How to Sous Vide Fish: Chef Thomas Keller’s Sous Vide Salmon Recipe
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Oct 16, 2024 • 4 min read
When Chef Keller and his culinary team at The French Laundry first started cooking sous vide (or “slow cooking,” as they used to refer to it), they didn’t have any of the equipment they use in the restaurant today. Chef Keller recalls filling a cocotte, or a Dutch oven, with a chicken breast and milk and placing the lidded cocotte into the kitchen’s plate warmer for 45 minutes. By the time he was ready to serve it, the chicken was poached perfectly in the milk. The method for milk-poached chicken breast then evolved into wrapping and compressing salmon or duck breast in plastic wrap.
Here, Chef Keller demonstrates this technique and how to cook sous vide using only a pot of water and a thermometer. It’s not as precise as an immersion circulator or other precision cooker (so the cooking times may vary), but it achieves a similar result. He shows that while professional equipment is undoubtedly useful, you don’t need a chamber vacuum sealer to cook sous vide at home for certain applications. As Chef Keller became more knowledgeable about sous vide techniques through the teachings of sous vide pioneer Bruno Goussault, his team graduated to the equipment now used in Chef Keller’s restaurants.
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What Can You Sous Vide?
Many other proteins can be cooked in the same simplified sous vide method as the salmon fillet shown here. Chef Keller urges you to try this preparation with any meat that can be compressed in plastic wrap: chicken, duck breast, fish fillets ranging from sea bass to swordfish. But it’s important to keep in mind the shape of the protein when choosing what you’re going to cook. A sirloin might be difficult to roll and compress in plastic because of its shape, whereas a fillet of beef would compress well. Remember Chef Keller’s golden rule: If you can form it into a cylinder, then you can cook it this way.
Basic Sous Vide Cooking Safety Rules
Certain basic safety rules apply to each step of sous vide.
- 1. Sealing. Chill the food, or sear the food if that is called for and then chill it immediately and thoroughly. Seal the chilled food and either cook it immediately or store it at 3.3°C (38°F) or below.
- 2. Cooking. Cook the food, remove it from the bag, and serve it. Cook the food, leave it in the bag, and chill it in an ice bath to 1°C (34°F) then refrigerate or freeze.
- 3. Storing. Store the food (chilled first if it has been cooked) in the refrigerator at or below about 3.3°C (38°F) or freeze it. Defrost food in the refrigerator before using.
Chef Thomas Keller’s Salmon Sous Vide Recipe
makes
prep time
15 mintotal time
35 mincook time
20 minIngredients
Equipment:
- 1
Fill an 8-quart stockpot with water and attach a thermometer to the side of the pot to monitor the water temperature. Heat the water to 61ºC and adjust the heat level on the stove so that the temperature can be easily maintained. Have a small bowl of ice on hand to adjust the temperature of the water if it gets too hot.
- 2
Lay a large piece of plastic wrap smoothly on a work surface. Fold the top ½ inch of the plastic wrap over on itself, creating a thin lip at the top of the plastic wrap.
- 3
Season the salmon fillet with salt. Place the fillet near the bottom of the plastic wrap, leaving enough room at the bottom to be able to fold the plastic over the fish and still have 2 inches extra. Fold the plastic wrap over the fish, and gently pull the fillet toward your body to “compress” it. Begin wrapping the fish in the plastic. With each roll, use one hand to stretch the film away from you and the other hand to pull the fish back toward you. This will compress the fillet into a tight bundle.
- 4
Once the fish is fully rolled, pull and stretch the loose ends of the plastic wrap as if it were a rubber band. Twist both ends of the plastic wrap tightly, then tie each end into a knot. Push each knot toward the fish as you pull the excess plastic away, tightening the compression. Trim the excess film off both ends.
- 5
Make sure there is no air in the rolled fish by piercing any air pockets with a cake tester or the tip of a paring knife.
- 6
Make the béarnaise sauce according to this recipe, but do not add the minced tarragon yet.
- 7
Confirm the water temperature is at 61ºC. Place the salmon in the prepared water bath. The salmon should drop to the bottom of the pot. Cook the fish at 61ºC for 17 to 18 minutes for medium-rare to medium doneness at 1½-inch diameter. Make sure to continually monitor the water temperature and adjust as needed.
- 8
Meanwhile, glaze the asparagus with a little bit of water and butter. Season with salt. (Chef Keller demonstrates the glazing technique in chapter 8 of his first MasterClass.)
- 9
Use a slotted spoon to remove the salmon from the water bath. Cut the knots off the ends of the salmon. Unwrap the plastic wrap starting at the lip you folded at the top of the film, and place the salmon on a sheet pan lined with a kitchen towel (not paper towels). If the salmon isn’t hot enough for your preference, flash it in a 350ºF oven for 3 minutes.
- 10
Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt. Transfer to a serving plate.
- 11
Add the minced tarragon to the béarnaise sauce and stir to incorporate. Roll the asparagus in the pan, coating it in the glaze. Place the asparagus next to the sh on the serving plate. Spoon the béarnaise sauce over the salmon in an even layer.
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