Dried and Salted Fish Fillets (e.g. cod) Sous Vide
I don't have much experience cooking with dried and salted fish, but as far as I have read traditional recipes start with a long soaking time in water (and also changing the water multiple times) to get rid of the excess salt, followed by poaching or confiting in olive oil.
I have cooked fresh fish many times sous-vide with excellent results at around 50C. I suspect due to an extensive amount of salt, probably, changing the protein structure of the fish; this temperature might not work for rehydrated and desalted fish.
As per this question confiting is covered and another recipe for confiting sous vide also suggests 65C. However in these recipes, next to confiting, the main aim is to extract the gelatin from the fish to be later used in the sauce.
However I wasn't able to find much information on replicating poaching results with sous vide.
Does anyone have experience or resources regarding cooking temperatures for rehydrated and desalted fish.
Best Answer
The purpose for salting fish is to cure it (originally for preservation). It does not need to be cooked. The reason for soaking and/or boiling salted fish is to remove the excess salt and to rehydrate the fish for consumption. Sous vide probably doesn't make sense in the preparation of salted fish, but I'd be curious how it comes out. You should soak to remove salt to taste. Be sure to taste the inner flesh when testing for saltiness.
For sous vide preparation, I would suggest soaking in cold water to remove enough salt and then cooking at a lower temperature. 50°C is a good temperature, but you can go even lower for salted fish. You might experiment as low as 40°.
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Are salted cod fillets the same as salt fish?
In terms of flavor, the taste difference between salt cod and fresh cod is slight. The salted cod will have more flavor. There is a reason why salt cod is called \u201cthe prosciutto of the sea\u201d!What is salting and drying cod called?
Dried and salted cod, sometimes referred to as salt cod or saltfish or salt dolly, is cod which has been preserved by drying after salting.Is cod good sous vide?
While cod is an easy fish to cook, it's also a fish that can be easily overcooked. That's why I prefer cooking it using the sous vide method. It might take a little longer, but the controlled temperature of the water bath ensures the cod fillets are perfectly cooked and never dry or rubbery!How long can fish stay in sous vide?
After 48 hours, it depends on what type of food it is. Delicate proteins like fish and seafood should be consumed or frozen after that period. Vegetables and meats that have been cooked for longer than 6 hours at 140\xb0F/60\xb0C can be held for 1 week before they have to be consumed.How to cook cod sous vide
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