Cabillaud Bouilli

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) wide sauté pan with a lid, at least 2½ inches (6 cm) deep
• •3-quart (2.8 L) saucepan for the potatoes
• •1-quart (950 ml) saucepan for the cod liver
• •Small butter saucepan or heatproof jug
• •Wide slotted fish slice
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare fish and liver

   Check the cod darnes for loose scales and splinters of bone, then keep them cold until the poaching water is ready. Examine the liver carefully, trimming away membrane and any green-stained portion where bile has touched it, then divide it into four pieces. Do not salt either one directly; the measured poaching water seasons them evenly.

2. 2

   Boil the potatoes

   Put the potatoes in their measured cold salted water and bring them steadily to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer without violence for 18 to 22 minutes, beginning to test at 15 minutes; a small knife should enter the centre without resistance, while the pieces still hold together. If their edges begin splitting before the centres are ready, lower the heat and cover the pan for a few minutes. When tender, drain them, return them to the dry pan for one minute, and cover loosely. Their floury surface should look dry and faintly cracked, ready to drink butter.

3. 3

   Set the poaching pans

   Divide the salted water prepared for The Boiling of Fish in Salted Water (No. 776), putting 3 quarts (2.8 L) in a wide sauté pan and the remaining 2 cups (475 ml) in a small saucepan. Bring the wide pan to a full boil and the smaller pan to the barest tremble. The wide pan replaces the fish kettle; depth matters less than giving every darne room to lie flat without touching its neighbour.

4. 4

   Poach the liver

   Lower the cod liver into the small pan and hold the water between 175 and 185°F (80 and 85°C), with movement below the surface but no breaking bubbles. Poach for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pieces are opaque, softly set, and reach 145°F (63°C) at the centre. If an edge begins to split, remove the pan from the heat immediately; ça se rattrape, and the residual heat will finish the centre without turning the liver grainy. Lift it onto a warm plate and cover loosely.

5. 5

   Warm the butter

   Melt the butter over the lowest heat just until it becomes liquid, then season it with the measured salt. Keep it warm without letting it foam or colour. Melted butter means exactly that: sweet, pale butter with its golden sheen intact. Browning would make a different accompaniment, and this quiet fish does not ask for one.

6. 6

   Poach the cod

   Following The Boiling of Fish in Salted Water (No. 776), slide the cold darnes into the fully boiling wide pan, one at a time, using the fish slice to prevent splashing. As soon as the last piece is submerged, lower the heat completely and move the pan partly or entirely off the burner so the boil stops. Hold the water between 180 and 190°F (82 and 88°C) for 7 to 10 minutes, until the centre reaches 145°F (63°C) and the flesh separates into broad, moist flakes under gentle pressure. If bubbles begin breaking against the fish, lift the pan completely off the burner. Ça se rattrape: wait until the surface is still, then finish off the heat or return it only to the faintest warmth, checking the cod one minute earlier because its outer flesh has already taken extra heat.

   Never crowd the darnes or stack them. Each piece needs direct contact with the salted water, and room around it lets you lift it intact.
7. 7

   Drain and serve

   Warm an oval platter with hot water and wipe it dry. Lift each darne with the slotted fish slice, support it underneath, and rest it briefly on a folded clean towel so water does not dilute the butter. Arrange the cod on the platter with the floury potatoes and poached liver, then tuck in the parsley sprigs. Spoon a little warm melted butter over the fish and bring the rest separately to the table. Serve at once. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask the fishmonger for true darnes, thick cross-cut steaks with the central bone and skin intact. The bone helps the cod hold together and gives each portion the generous shape the dish expects; thin boneless fillets cook too quickly for this method.
• •Fresh cod liver is highly perishable and usually requires a special order. It should smell clean and marine, never sour, and must be cooked the day it is bought. Canned cod liver is already preserved and cannot be poached as the source directs, so it isn't an invisible substitute.
• •Melted butter must remain pale and sweet. Let it colour and you've changed the technique. Use real butter and serve it generously; we don't apologize for butter.
• •A dry Muscadet suits the clean cod, rich liver, and butter without smothering any of them. Keep the wine cool rather than icy, or its acidity will taste sharper than the fish.
• •Cabillaud bouilli is best the moment it is cooked. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat them within a day, preferably cool or warmed very gently; a second boil will turn those broad flakes dry.

Advance Preparation

• •Ask the fishmonger to cut the darnes and clean the liver on the day you will serve them. Keep both well covered in the cold until cooking.
• •The potatoes may be peeled and cut up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them submerged in cold unsalted water, then drain and transfer them to the measured fresh salted water before cooking.
• •The poaching water may be measured and salted several hours ahead, and the butter may be cut into pieces. Do not poach the cod or liver ahead; their tenderness depends on going directly from the water to the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 425g)