Salmon 104F Question

Hi all,

I Made Salmon 104F for Mothers day and it turned out great. The taste was perfect but the texture did not appear as "custardy" as Chefsteps Vid. Instead it was very slightly "Flakey" I was able to cut it relatively cleanly but it took some finesse even with razor sharp Konosuke. See picture below.

I think my slight issue may have been with chilling. The fish was never frozen: Farmed Scottish Salmon Sashimi Grade. I Ice Bathed it straight out of Joule for 1 hour or so. I removed it from the bath and placed it in the Fridge (@36F) for nearly 24 hours.

Are you supposed to transfer the ice bath and fish to fridge. Or is it simply fine to place the salmon in the fridge on its own?

Any Advice would be appreciated since i will be cooking this dish for a 14 person Party in June (Along with 8 other course)

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gabor.szeder

I seem to remember a ChefSteps video from the golden days, which compared slicing salmon before and after cooking. The conclusion was that it's better to portion salmon (or anything similarly sensitive) before cooking, it will look better.

cbiel12

I recall the video as well. But I believe that only applies to fish that will be served hot. Fish Served Cold looks better when sliced after being chilled according to video.

Thanks for the suggestion tho

gabor.szeder

Found it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BBgQpgOr6o

Turns out I didn't remember some important details: portioning before cooking is better only when the fish is served hot. When it's served cold, it's better to portion ofter cooking.

However, as far as I can judge from the video, the difference in the cold-served case is barely noticeable, so if all else fails...

wolfiegirl

This came up recently in Cook With Joule on FB. The issue (as by all the responses to the question asked re: textural problems) is that the fish needs to be chilled for several hours (or even overnight) after it's been in the sv (and iced down). One hour isn't close to being enough time.

Additionally, you might like to read a piece regarding 'sushi' and 'sashimi' grade seafood. Not saying your salmon had been frozen (since it's farmed) but it's worth reading to edify and educate! And by the way, your plating is fabulous!

http://www.sushifaq.com/sushi-sashimi-info/sushi-grade-fish/

cbiel12

Thanks for the literature and comment on plating!

For Clarification: It was chilled for 24 hours in fridge. In addition, It spent one hour or so in ice bath after cook and before it was refrigerated.

So does the fish need to be placed in fridge while still in ice Bath?

wolfiegirl

No, you were right about removing it from the ice bath. One thing you didn't mention was how long you sv'd the salmon. That may have something to do with the textural issue especially since you've done everything else spot on.

cbiel12

Brined 45 minutes. Vac Sealed with grapeseed oil in Vac Master VP215. Cooked for 1 hour at 104F

Maybe the fridge temp wasn't as cold as the thermostat says in the area I placed fish. Will try placing water bottles in various regions of fridge to see if there are any fluctuations throughout fridge.

Would There be a negative effect if salmon is placed in ice bath an hour before serving to ensure it is firm/cold as possible for slicing?

gabor.szeder

Posts are disappearing again... In response to Chris's post:

What does this "25s cycle" mean in pressure?

cbiel12

My Vacmaster display reads out -.1 MP's when ran for 25 seconds. Dont know what that equates to in Bars

whenric

So, the vacuum strength may have contributed to this, as szeder may be alluding to. In this post, Dave Arnold details how vacuum strength can deteriorate texture. "Fish is even more dramatic. We all preferred the 90% fish in oil. The 99.9%+15 seconds was inedible and mushy—completely useless. Just like the high vacuum chicken it starts too wet and ends dry."

Could this be contributing? I dunno. I just know that since reading this, I pre-freeze before vacuuming my fish for storage, and just use H20-displacement for cooking.

cbiel12

Nice Link, Thanks.

The texture in my case was pleasant and was rather buttery (not the "custardy Texture described by chefsteps though...)

Is there anyway to determine what settings should be used to achieve 90% vacuum on Vacmaster vp215? Settings on the machine include a cycle time of 0-60 seconds. I used 25 seconds the first time Made the salmon.

whenric

I actually don't have a chamber sealer, so will have to defer.

whenric

I'd be curious if sealing just via water displacement made a difference or not.

torridice_498271

-1 bar

fisher23

Here is something that has helped me, CS fish cure

gabor.szeder

Yeah, that's what I was trying to get to, but had no idea where I read it. Thanks for digging it up and saving me the trouble.