“Mission: Poachable”
Answer: Both have poaches.
Explanation: Poach is French for pouch, and to the first Frenchman that ever dropped an egg into simmering water, that’s what the resulting egg looked like. This chapter would have me on unfamiliar ground – before I started work on this chapter, I could count the number of times I’ve poached anything, not just eggs, on no hands. I have my suspicions on why it’s not done more often, but I’ll come back to that after I’ve talked about the two-and-a-half recipes I’ve replicated.
Of these recipes, I went for the easiest first, which is, of course, poached eggs. The procedure’s fairly simple – put some water in a 12″ skillet, along with some white vinegar and salt, and add the heat. As you’re bringing the water to a simmer, crack four eggs into four custard cups. Once the water’s reached its simmering point, drop the eggs, turn off the heat, cover and cook for five minutes. Remove the eggs, and serve immediately. Nothing to it, really.
And if you thought that, then you’ve not been reading this blog and don’t know me that well. The simpler the recipe, the more I tend to make big mistakes. In my first try on this one, I forgot to turn off the heat. This meant the eggs were done in three minutes and the water had begun to boil over, perfuming the air of my apartment with a wonderful acidic aroma with a hint of sulfur. My second and third try went better, though, and by the third attempt I didn’t even need my recipe at all. I was somewhat disappointed in the flavor, however. Poaching had not imparted any flavor to the eggs, and they needed a good bit of salt before I thought they tasted as good as their consistency would suggest.
The next recipe was the half recipe: court bouillon. For my non-foodie readers, court bouillon is a poaching liquid of water and white wine with some aromatics. You would no sooner eat court bouillon than you would wear the shoe box your shoes came in. It’s in here due to the episode the chapter is recounting. In the episode, Agent AB is trying to stop the Mad French Chef’s plot, which involves replacing the city’s water supply with court bouillon. He doesn’t cook with it at all, so its inclusion in the chapter is purely legacy. I had to figure out something to poach in the liquid, so I chose salmon. I made it at my parents’ place, and topped off the fish with a beurre blanc sauce. Once again, the fish was cooked well, and was very moist, but lacked any flavors the court bouillon could have imparted.
Finally, the chapter closes with catfish au lait. It’s another easy recipe. Put a can of evaporated milk into an electric skillet along with some Old Bay, salt, pepper and thinly sliced onion. Bring to a boil, and add the catfish, spooning some of the liquid over it. Reduce heat to low (if your skillet says temperatures as low as 140 degrees Fahrenheit, then aim for that), and cook until done. Remove to a serving dish and top with the poaching liquid.
Once again, as it’s a simple recipe, I screwed it up the first time. This time, my problem was that I didn’t realize how powerful my electric skillet was until I started using it. I put the skillet on high to get the milk going, but the bottom actually scalded and burned before it truly came to a boil! I had to discard everything and start again. By the second time, it all worked, and I was able to serve it over rice alongside some steamed parsleyed carrots. Once again the fish was wonderfully moist, but it still underseasoned. This surprised me, as there was quite a bit of salt and pepper in the poaching liquid, along with the Old Bay.
If you’ve noticed a trend in my outcomes, then you’ve noticed the same one I have. Poaching doesn’t seem to lend much flavor to whatever it is you’re poaching, so I won’t be likely to do much more poaching in the near future. In general, the only thing I would consider poaching again would be eggs, and then only if I’m making Eggs Benedict, where they’re one of the principal ingredients. If anyone has good recipes that showcase poaching at its finest, let me know – I’d like to try some more, and see if it’s my technique that needs improvement, or if my conclusion is actually valid. Help me out here! Poaching: bug, or feature?
Next Time: I work with a culinary sponge.
Recipes:
May 5, 2014
misroi
goodeatseaten 