Ugly Duckling Butter-Poached Halibut with Brandade, Chanterelle Mushrooms, preserved Cherry Tomatoes, and White Miso Beurre Blanc
To Brine the Halibut:
- 1 L. very cold water
- 50g. kosher salt
- 20g. sugar
- 400g. halibut, skin-off, cut into 100g. portions
Blend the water, salt, and sugar very well to fully dissolve the solids. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Add the halibut to the refrigerated brine, and return to the refrigerator for 1 hour. Remove halibut, pat dry, and discard brine.
For the Smoked Brandade
- 200g. russet potato, peeled, boiled, and roughly mashed
- 200g. halibut trim
- 150g. whipping cream
- 175g. unsalted butter
- 175g. water
- 3g. agar agar
- 9g. kosher salt
*to smoke the potatoes, first peel, dice into large pieces (about ¼ potato, depending on the size of potato you’re working with). If you have a smoker, simply place the cooked potatoes inside and smoke for 20-30 minutes. If not, get a pie pan full of smoker chips smoldering and place in the bottom of your BBQ. Put the cooked potatoes on the grates above, and close the lid. If using this method, it may take longer as the smoke will be less concentrated, and you may need to re-light the smoker chips a few times during the process.
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Add all ingredients except for the agar agar to an appropriately-sized pot, and heat gently to a simmer, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
When the mixture is hot, the butter has melted, and the halibut flakes easily with a fork, transfer the entire mixture to a high-speed blender, and blend while hot.
With the blender running, sprinkle in the agar agar, and continue to blend on high for at least 2 minutes to hydrate the agar.
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Pass through a fine mesh strainer, and, if not using immediately, chill rapidly in a shallow pan with a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
When ready to use, reheat gently. If you have a cream whipper, transfer the mix into it and charge with 2 nitrous oxide chargers. The brandade can be held in the cream whipper in a water bath at 75C indefinitely. If you don’t have a cream whipper, the brandade is perfectly enjoyable heated & served as-is.
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For the White Miso Beurre Monte
- 2lbs. unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- 30g. white miso
- 40ml. rice wine vinegar
- 40ml. whipping cream
- Add water, vinegar, whipping cream, and miso to a large saucepan. Whisk vigorously to incorporate the miso, and then heat gently, just until steaming.
Maintaining a gentle steam, whisk in the cold cubed butter a piece or two at a time, letting each piece fully melt before adding the next. If the mixture gets too hot, or if too much water evaporates, it will split (not the end of the world… you can save the split sauce by starting a fresh pan of simmering water, and then gradually whisking it in). Once made, the sauce needs to be kept warm but not hot –if it solidifies, you can’t really re-melt it without causing it to split. Temperamental, I know.
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To Poach the Halibut:
If I was preparing this at home, I’d be inclined to poach the halibut on the stovetop (or, even better, in the oven if you happen to have an oven that can maintain a very low temperature of 50C). You could certainly place the beurre monte in a bag, and place the bag in an immersion circulator –I just wouldn’t attempt to seal the bag, as vacuum sealing warm liquids is a pretty surefire way to end up with a broken vacuum sealer and a big mess to clean up.
In any case, you want to keep the butter bath as close to 50C as possible. Add the halibut, and let it bathe for 20 minutes or so –maybe a bit less or a bit more depending on the size and thickness of your fillets. When it’s ready, it will be meltingly tender. As long as you can maintain a very low temperature, this is an incredibly forgiving cooking method. You can let the halibut continue to bathe while you finish the rest of the dish.
- For the Cooked Chantrelles
- 200g. chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned & shredded
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 30g. unsalted butter
- 1 clove garlic, peeled & microplaned
- 50ml. whipping cream
- 50ml. dry white wine
- salt, to taste
Gently melt the butter in a sauté pan, and add the chanterelles. Season with a bit of salt to speed up the moisture release, and increase heat to medium, tossing frequently. Cooking time will vary depending on the moisture content of the chanterelles. When the mushrooms release a fair amount of water, add the garlic & rosemary, and continue to cook until most of the water has evaporated. Deglaze with white wine and reduce slightly. Add the whipping cream, and cook just until it has very lightly thickened. Remove & discard the rosemary, and set aside until ready to serve.
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For the Pickled Chantrelles
- 125g button chanterelle mushrooms, halved if a bit on the large side
- 250g rice wine vinegar
- 250g water
- 25g sugar
- 2.5g salt
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled, whole
- 1 sprig rosemary
Heat the chanterelles gently in a dry pan until they give up most of their water. Continue cooking at a bare simmer until the majority of the water has evaporated. In the meantime, add the remaining ingredients to a pot & bring to a simmer. Whisk to dissolve the salt & sugar. Remove from the heat, cover, and steep while the chanterelles finish cooking.
Deglaze the chanterelle pan with the pickling brine, transfer everything to a mason jar or other heat-resistant container, and refrigerate for up to 1 month.
For the Confit Tomatoes
- 20-ish cherry tomatoes
- 10g. sugar
- 2.5g. kosher salt
- 200ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 sprig thyme
Heat a pot of salted water to a boil, and prepare a bowl of ice water. Slash the skin of each tomato on the bottom. Be careful not to go too deep (a very sharp knife helps). Once scored, dunk the tomatoes in the boiling water for 5-seconds (perhaps a little longer if they’re not especially ripe), and transfer immediately to the ice water. The idea here is just to loosen the skin so that you can peel the tomatoes, not to cook them. Chill completely.
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Peel the tomatoes. The skin should come off with virtually no effort.
Toss the tomatoes with the salt & sugar, and leave overnight. They will give up a lot of liquid. You can discard this, or add it to another dish (it’s extremely flavourful, but too salty to be used straight-up.
Heat the olive oil & garlic in a small pot (you want to be able to fully submerge the tomatoes, so small & deep is ideal if you don’t want to use a ton of olive oil). When a few bubbles start to rise from the garlic, add the tomatoes and reduce the heat to low. Cook the tomatoes very gently (below a simmer) for 30 minutes. Transfer to a heatproof container, add the thyme, and refrigerate for up to 2-weeks.
To Finish & Serve:
Ladle a little bit of the beurre monté into a saucepot & stir together with trout roe & chives (if desired). Season with a touch of rice vinegar & salt. This will serve as the sauce for the halibut.
Place the warmed brandade in the bottom of each of 4 bowls, and arrange the cooked chanterelles around the perimeter. Gently place the halibut portions on top of the brandade, and ladle a bit of the white miso butter sauce over each portion. Garnish with Pickled chanterelles & preserved tomatoes.
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