King Salmon Confit with Hollandaise Sauce

Special equipment

• Immersion blender
• Fine mesh strainer
• Baking dish that snugly fits all the fish in one layer

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel parsnips and cut into bite-size cubes. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes until tender and golden at the edges. Set aside and reheat before serving. For the fish, drop oven temperature to 170 degrees.

Step 2

Take salmon out of the refrigerator, rinse with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of coarse sea salt all over each piece of salmon. Set on a plate or cookie sheet on the counter to allow salmon to “cure” for about 20 minutes. Then rinse off all the salt and pat fish dry with paper towels. Do not forget the fish – the longer the salt sits, the saltier the fish will taste.

Step 3

While the fish is curing, melt 1 pound of butter over low heat in a saucepan – do not allow it to boil or simmer. This will allow the milk solids and water to separate from the butterfat, thus creating clarified butter. The milk solids look solid white and clumpy and will float the top. The water will look milky-translucent, and it will sink to the bottom.

Step 4

Place the cured and dried pieces of salmon in a baking dish in one layer, skin side down; do not use a container that is too big because the fish will have to be fully submerged in the clarified butter while it cooks. Scatter thyme and shallot over the fish. Slowly pour the hot butter over the fish through a fine mesh strainer, catching the milk solids with the strainer and leaving the water layer behind in the saucepan.

Don’t worry if you get a little bit of either in with the fish. If the fish is not fully submerged, top it off with olive oil or place large pieces of onion around the fish to help the butterfat level rise. Place the baking dish in 170-degree oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Step 5

While the salmon is cooking, start the Hollandaise sauce. Crack 2 room-temperature eggs into a small/medium bowl or a large glass measuring cup. Whip the eggs until the whites and yolks are fully incorporated and slightly foamy. Set aside until the fish is ready. Remember to reheat the parsnips before the fish comes out.

After 20 minutes, remove fish from the oven and immediately measure out ½ cup of the hot butter. In a slow, steady stream, whip the hot butter into the eggs with the immersion blender until the mixture becomes emulsified and creamy– do not dump all of the butter in at once or you might end up with scrambled eggs. Season the sauce to taste with salt and lemon juice. Give the sauce another pulse with the blender to incorporate.

Step 6

Serve the salmon warm with the Hollandaise sauce and roasted parsnips. Sprinkle freshly cracked pepper on top. You can strain and reuse the remaining clarified butter in other fish recipes. Note that the butter would’ve taken on a fishy taste.