Grilled Salmon Fillet with its Lime and basil Emulsion

Hello ,

As we keep on reviewing our cooking basics, the next step after the grilling veggies as you were shown in my latest post , will be how to properly grill a fish fillet and , further on, the easiest and reliable way to make a light butter emulsion.

Grilling is a key technique and in this post , I will enlighten its most important steps .

Concerning the Lime an Butter Emulsion , we are talking of a supposed " very difficult to realize" sauce which is very close to the traditional Beurre Blanc but in a very lighter modern version ...

So today two new techniques will become a piece of cake for you:

Cooking 23: Fish slice or fillet grilling**

Hot & cold sauces - mix 27: lime & butter emulsion***

So , let's start by the grilling section . This post will be your reference concerning fish grilling.
We commonly see big mistakes and the final result is so often spoilt....

When grilling , we should in fact say marking rhombus ( or fishnet pattern) on the food . The other goal of grilling is to get this so particular taste of charcoal or wood fire & metal seared food .

At first step , we will cut the fish fillet in the shape and size we want , pin bone and marinate. The simplest marinade ever is what we call the "quick marinade".Its purpose is to give a bit of extra flavor to the fish .

We need just a bit of oil, a dash of lemon juice , thyme & bay leaves and seasoning.
The fact of using oil will give you an extra chance to avoid fish from sticking to the grill.
Leave the fish few minutes prior cooking.

The second step we have is to reach a high enough temperature on the grill to avoid the flesh from sticking to the metal.I use a folded large piece of aluminium foil.

Leave it on the grill for few minutes and the temperature will drastically increase. Be careful nevertheless not to overheat the metal till it becomes reddish,the fish would develop a bad "iron" taste...So when your grill is very hot (but not red), clean it with the iron brush and wipe it with a piece of cloth.

The third step is the main part of the technique. We need to get the rhombus/fishnet pattern on the fish.Better than blablabla... Pictures of the goal we wanna reach is more convenient.

Our goal is to get as closely as possible to this pattern looking .

So , remove your piece of fish from the marinade , wipe the excess of oil and lay the fish steak ( presentation side first) on the grill and let sear for half a minute without moving it anymore .

After this time, use a spatula to lift the fish a little bit and turn on a 80 ° angle ( 90°C would be too much in a visual aspect).

Leave the steak exactly as you did right before .

Then do the same thing with the other side.

Great ! Now you have a well marked grilling pattern ..... Notice that this process will be the same for every grilled food...

Fourth step is for sure where most people make mistakes.....because of the fire strength. We need a very strong heat to get the fishnet pattern but in the meantime , this high temperature will be too strong to finalize the cooking. This is why some grills have two independent parts; one very strong for thin and fast cooking food and one ( sometime a shelf ) with a very much lower temperature to leave the food in a low temperature process.

For our fish , or for big pieces , will will have to terminate the cooking process with the lowest possible T°c because those products are delicate. This will avoid the flesh to dry & to be stressed and tough .

This point will show a good you are as grill cook ! If the result is good-tasting, nice & moist , you passed . But if , the result black , iron tasty and dry; you ..............

The easiest way is to end the cooking of the food in a medium low oven 150°C / 300°F.

So , now you are almost ready with your dish. The next thong you need is to realize ;

Lime and Butter Emulsion

This sauce is based on a French Classical recipe know as 'Beurre Blanc or Whipped Butter" but this one is a lighter modern version used by the actual chefs. I will show you the Classical( very much heavier) one in an other post .

My version will be very great with grilled and boiled veggies, grilled, boiled or roasted fishes .

INGREDIENTS - SERVING 8PAX

Fish broth (or veggie broth) 10 CL - 3 FL OZ
1 Lemon juice
Cod Butter cut in little dices 125GR - 5 OZ
Basil or any aromatic leaves of you choice (minced)
Pinch of salt & pepper

This kind of sauces have the reputation of being very difficult to successfully realize but I show you the step by step way to break the myth.

The main keys you have to keep in mind for success

cold butter cut in small pieces
boiling broth ( you need a very hot base)
acid broth ( acidity helps emulsion )
intense whisking to avoid splitting

This sauce has to be served in the next 30minutes and it can't be reheated without splitting. So , it's a last minute task!

TECHNIQUE

Pour broth in a saucepan with lemon juice and bring to boil .
Let reduce from half at least
Whip the liquid quit quickly while adding small pieces of cold butter.Do not stop whisking during this phase.You can use a mixer to have an even better emulsion.
When all the butter is in emulsion , remove from fire .
Add minced basil or other herb you wish, check seasoning and serve in the next 30 minutes.