Pike

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •18 by 12-inch (46 by 30 cm) deep roasting pan with a lid or heavy foil
• •5-quart (5 L) stockpot
• •2-quart (2 L) saucepan and whisk
• •Food-safe cheesecloth large enough to form a double-layer fish sling
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Long serving platter and flexible fish knife

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the pike

   Ask the fishmonger to remove the gills and entrails through the shortest practical belly cut while leaving the head, tail, scales, skin, and natural surface film intact. Keep the fish cold. Do not rinse or wipe its exterior; clean only the cavity with a damp paper towel, taking care not to touch the skin more than necessary. Lay a double thickness of damp cheesecloth across a deep roasting pan, leaving enough overhang to form a lifting sling, and settle the pike on it. Wash your hands, knife, and board before handling anything else.

   Measure the fish before choosing the pan. It may lie diagonally, but it must rest naturally without being bent hard or wedged against the sides.
2. 2

   Make the court-bouillon

   Combine the water, wine, ½ cup (120 ml / about 120 g) of the vinegar, onion, carrot, celery, bouquet garni, peppercorns, and salt in a large pot. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, until the liquor smells clearly of vegetables and wine and the vinegar has softened from sharp to brisk. Strain it, discard the aromatics, and reserve 2 cups (475 ml / about 475 g) for the sauce. Keep the remaining court-bouillon hot without letting it boil.

3. 3

   Build the sauce base

   Make a roux, butter and flour cooked together: melt 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 28 g) of the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stir in the flour, and cook for 2 minutes without letting it brown. Whisk in the reserved 2 cups of hot court-bouillon a little at a time, making each addition smooth before adding the next. Simmer gently for 6 to 8 minutes, whisking often, until the sauce lightly coats the back of a spoon. If it becomes lumpy, whisk firmly and pass it through a fine sieve. Cover and set it off the heat.

4. 4

   Raise the blue

   Heat the remaining ½ cup (120 ml / about 120 g) vinegar just to a simmer. Pour it slowly over the upper surface of the pike from close range, keeping the pan between you and the liquid so nothing splashes back. The skin should take on a blue-grey or silvery cast, sometimes vivid, sometimes subtle. If it stays olive-grey, don't add more acid; the natural film was lost before the fish reached you, and more vinegar will only sour it. Continue with confidence as brochet poché.

5. 5

   Poach at a tremble

   Heat the oven to 300°F (150°C). Pour the hot court-bouillon around the pike until it reaches halfway to two-thirds up its sides, adding some of the extra water only if the shape of your pan requires it. Cover first with parchment, then tightly with a lid or foil. Poach for 25 to 40 minutes, basting the exposed upper surface once or twice without scraping its skin. The liquor should tremble, never boil. If you find active bubbling, pull the pan from the oven, lower the heat to 275°F (135°C), and add ½ cup (120 ml / 120 g) cool water. Ça se rattrape if you catch it quickly. The fish is done when the thickest flesh just behind the head reaches 145°F (63°C) and separates from the backbone in moist flakes.

6. 6

   Mount the caper sauce

   Use the cheesecloth sling to lift the pike onto a warm long platter, then cover it loosely with parchment while you finish the sauce. Bring the sauce base back to the barest simmer with the capers, lemon juice, and white pepper. Remove it from the heat and montez au beurre, whisk in the remaining 4 tablespoons (60 ml / 57 g) cold butter a few pieces at a time until the sauce is glossy and falls in a broad ribbon. Stir in the parsley. If the butter begins to separate into greasy beads, the pan is too hot; whisk in 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) cold poaching liquor off the heat. Ça se rattrape. If the sauce is too thick, loosen it with more poaching liquor, one spoonful at a time.

7. 7

   Carve around the bones

   Spoon a little sauce around the pike, leaving enough blue-grey skin visible to show the au bleu. Cut along the backbone from behind the head toward the tail, then lift the upper flesh away in serving portions while keeping the knife close to the skeleton. Pike carries forked Y-bones above the ribs, so inspect every portion carefully before serving. Once the upper side is cleared, lift away the central skeleton and divide the lower fillet. Spoon the remaining sauce over each portion at the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •For au bleu, freshness isn't a shopping boast; it is part of the method. Order the pike ahead and tell the fishmonger exactly why the scales and natural surface film must remain untouched. A fish that has been scaled or scrubbed will still poach, but it cannot produce the characteristic blue-grey bloom.
• •Pike has excellent, firm flesh and an unreasonable number of bones. Serve it under good light, carve slowly, and warn the table about the Y-bones. Cooking well is not cooking fancy, but it does require attention.
• •Butter, not margarine. The final monter au beurre gives the sauce its sheen and softens the capers' acidity; cream would mute the fish and isn't needed. Use the same dry white wine in the court-bouillon and at the table, with a crisp Savoie or Mâconnais white fitting particularly well.
• •Serve the pike as soon as the sauce is finished. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat them cold or gently warmed by the following day; a hard reheating dries this lean fish and breaks the sauce.

Advance Preparation

• •The court-bouillon can be made up to 2 days ahead, strained, cooled promptly, and refrigerated. Reheat it to a gentle simmer before poaching, keeping the vinegar reserved for the blue treatment separate.
• •The roux-thickened sauce base can be prepared up to 4 hours ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat it gently and add the capers, lemon, parsley, and cold finishing butter only after the pike is cooked.
• •Buy or collect the pike on the day it will be served. Keep it on a rack over ice in the coldest part of the refrigerator, lightly covered and never sitting in meltwater.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 295g)