasta for a delicious pasta recipe. You can also use the butter-poached lobster as a garnish to lobster bisque.
Once the butter is melted, add the lobster meat and cook for 4 to 5 minutes over low heat. If you cook it too fast, the lobster releases a white protein substance known as pellicle, which is edible but aesthetically undesirable.
How to Store: Once they cool, cover and keep it in the poaching liquid in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. You can freeze this covered for up to 3 days. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.
Wow. Utterly sublime. Used this for two small tails with a pinot grigio over angel hair topped with cracked pepper and salt. Magnifique! So very tender and delicious! My new favorite way to have lobster.
Chef Billy Parisi is a classically trained chef with over 15 years in the restaurant industry. He focuses on homemade recipes from scratch while showcasing classical French and Italian cooking techniques. Learn more.
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You have to make a buerre monte (I think this is right?). Start with a little bit of water (couple tablespoons) and heat it over low heat. Start whicking in butter a tablespoon at a time. You want to create an emulsion, not clarified butter. Keep whicking until all the butter is whisked in (a couple of pounds). Place your lobster tail (or whatever) in a cook over low temperature (The sauce should be about 180 degrees F).
Butter-poaching, besides being all the rage now, is an awesome way to impart butter flavor into something without overcooking. My suggestion is use good butter for optimal results. I use Presidente when I do things for big dinners. I'm not sure of the chemistry behind it, but there's an instant osmosis--if you will--to the protein involved. It doesn't work that way when you saute in butter...maybe some of you Altonians can chime in here. When you bite into a lobster claw that has been poached in butter you get this insanely flavorful blast. You can pick out both flavors, they compliment each other in a way that doesn't occur when you dip in clarified butter. I could go on and on. I love that technique.
Shit, now I feel like Fred Soltnerstone. Last thing I heard, the only machines you could buy were the mainframe types, that cost way too much. I should have figured they'd PC the thing. Still, 120.00 to save a little money on butter?
I have some lovely fresh Mahi Mahi (Dorado, Dolphin FISH) filets from a fisherman friend. Would putting them in a shallow pan in a very low oven with the butter accomplish the same thing? I am really wanting to try this.
CFW... Why wouldn't mahi be optimal. This stuff is less than 24 hours off the hook, never frozen? Having been exposed to really fresh mahi, I can say that it is not the same as previously frozen. It is actually pretty firm flesh.
It may work...if you have it try it out. When I think of mahi I think of grilling, or searing. I think it would be better with a stronger tasting fish. If you butter poach mahi it may just taste like buttered tuna fish (in the can). Mahi, in my opinion, needs to be eaten some what rare to md. rare. I don't think the infusion would be complete... Well done? Not advisable.
i don't know mahi, but as a method it sounds fine - i've had good results with it. not with fish, i should say, but making fondant potatoes. yummy yummy yummy. took a very long time to finish (like 3 h.), though. i must try fish, too. and perhaps the ideal fish would be cod, as it's not already oily but has a lot of taste to stand against the butter.
On a trip to Hawaii last year I stayed mostly in condos with pretty well equipped kitchens. Fabulous fish was availble in the local supermarkets and macadamias were pretty cheap (for macadamias) at Wal-Mart! We almost OD'd on macadamia crusted fish. The leftovers (we cooked a lot of fish) made fabulous lunch salads the next day... great organically grown greens from the produce lady, sliced papaya and mango, papaya seed dressing... I highly recommend that recipe.
In my opinion, the best technique for preparing salmon, which is very high in fat, is to cook at a low oven temperature (250 F with convection), with a little bit of butter. The texture of the finished fish is almost creamy, like good sashimi. This is the method described in Jean George's cookbook.
The key technique here is to poach the shrimp in a butter and water emulsion over low heat. This technique is easy and gives you very moist, flavorful shrimp. Even at low heat shrimp still cook quickly, so it only takes 4-5 minutes. This is also a forgiving technique, so if you go a little over the cooking time the shrimp will still be good (unlike high-heat cooking methods). You also get the bonus of a very flavorful butter sauce to enhance the grits and drizzle over the shrimp. Add a little seasoning and some lemon and you are in business.
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