Salmon Rillettes -- group project??

Well, considering that this group is like a herd of cats, I don't expect this idea to succeed.

BUT. The first dish I made from the Bouchon cookbook was Salmon Rillettes. And then last week, on my wife's birthday, we went to Bouchon in Yountville. We mentioned that it was her birthday and got free glasses of Champagne. So on the spur of the moment I ordered the salmon rillettes.

What we got was not similar to what I had made at home. It was IDENTICAL to what is printed in the cookbook, it was totally the same. Like duck rilletes or deviled ham, this is a meat spread which can be used on toast.

The toast OF COURSE was Keller toast, very crisp and crunchy. But unlike my Keller toast, which is normally about six inches long, this was more perpendicular, maybe 2 inches long.

The reason I am thinking that this might be an interesting dish for EVERYONE here to make is, that 1) it is fairly easy and 2) it is totally delicious. And after ordering it for my wife's birthday, I am now making it for our best friend's birthday this weekend.

If you don't own the Bouchon cookbook (frankly if you are here, i think you should. The recipes are not that hard and all of them seem to be delicious) here are links:

http://rosemarried.com/2010/05/18/thoma ... n-rilette/

no French, can't spell "deux"

http://whatscookingamerica.net/LindaSan ... Salmon.htm

This one seems good but a little weird

http://www.shaggybevo.com/board/showthr ... -w-pics%29

I am marinating the fresh salmon overnight with Absinthe (don't have any "Absynthe") and salt and white pepper.

That's too long but I'm down with it. More licorice, better flavor.

Whaddaya think?

I'm game!
Len doesn't eat salmon, but he is going out of town for a few days so I can do it early next week. Sounds like the perfect "bachelorette" food anyway! And of course should be wonderful with a glass of wine or two.

I'm about to steam the marinated salmon. Not really sure I did this the "right" way before. You can steam or poach but poaching would seem to leach out some of the marinade flavor. Actually what I think I did a few years ago -- you can buy these two-packs at Costo, flaky cooked salmon, one piece peppered and the other piece smoked. I think I might have just cut up the smoked piece and mixed that with lox, both cut up. That makes this an extremely easy recipe and it works pretty well. You add a splash of Pastis.

At any rate I have my bamboo steamer ready and it'll be cooked soon.

Probably this isn't to everyone's taste. The recipe makes a lot and it is quite buttery. But it keeps rather well, especially if it is sealed with a layer of butter on top. Using it up all by yourself might take a while...

I am making it to take to a party, probably 4-7 people.

The recipe makes a lot and it is quite buttery. But it keeps rather well, especially if it is sealed with a layer of butter on top. Using it up all by yourself might take a while...

I am making it to take to a party, probably 4-7 people.

I figured I'd halve or quarter the recipe.

[Robin Garr]

Okay, I'd really like to play, but seriously, I've chosen to be in a period in my life where I don't eat animals with a mommy, a face or a soul, I don't want to do it with salmon. However, I've done some googling and some thinking and believe I could come up with a similarly rich and succulent plant-based rillettes using chantarelles and some other good things in place of the salmon. May I play, using this alternative?

You're the boss!

I was kind of thinking how one might push this in the direction of a lobster rillettes. Of course that doesn't do anything to solve your problem.

My stuff is all crocked now, I took a few pictures along the way. One thing that hit me was what he does with the butter, whipping it with a tablespoon of crème fraiche. Tasting it I had a flash of recognition, BUTTER IN FRANCE which often has such a full rich taste, a little sour. Yum.

I've never liked poached fish, I always feel that it more or less ruins a good piece of fish. But this steamed salmon tastes wonderful all by itself. It's preseasoned, and drizzled with "Absente" -- very flavorful. Of course I have been enjoying steamed fish in Chinese restaurants for ages.

Generally I would say that this is probably one of Keller's easiest recipes. Several of the recipes in "Bouchon" are easy enough to do in a couple of hours, including the one with baby beets and goat cheese. I suppose the whipped Brie is easy if you have he right equipment -- A KitchenAid with a paddle stirrer. Hmm, I think those 2 cheese dishes are actually from "French Laundry." At any rate making this was a little tiring but not a challenge.

What I still have to do -- clarify butter and top all the little crocks with that, which helps protect the dish until it is used. I need to go buy a few baguettes and make batches of Keller Toast. When I give someone a plastic cup of the rillettes, I also have to give them a half dozen toasts to go with it, the authentic match.

Chanterelle rilletes sounds very interesting to me!

[Robin Garr]

Chanterelle rilletes sounds very interesting to me!

I'm looking at this recipe as a base ...
http://www.wildpurveyors.com/Chanterelle_Recipes.html

But of course I would look at the Bouchon recipe and others - also a great pork rillettes recipe from the Blind Pig, a local favorite in Louisville - in the interest of kicking it up as many notches as it can be kicked.

That looks great Robin. Gobs of butter. Might want to try the creme fraiche trick?

I'm thinking that a salmon-mushroom rillette could also be pretty darn good.

However I'm loath to mess with success, and the cooked salmon + lox is really delicious stuff.

First 2 pix on my Tumblr blog show the process. Yum, licking spoons and pans!!

http://wizardugetsu.tumblr.com/

[Robin Garr]

Gobs of butter. Might want to try the creme fraiche trick?

Yes! Needless to say, I am not proposing a vegan rillettes. (I actually do try to go off the industrial grid and avoid products from industrial agriculture, battery hens and rGBH dairy and the like, and I don't care much for cow's milk, anyway. But good, quality butter? Yes, please. And heavy/whipped/sour/fraiche cream? Ice cream? Don't mind if I do! Ditto fresh, just-laid free-range eggs from pastured hens ...)

Chanterelle rilletes sounds very interesting to me!

I'm looking at this recipe as a base ...
http://www.wildpurveyors.com/Chanterelle_Recipes.html

But of course I would look at the Bouchon recipe and others - also a great pork rillettes recipe from the Blind Pig, a local favorite in Louisville - in the interest of kicking it up as many notches as it can be kicked.

Hm. I might like more texture than the first recipe would produce (um, blenderizing the whole thing? really?).

I am also curious about the use of tomato paste (as a thickener?)

[Robin Garr]

Hm. I might like more texture than the first recipe would produce (um, blenderizing the whole thing? really?).

I am also curious about the use of tomato paste (as a thickener?)

I'm right there with you on both of those points, Jeff. Definitely some attention to maintaining a toothy rillettes texture. As for tomato paste, it's strong stuff, but a little dab can be an effective way to introduce some umami, as can a small shot of soy sauce or tamari, or both. In both cases, though, if you use enough to color the dish, you're doing it wrong. We're talking homeopathy here.