Poaching

To poach is to cook covered in hot liquid. It differs from boiling because when poaching, the liquid is kept at a bare simmer. Cooking fish in boiling liquid quickly dries it out and causes it to fall apart. Poaching differs from braising in the amount of liquid used. Poached salmon is completely submerged in hot liquid, while braised salmon (or any other fish) is cooked with only enough liquid to come halfway (or less) up its sides.

The most important thing to remember when poaching is not to let the poaching liquid really boil. You also need to know whether or not to start poaching in cold liquid or in liquid that’s already simmering. I poach whole salmon starting in cold liquid, so the outside of the salmon doesn’t overcook by the time the heat penetrates to the center. By starting in cold liquid that is slowly brought to a simmer with the fish in it, the heat penetrates the salmon slowly so it cooks evenly. If I’m poaching smaller pieces of salmon, such as steaks or fillets, I slip them in already simmering liquid. If I were to start them in cold liquid, they would overcook and dry out before the liquid even reached a simmer.