Recipe#10969

Title: Braised Fish Wine

From: SamIam5317@aol.com 
 Newsgroups: rec.food.recipes 
 Subject: Fish Braised in Port Wine Sauce 
 Date: 7 Sep 1998 07:16:16 -0600 
 Message-ID: <3c0e4f21.35f33d11@aol.com> 

12  Servings
 6 tablespoons butter, in a 2 to 3 quart saucepan
 2 cups onions, thinly sliced
 1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
 1 cup celery stalks, thinly sliced
 1 bouquet garni, made from 8 parsley sprigs, 2 bay leaves and 1/2 teaspoon
 tarragon
 8 pounds fresh salmon, center cut
 salad oil
 salt and pepper
 1 750 ml. bottle white wine
 1 cup clam juice
 1/4 cup dry Port wine
 3 tablespoons cornstarch, in a 4 to 6-cup bowl
 3 egg yolks
 1/2 cup heavy cream
 1 1/2 cups mushrooms, thinly sliced, sauteed in 2 tablespoons butter (optional)
 2 tablespoons parsley, finely minced
 4 tablespoons butter, softened (optional)
 Melt the butter, stir in the sliced vegetables, add the herb bouquet
 garni, cover the pan, and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until
 vegetables are tender but not browned, 10 minutes or so.  Meanwhile,
 wash and dry the fish, brush outside with salad oil, and sprinkle
 inside with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and several grinds of pepper.
 Place cheesecloth under rack in roaster (or roasting pan), and lay
 fish on rack.  Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  When vegetables
 are tender, season with salt and pepper, and spread half of them
 over the fish.  Fold cheesecloth over top of fish, and place rest
 of the braising liquid, you should have enough to cover bottom of
 roaster to a depth of 1/2-inch.
 Set roaster over moderately high heat on top of the stove, and
 bring liquid barely to the simmer.  Cover the roaster (using foil
 if you have no conventional cover), and set in lower-middle level
 of the oven.  Regulate the heat so liquid barely simmers throughout
 the cooking, this is to prevent the fish from bursting its skin
 and from flaking.  Baste several times, using liquid in roaster.
 Fish is done at a meat thermometer reading of 165 degrees, or when
 there is no raw-red tinge of color inside cavity near backbone, or
 when you cut into flesh from edge of back, it comes easily off the
 bone.  Do not overcook; fish should remain intact and juicy.
 Sauce:  Spoon or drain most of the liquid and vegetables out of
 the roaster into a saucepan; boil down, if necessary, to about 3
 cups.  Stir 1/4 cup of the Port wine into the cornstarch.  Remove
 braising liquid from heat and beat into it the cornstarch-Port
 mixture; when blended, bring to the simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to
 cook the starch.  Place the egg yolks in the starch bowl, and blend
 in 1/2 cup of the cream.  Remove braising liquid again from the
 heat, and beat 1 cup of it by driblets into the egg yolks, then
 beat the egg yolk mixture back into the braising liquid.  Set again
 over heat and stir, reaching all over bottom and sides of pan while
 sauce comes to the simmer; simmer 1 minute, stirring slowly.  Blend
 in the optional mushrooms and their juices, and simmer a moment.
 Sauce should be thick enough to coat the fish nicely but not too
 heavily; thin out, if necessary, with more juices from the roasting
 pan or with more cream.  Carefully taste for seasoning and flavor;
 add more salt, pepper, or Port wine if you feel them needed, sauce
 can have a final addition of butter just before serving, to smooth
 and enrich it.  Clean off sides of pan and film top of sauce with
 a spoonful of cream until you are ready to serve.
 Brush vegetables off top of fish; lift fish out of roaster (using
 rack to help you) and slide it onto serving platter.  Peel skin
 off top side of fish, and scrape off any brownish bits of flesh.
 Pull remains of fins out of back ride, along with any small bones.
 Bring sauce again to simmer and remove from heat.  Stir in the
 parsley, then, by spoonfuls, the optional enrichment butter, adding
 a new piece as the last is absorbed.  Spoon a coating of sauce and
 vegetables over the fish.  Pour rest of sauce into a warmed bowl.
 If there is room on the platter, arrange the rice or other
 accompaniments around the fish.  Serve immediately.