[relaxing music]
I am Eric Ripert, chef-owner
of Le Bernardin in New York City.
And today, I’m making the perfect version of salmon filet.
Le Bernardin is a seafood restaurant
in the heart of Manhattan, and we are very lucky,
because we are highly regarded by our clientele,
very loyal to us.
Today, we are going to cook some salmon.
I will make a curry sauce that will go with it.
I’m going to cook it with a technique called unilateral.
The salmon will be warm,
have a beautiful color, beautiful texture.
Will show the philosophy that French cooking
is about delicacy legacy and precision.
The first thing that we are going to do
is to prepare the salmon.
So, here, we have some salmon
that comes from the Faroe Island,
which is in between Iceland and Denmark.
This fish comes from very, very pure waters
and therefore, we don’t have to worry about parasites.
And fish like that could be served very, very rare.
You know it’s fresh when you put your nose on top
and it doesn’t have any smell.
If you see those white lines here
through the filet being kind of beige, dark,
if the color is not vibrant, it’s not so fresh.
When you touch it with your finger, it springs back.
If you have a hole in your filet, it’s pretty old already.
You should take it out of the fridge
few minutes before you are going to cook it,
so that way, the fish comes back to room temperature
and it will be easier for the fish to cook equally
during the process.
For seasoning the fish, I’m using fine sea salt.
So, when you season, you don’t season too high
because you’re not very precise.
You don’t season too close, because you are too close.
You don’t see what you are doing.
You do that just before the process of cooking.
If you are pulling the salt too much ahead of time,
it’s gonna start to cook the flesh of the fish
that is very fragile, very sensitive to salt and acidity.
I’m going to cook it with a technique called unilateral,
which means that the heat comes from the bottom very slowly
and cook the salmon to perfection.
I’m going put some water in a pan,
a little bit, not too much,
and I’m going to use a little bit of butter.
Like that.
I’m gonna put the pan on top of this griddle here.
The idea is to use the heat
and cook the fish very, very slowly.
Coming from the bottom to the top,
we will have the consistency of the custard
when we are going to eat the fish.
At home, if you have burners,
you can cook the fish on top of the burner.
You just put the pan on it.
Here, we are not searing the fish.
Sometimes, it’s good to sear the fish to create a crust.
For salmon, for instance,
I like it when it’s cooked like this,
because you don’t have dryness of the crust.
Also, you don’t taste the oil that you used
for creating the crust in a pan.
So, here, when the fish will be cooked,
it will have this very, very beautiful texture.
And also, you will be able to taste the fish
fully without any distraction from other ingredients.
The fish is not flipped.
Because if you flip it, the color will not be the same.
You will have kind of like a dull, grayish color,
but I’m not looking for the water to be simmering
and I’m not looking for the water to be boiling,
’cause, again, that will create too much heat
and will cook the bottom of the fish well done.
You just have to be patient.
While the fish is cooking,
I’m going to make a curry coconut sauce.
This sauce goes very well with the salmon,
because it will have a nice spiciness, vibrant color.
This sauce is, of course, elegant, but very easy to make.
Going to slice a shallot very thinly.
We’re cooking very fast.
If the shallot was sliced with thick pieces,
it will take a long time.
You will not get all the flavors coming out of the shallots.
I’m going to put a bit of oil in the pan.
Shallots are going first.
So, the pan will be hot,
but not so hot that it will sear the shallot.
A clove of garlic.
Garlic, as you know, is very strong and pungent.
You don’t want too much in it.
I have some fresh ginger.
Same thing, I’m gonna slice it very thinly.
I’m looking to sweat the vegetables.
Sweating means that they’re becoming soft cooked
so you don’t have the raw flavor of the onion
or you don’t have the raw flavor of the garlic
that is very, very aggressive.
The ginger is going to be spicy and refreshing.
When you make sauce, especially for seafood,
you want to sweat your vegetables
and not necessarily sear them.
When you make sauce for meat,
sometimes, you want to color the vegetables,
because meat, it’s not as delicate as fish.
Coloring the vegetables may bring an intensity
that the sauce needs to elevate the meat.
I’m gonna add a bit of white wine.
So, the wine will help to make the coconut milk not as rich
and will bring a little bit of acidity.
Coconut milk is when you use the flesh
and you basically puree the flesh and cook it.
Nice fat content
that will bring the creaminess to the sauce.
Madras curry powder is a blend of different spices,
including turmeric, which bring very often
the very bright yellow color.
I’m gonna let the sauce come to simmer.
I’m adding a little bit of water because it’s rich.
I’m gonna pass the sauce.
So, passing the sauce means I’m going to filter the sauce
to have a smooth texture,
but all the flavors from the garlic
and the ginger and the shallots.
I’m passing the sauce through what we call a chinois.
And then I’m gonna extract with the spatula,
and you can see I’m pressing.
I’m extracting all the flavors.
Meanwhile, as you can see, the salmon has been cooking.
It’s still cold on the top.
If I lift it, you will see underneath
is starting to to be cooked and the heat is coming up.
So, with the brush, I’m basting the fish.
I’m also eliminating the albumin that comes out of the fish.
Albumin is a protein.
It comes out very quickly when you cook it very, very fast.
Slow cooking will avoid the albumin to come out
in very big chunks.
It’s not necessarily pleasant, the texture.
So. we brush the salmon on the side like that
using a thin skewer made of metal.
And I’m gonna go through the flesh of the fish like this.
And then you touch your hand and it should be warm.
If it’s cold, it’s not cooked.
If you burn yourself, you’re punished.
It’s overcooked.
I like salmon when it’s cooked medium rare.
And in general, I like all fish being cooked medium rare.
When it’s overcooked, it’s very dry and tasteless.
And I can tell you that the fish is cooked
because there’s no resistance going through the flesh.
And also, when it’s coming back, the skewer is warm.
So, it’s time to remove the fish.
So, when you plate,
you have to be very gentle, very careful.
Seafood in general is fragile, delicate.
I’m using a spatula.
I’m using the napkin to let the liquid be absorbed in
before it goes to the plate.
I’m gonna decorate the fish.
I have some chives.
It has a slight onion-y flavor, but not overpowering,
and it’s gonna go well with the sauce and the fish.
I have some vegetables here.
We have some cauliflower, carrots, and turnips,
and I’m going to plate them around the fish.
I just have to finish the sauce.
Whisking is about incorporating air,
which makes the sauce slightly lighter in appearance.
Adding some lemon juice.
I’m saucing around the fish
because I don’t wanna destroy the beautiful texture
that the fish has and the beautiful color.
I want the fish to shine.
And if you want the flavor of the sauce,
you will decide how much sauce you want with your fish.
This is it.
It’s a salmon curry sauce with spring vegetables.
This is a fish knife.
It’s not even sharp.
And you slice it and you can see it’s no effort.
So, now, I’m gonna try.
Very good.
And you can see it’s perfectly cooked.
It has the same texture.
And if I lift it with my fork,
you’ll see the texture is exactly the same
all over the fillet of fish.
And when I touch it, it’s warm, it’s hot.
Salmon is a very rich fish, very delicate,
and it goes very well with the coconut curry sauce.
It brings a bit of spiciness.
The lemon juice brought a bit of acidity
that is a contrast with the richness of the fish
and give you the illusion of lightness.
When you eat it, you will eat the entire plate
and thinking it’s a cloud.
With this technique, it’s not very hard
to achieve restaurant-quality cooking
in your kitchen at home.
Not bad for an hour, huh?
[Alex chuckles]
What do you think, Alex?
One hour?
One hour, we do one cover.
[Eric laughs] [Alex laughs]