Rouget en Papillote

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Broiler-safe rimmed baking sheet with wire rack
• •Large heavy baking sheet
• •4 sheets heavy parchment paper, about 16 × 18 inches (40 × 45 cm) each
• •Pastry brush
• •Fish spatula or broad flexible turner
• •Kitchen shears

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the oven

   Set a rack about 6 inches (15 cm) below the broiler and heat the broiler on high. Keep a heavy baking sheet nearby. As soon as the fish is grilled, you will switch the oven to 450°F (230°C) and heat that empty sheet while assembling the papillotes; the hot surface helps the paper rise promptly.

2. 2

   Shape the paper hearts

   Use the packet construction recorded for Côte de Veau Papillote (No. 1259). Fold each parchment sheet in half, cut it into a broad half-heart with the fold forming the straight side, then open it into a full heart large enough to hold one fish with a border of at least 1½ inches (4 cm). Brush the inner surface lightly with oil, including the border, but don't leave puddles.

   Practice the pleats on one empty heart, then unfold it before filling. Small overlapping folds hold more securely than three or four grand gestures.
3. 3

   Set the Duxelles

   Warm the finished Duxelles sauce gently until it is spreadable and thick enough to sit in a mound. Draw a spoon across the pan: the path should remain visible. If the sauce flows back at once, reduce it uncovered for a few minutes, stirring, then let it cool until merely warm. A loose sauce soaks the seam before the papillote can rise.

4. 4

   Season the rouget

   Dry each fish thoroughly, including the cavity. Wet skin clings and pales beneath the broiler. Season inside and out with the salt and pepper, then brush the skin sparingly with some of the remaining oil. Keep the trimmed fins and tail clear of ragged points that might puncture the parchment.

5. 5

   Grill under the broiler

   Arrange the fish on a lightly oiled broiler-safe rack and grill for 3 to 4 minutes, until the upper skin is bronzed. Turn carefully and grill the second side for 2 to 3 minutes. The flesh beside the backbone should just be turning opaque but not yet flaking fully; it finishes during the five minutes in paper. If the skin clings, wait another twenty seconds before lifting it. Properly browned fish releases more willingly.

   Switch the oven immediately to 450°F (230°C) and put the empty heavy baking sheet inside. Let the fish rest only while you fill and seal the parcels.
6. 6

   Layer and seal

   Open one oiled heart with its crease running vertically. Spread 1 tablespoon of Duxelles on the lower half, keeping the border clean. Set one rouget on the sauce, parallel to the crease, and cover it with another tablespoon of Duxelles. Fold the empty half over the fish. Starting at the rounded top, make narrow overlapping pleats around the open edge, pressing every fold firmly, then twist the pointed end and tuck it underneath. Repeat with the remaining fish. If the paper tears or a seam refuses to hold, don't patch it with foil. Transfer the fish and sauce to fresh parchment and reseal it. Ça se rattrape.

   Keep Duxelles away from the border. Greasy mushroom sauce caught between the folds prevents the parchment from gripping itself.
7. 7

   Soufflé the papillotes

   Set the four parcels on the hot baking sheet and bake for exactly 5 minutes. The parchment should swell into rounded cushions, with deep golden creases and taut upper surfaces. If one parcel stays flat while the others rise, its seam is leaking. Remove the successful parcels at once, pinch the suspect fold closed through a dry kitchen towel, and return only the flat packet for 1 to 2 minutes. Don't overcook three fish while chasing the fourth packet.

8. 8

   Open at the table

   Transfer each swollen papillote immediately to a warm dinner plate and serve it unopened. Have each guest tear the parchment near the rounded top, keeping face and hands clear of the first rush of hot air. The flesh should part cleanly from the backbone and look opaque at its thickest point. If it is still translucent there, fold the paper loosely over it and return it to the oven for 2 minutes. The grand entrance is spent, but dinner is saved. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for rouget-barbet, striped red mullet, with clear eyes, vivid coral skin, and a clean marine smell. Red snapper is not rouget, whatever the fish counter's label suggests; it is larger, firmer, and misses the delicacy this brief cooking requires.
• •The source calls for somewhat thick Duxelles sauce, not a loose spoonful of chopped mushrooms. Reach for the finished sauce as written, made with real butter, and warm it only enough to spread. We don't apologize for butter.
• •Heavy parchment is the honest replacement for the strong oiled paper of the original kitchen. Foil seals, but it cannot show the soufflé, and that visible ballooning tells you the packet has done its work.
• •Serve the papillotes with pommes vapeur or slender green beans on a separate dish so the packets have room to rise and open. A dry white from Cassis or a restrained Provençal rosé keeps the Mediterranean character precise.
• •A cooked papillote waits badly. If there are leftovers, remove the fish from the damp paper, cover, chill promptly, and eat within one day; reheat gently, accepting that the paper performance happens only once.

Advance Preparation

• •Prepare the finished Duxelles sauce up to 2 days ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Warm it gently before assembly and reduce it briefly if storage has loosened its consistency.
• •Cut and crease the parchment hearts several hours ahead, then keep them flat beneath a baking sheet. Oil them shortly before filling so the paper remains strong.
• •The fish may be cleaned, dried, and held uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours. Do not grill or assemble the papillotes more than 10 minutes before their final baking; waiting softens the paper and dulls the rouget.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 150g)