Cold Turbot

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large roasting pan, at least 20 by 14 inches (50 by 35 cm)
• •Heavy-duty foil and baking parchment
• •Unbleached cheesecloth or clean muslin for a lifting sling
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Oval serving platter and broad fish slice

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the cold sauce

   Set a medium bowl on a damp towel so it cannot wander. Whisk the egg yolks with the Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) of the lemon juice, the salt, and white pepper. Add the oil a few drops at a time until the emulsion catches and the whisk leaves clear tracks, then pour in the rest in a fine steady thread while whisking constantly. Whisk in the remaining lemon juice and enough cold water to give the mayonnaise citronnée a soft, spoonable fall, then fold in the chives. Cover and refrigerate. If the mayonnaise splits, put 1 teaspoon (5 ml / 5 g) cold water in a clean bowl and whisk in the broken sauce one teaspoon at a time until smooth. Ça se rattrape.

   Cold yolks resist the oil at first. Let them stand for fifteen minutes before whisking, but return the finished mayonnaise to the refrigerator promptly.
2. 2

   Build the court-bouillon

   Combine 4 cups (960 ml / 960 g) of the water with the wine, onion, carrot, parsley stems, bay leaf, peppercorns, vinegar, and 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 36 g) salt. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for fifteen minutes so the aromatics give up their flavour without turning bitter. Let it settle for ten minutes, then strain it into a large bowl set in a cold-water bath. Add the remaining 8 cups (1.9 L / 1.9 kg) very cold water. This court-bouillon, a short aromatic poaching liquor, must feel cool before it meets the fish; hot liquor seizes the outside while the centre remains raw.

3. 3

   Cradle the turbot

   Heat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Line a large roasting pan with crossed sheets of heavy foil and then parchment, drawing the sides inward to form a basin only slightly larger than the fish. Lay a long piece of unbleached cheesecloth across the basin as a sling, leaving generous handles, then settle the turbot on it pale-side down and dark-side up. Pour in enough cold court-bouillon to cover the fish, reserving about 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) in the refrigerator. Lay a parchment cartouche directly on the liquid and seal the pan with foil. This snug basin is the honest home equivalent of a turbot kettle, and the sling supplies the missing second pair of hands.

4. 4

   Poach at a tremble

   Slide the covered pan into the oven and begin checking after twenty-five minutes. The court-bouillon should barely quiver at the edges, never boil. If hard bubbles break the surface, pull the pan out, add some of the reserved cold court-bouillon, lower the oven to 300°F (150°C), and continue gently. Cook until the flesh beside the central bone is pearly opaque, releases with slight pressure, and reaches 145°F (63°C), usually thirty-five to forty-five minutes depending on thickness. Check early and often. Once turbot has tightened from excess heat, no quantity of sauce can make those broad flakes supple again.

   Insert the thermometer from the side into the thickest flesh beside the central bone. Pushing it straight down risks reading the hotter bone rather than the fish.
5. 5

   Cool it only just

   Ladle away enough hot court-bouillon to expose the cheesecloth handles, then lift the turbot carefully and let it drain for two minutes. Transfer it to an oval platter. While the fish is still warm, loosen the dark upper skin at the tail with a small knife and peel it toward the head, leaving the pale underside skin in place to support the fillets. If a patch of flesh follows the skin, stop pulling, ease it free with the blunt side of the knife, and place the lifted piece back where it belongs; a spoonful of cooking liquor will settle and gloss it. Strain ¼ cup (60 ml / 60 g) of the liquor over the exposed flesh, tent loosely with parchment, and let the fish stand for twenty to twenty-five minutes. Serve when the platter is barely cool and the liquor has only begun to turn tacky, always within forty-five minutes of lifting. Do not refrigerate or slice it in advance.

6. 6

   Carve at the table

   Bring the mayonnaise citronnée from the cold and whisk in a teaspoon of water if it has tightened. Arrange the lemon wedges beside the turbot. To carve, divide the two upper fillets along the central bone and lift them outward with a fish slice. Raise the backbone from tail toward head, then serve the two lower fillets from their supporting skin. Give each guest mayonnaise citronnée alongside rather than burying the moist flesh beneath it. This fish has waited quite long enough. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the fishmonger for a whole turbot with bright eyes, red gills, resilient flesh, and a clean sea smell. Have it gutted and the sharp fringe of fins trimmed, but keep the skin, head, and tail. The skin protects the flesh during poaching and releases readily while warm.
• •A snug vessel matters more than a specialized one. If the roasting pan is broad, mold the foil and parchment close around the fish; otherwise you need a lake of court-bouillon and risk spilling it before dinner has properly begun.
• •The sauce must be cold and the fish merely cooled. That contrast gives freshness without sacrificing texture. If both are refrigerator-cold, the turbot becomes firm and the mayonnaise tastes heavier.
• •If only turbot steaks are available, poach them gently and cool them for no more than fifteen minutes. They harden faster than a whole fish, so plate them only when everyone is ready to eat.
• •Pour a dry Chablis or a Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine. Both have the acidity to meet the mayonnaise without crowding the turbot's delicate sweetness.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and eat them the following day. They will not regain the texture of turbot froid, but they make a very good fish salad folded gently with the remaining mayonnaise and lemon.

Advance Preparation

• •Make the mayonnaise citronnée up to one day ahead with pasteurized egg yolks. Keep it tightly covered in the refrigerator and loosen it with a teaspoon of cold water before serving if necessary.
• •Prepare and strain the court-bouillon up to two days ahead. Chill it promptly and keep it refrigerated; starting with cold liquor gives the whole fish time to cook evenly.
• •Have the fish cleaned on the day of serving and keep it very cold until needed. Begin poaching about one hour before the guests sit down, because the cooked turbot itself cannot wait.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)