Truites au Bleu

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 5 to 6-quart (4.7 to 5.7 L) shallow sauté pan or fish poacher, about 12 inches (30 cm) across
• •Two broad slotted fish spatulas
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Large oval platter and clean unstarched linen napkin
• •Small saucepan and warmed sauceboat

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the service

   Bring the trout straight home on a tray set over ice, never buried in it, and cook them immediately. Warm a large oval platter with hot water, dry it, and line it with a clean, unstarched linen napkin. Arrange the parsley nearby and set four warm plates at the table. Once the trout enter the pan, there is no useful pause.

2. 2

   Heat the court-bouillon

   Pour the finished Court-bouillon with Vinegar (No. 163) into a wide, shallow pan large enough to hold all four trout in one layer. Bring it to a full boil. Meanwhile, melt the butter over the lowest heat just until liquid, then pour it into a warmed sauceboat and cover it. If the milk solids begin to color, transfer the butter at once; a few golden flecks can be strained out, ça se rattrape, but deeply browned butter would change the clean service intended here.

3. 3

   Protect the blue

   Unwrap the trout only when the court-bouillon is boiling. Do not scale, rinse, wipe, or pat their exteriors. Wet your hands with cold water, handle each fish gently by the head and cavity, and lower it swiftly into the boiling liquid without splashing. The skin should draw tight and acquire a subtle blue-gray bloom, often with fine cracks. If one remains silver, do not add more vinegar; its protective coat was disturbed and the color cannot be rebuilt, though the trout can still be cooked and served safely.

   The blue is a surface reaction, not a test of doneness. Use the flesh and its temperature to judge the cooking.
4. 4

   Poach at a simmer

   Let the liquid return to the boil, then reduce the heat just enough to hold an active, even simmer without throwing the trout against one another. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, without turning, until the flesh beside the backbone is opaque and reaches 145°F (63°C) at the thickest part. The skin may split as it shrinks; this is expected. If a fish tears further, stop moving it and keep it submerged with a slotted spoon. Lift it later with two broad spatulas and set the torn side against the linen. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Drain and serve

   Lift each trout with two broad fish spatulas, supporting both head and tail. Hold it above the pan for several seconds to drain, but never blot or rub the blue skin. Arrange the fish immediately on the linen-lined platter, surround them generously with curled-leaf parsley, and send the warm melted butter alongside. Serve before the delicate flesh has time to tighten. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Arrange the trout with your fishmonger in advance. Ask for fish of about 5⅓ ounces (150 g) each, dispatched and gutted immediately before collection, with scales and exterior mucus untouched. Do not keep live trout at home or attempt the dispatch unless you have proper training.
• •The small size matters. Four larger trout crowd the pan and cook unevenly; if only larger fish are available, use a wider vessel and judge by temperature rather than extending the boil blindly.
• •If no fishmonger can supply just-dispatched, unscaled trout, change the plan rather than pretending the blue will happen. Make truite meunière (trout lightly floured and cooked in butter) instead. It honors a good fish without asking it to perform a trick its handling has made impossible.
• •Cook the trout only after everyone is seated. This dish waits for nobody, and ten minutes under a cover will turn its tender flesh firm.
• •Pour a dry Alsace Riesling. Its acidity meets the vinegar court-bouillon cleanly, while its fruit sits comfortably beside the melted butter.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare and strain the Court-bouillon with Vinegar (No. 163) up to 3 days ahead. Chill it promptly in a covered container, then bring it to a full boil before unwrapping the trout.
• •Rinse and thoroughly dry the parsley earlier in the day. Measure the butter, ready the platter, and set the table before the fish arrive.
• •The trout cannot be cleaned or held overnight for this preparation. The interval between dispatch and poaching must be kept as short as your journey home allows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 125g)