Salmon 104 F Class

Grant Crilly is the Executive Director and cofounder of ChefSteps. Grant is a classically trained chef and, prior to ChefSteps, he worked on the award-winning cookbook series Modernist Cuisine and cooked at various restaurants, including L’Astrance in Paris, Busaba in Mumbai, and Mistral Kitchen in Seattle.

Grant Crilly

Digital scale

Fish pliers

Joule® Turbo Sous Vide

Sous vide bag(s)

Chamber vacuum sealer

Breville Super Q™

Fine-mesh sieve

Peeler

Microplane

Whisk

Spice grinder

Salmon Mi-Cuit

Pickled Onions

Horseradish Cream

Watercress Purée

Black pepper

Coriander seeds

Salt, Maldon flake

Olive oil

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Decadent in texture, this chilled salmon recipe is destined to become your go-to recipe for leveled-up dinner parties.

Prepare Salmon Mi-Cuit

These videos include some advanced equipment and modern ingredients that you may not have at home. But don’t be deterred: we’ve got home-cook hacks for every single recipe that calls for uncommon equipment.

Don’t have a vacuum chamber? Try <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/simple-sous-vide-packaging">water-displacement packaging</a>.

Don’t have an immersion circulator? Cook sous vide with <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/improvised-sous-vide-pot-on-a-stove-method">nothing but a pot and a digital thermometer</a>.

Don’t have xanthan gum? Try the recipes without it. (Or <a href="http://www.modernistpantry.com/xanthan-gum.html">order some</a>! It’s cheap!)

If you have any questions about how to work around restrictions in ingredients or equipment, ask in the discussion section, and we’ll do our best to help.

No equipment? No problem.

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Prepare Pickled Onions or ramps

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Prepare Watercress Purée

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Prepare Horseradish Cream

Coarsely grind the coriander seed and black pepper. Reserve for garnish.

Grind spices

PLATING TIPS:

We can’t stress this enough: start with cold plates. Never serve cold fish (or any cold food) on warm plates. When you develop and season a dish for a specific serving temperature, you’ll undo all your hard work if you alter its temperature with a too-hot or too-cold plate. 

When slicing salmon (or any fish), always work with a very sharp knife. Fish is a very tender protein, and in order to get a beautiful-looking and delicious piece of fish, you will want to do as little damage to the tissue as possible before you eat it. This means all the damage will happen in your mouth, not on the cutting board. When slicing, use long, slow strokes, and don’t apply too much pressure. 

Strain pickled onions and drain them on paper towels. This shouldn’t take more than a few seconds. You can peel the membrane from each layer before or after the pickling (or not at all). Small items like these onion petals have a natural center of gravity that you don’t want to have to fight with, so rest them against something to keep them from falling down or sliding around.

Add the salt to the watercress purée just before serving. This helps keep the color super bright. If you’d like to use it as a broth, just add salt, lemon juice, and water to thin it at the last minute. Then mix it very well and drizzle away. Stir in olive or argan oil for a beautiful, oily green broth with a shimmer. 

Sprinkle coriander seed, black pepper, and Maldon sea salt flakes on each portion of salmon before you place it on the plate. The salt will dissolve and draw moisture from the fish, so you definitely want to save this step for late in the plating process. 

Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over your plate, then serve quickly. You can also wait to pour the olive oil or watercress broth at the table after serving. 

Have fun and work quickly.

Plate and serve

The original Salmon 104 °F Plating video, seen here, debuted in September 2012—it was one of the first videos we ever published. Things have changed quite a bit around here, but Salmon 104 °F holds a special place in our hearts.

Time flies ...

The images <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chefsteps/static/chefsteps-salmon-plating-diagrams.pdf">here</a> show four plating approaches we’ve taken with Salmon 104 °F—you can replicate your favorite, but remember, you can (and should!) plate this dish any way you like. Feel free to get creative.

<a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/chefsteps/static/chefsteps-salmon-plating-diagrams.pdf"></a>

Plating diagrams

Picture this: Chilled salmon that practically melts on the palate, enveloped in a rich horseradish cream and emerald watercress purée and dotted with pickled ramps for a bit of acid. Fresh microgreens, Maldon flake salt, ground pepper and coriander, and a drizzle of olive oil finish the elegant, modern plate. Now picture this: You made it yourself. From scratch. No, seriously.The four component recipes that make up Salmon 104 °F involve a broad range of techniques, both modern and classic, beginner and advanced, that will change the way you cook. But when it comes to artsy plating, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That’s why we provide recipes for all the components to make this dish delicious and then encourage you to channel your inner artiste and make it gorgeous. Watch the video above for some inspiration, and remember: the more you practice plating, the easier it becomes. So start simple, and you’ll be a regular Rembrandt in no time.

