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Salmon Mayonnaise (Have a gallon of salted water)
Have a gallon of salted water and a gill of vinegar boiling in a kettle. Lay 2 salmon steaks carefully in the water. Boil slowly, and when done, but not at all broken, take carefully from the water and drain. Set aside until cool and then place on ice until wanted. Lay the steaks on a cold platter, and cover them smoothly with a thick mayonnaise. Garnish with watercress.
A cold poached salmon dish from the era when "boiled" fish meant fish held just under a simmer. The whole success of it rests on keeping the water quiet enough that the steaks stay intact.
- A gill of vinegarA gill is half a cup. In a gallon of water that gives a mildly acidulated poaching liquid, which helps firm the surface of the fish.
- Never actually boil"Boil slowly" is period shorthand for a bare simmer. Bring the salted water and vinegar to a boil, slide the steaks in, then drop the heat so the surface barely trembles rather than rolls. A hard boil is what breaks the steaks apart, and the recipe does insist they be "not at all broken."
- Timing and donenessInch-thick steaks need roughly 8 to 10 minutes; the fish is done when the flesh at the bone just parts and reads 125 to 130F at the centre. The original gives no time because cooks judged by feel, and salmon overcooks in the space of a minute or two.
- Salt the water properlyThe recipe gives no quantity for its "salted water"; it wants a good measure -- a couple of tablespoons at least -- if the liquid is to season the fish rather than leach flavour out of it.
- Cool in stagesDrain and let the steaks come to room temperature before refrigerating, as written. Chilling them straight from the pan sets condensation on the surface and thins the mayonnaise when it goes on.
- Thick mayonnaiseThe coating needs to hold its shape on a cold platter, so a stiff mayonnaise is essential. If you make it by hand, use pasteurised eggs, since nothing in this dish cooks the sauce.
- Skin and bone before servingThe recipe leaves the steaks whole, but the dish looks and eats better if the skin and the fin bones are lifted away once the fish is cold and firm.
- YieldTwo steaks serve two as a main course, or four as a first course. Watercress is the only garnish specified; cucumber and lemon are also commonly seen with cold salmon of this period.