Salmon 104 °F

A rough translation of the French phrase mi-cuit is “half-cooked,” but that utterly fails to express the decadent texture of this salmon. A combination of heat and salt work in concert to ensure that although served chilled, this salmon is anything but raw.As a wave of concentrated dissolved salt (enough to raise the salinity above 2%) permeates the flesh, various proteins in muscle fibers begin to unravel and entangle. This is curing, and it’s analogous to increasing the temperature of flesh with heat. Salt or heat alone can take meats and seafood from raw to cured or raw to cooked (either will denature proteins and cause them to gel), but when they’re used together, you can get the same effect with less salt and a lower temperature. The result is a remarkable texture. One subtlety of this recipe, which often goes unnoticed, is the need to chill the salmon for at least 6 hours before serving. The chloride ions from the salt are still diffusing toward equilibrium after the sous vide–cooking step, and this chilling step allows the texture to fully develop.Finally, cooking in vacuum-sealed packaging has the benefit of keeping the salmon impeccably fresh by preventing damaging oxidation. If you don’t have access to a vacuum chamber sealer, don’t fret: we’ve got <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/simple-sous-vide-packaging">a hack</a> that will help you achieve similar results without all the equipment.Provided that you store the salmon at a temperature below [c 5], the combination of low-temperature cooking, mild curing with salt, and oxygen-free packaging will keep your fish fresh for 10 days or more. This makes it a delicious and versatile ingredient to keep around for a quick, healthy dish such as our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/salmon-104-f">Salmon 104 °F</a>.

Let’s set the record straight: horseradish is no radish, and it’s got nothing to do with horses. This zesty member of the mustard family got its name around the 16th century, though how English speakers came up with it is disputed. “Radish” likely comes from the Latin radix, meaning “root,” while “horse” is probably derived from “hoarse,” which at the time was used to mean “strong or coarse”—no surprise to anyone familiar with the plant’s harsh bite. (The French nailed it when they named it raifort, meaning “strong root.”)For that spiciness we’ve come to know and love, we can thank evolution: when horseradish is chewed, it releases numerous enzyme-generated volatiles, including pungent sulfurous compounds—a natural defense mechanism against herbivores. Germans were probably the first to figure out how to harness and soften the zing by mixing it with ingredients like cream, egg, sugar, and vinegar. The rest is history. Shaved fresh horseradish is a delicious addition to rich, fatty dishes—the French use it in lemony cream sauces; the British pickle it and pile it on pot roasts and sausages.In Norway, a classic sauce called pepperrotsaus includes horseradish mixed with whipped cream, vinegar, and sugar; this is often served over salmon. In that tradition, we whip up shaved fresh horseradish with cream and salt to serve over our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/recipes/salmon-104-f">Salmon 104 °F</a>.

Vacuum infusion is a remarkable way to flash-pickle plant foods like onions or ramps. This technique relies on the ability of a chamber sealer to dramatically reduce the surrounding pressure, which causes a rapid expansion of gases that ruptures the structure of plant tissue. When the surrounding pressure is restored to normal levels, the labyrinth of air-filled spaces collapses. Any surrounding liquid, such as the pickling juice used here, will rush in to fill the void. The result is the nearly instantaneous pickling of plant foods.Curious to learn more? Check out the science of <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/guides-tools/vacuum-compression-of-plant-foods">vacuum compression of plant foods</a>. (You can also quick-pickle in the chamber of a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/classes/whipping-siphons">whipping siphon</a>. Check out <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/classes/whipping-siphons">our Whipping Siphons class</a> for more information.) If you don’t have a chamber sealer or a whipping siphon, simply let the onions (or other plant food) rest in the pickling brine for 90 minutes or more, as described in Step 4.

That this versatile member of the mustard family belongs to the genus Nasturtium, derived from the Latin for “nose twister,” will come as no surprise to those familiar with watercress’s zing. (The edible flower commonly called nasturtium belongs to a different genus.) This pungent plant twists your nose, so to speak, when chewing or puréeing causes various enzymes to generate compounds that tickle your nerves and produce that zesty burning sensation in your nostrils. In fact, watercress’s pungency is not a taste or smell at all, but instead simply a nerve irritant the plant releases as a defense mechanism when its tissue is damaged. But that hasn’t stopped us from devouring the stuff—for one reason or another—for thousands of years. In addition to being possibly among the first greens known to be consumed by humans, watercress has long been valued for its perceived medicinal qualities. Ancient Greek soldiers reportedly used the raw leaf as a tonic during wartime; Romans believed it prevented baldness; European explorers used it to cure scurvy. In fact, watercress does pack a healthy punch with lots of vitamins A and C, iron, and other nutritious minerals, but alas, no true medicinal qualities have ever been confirmed. The ancient green’s pungent tang shines through in this simple recipe, made with a bit of xanthan gum for thickness. (You can forgo the xanthan gum if you want, but be warned: your purée will separate and run quickly without it.) The result? A silky, bright-green purée armed with a sexy bite, perfect for accompanying fatty proteins like salmon or pork belly.For a more viscous version (which we like to call Watercress Pudding), blend in 15 grams of Ultra-Tex 3. This recipe works with other greens as well—we like to use equal parts mint and cilantro to create vibrant green layer in our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/butternut-buttermilk-parfait">Butternut Parfait</a>.