Improvised Fish Poacher

Owning a fish poacher is the be-all and end-all of the batterie de cuisine of a well-equipped kitchen. But unfortunately, Canal House doesn’t own one. While it would be nice, it doesn’t stop us from poaching fish. A roll of parchment paper comes to the rescue. Here’s how we improvise.

For a whole fish use a large, heavy roasting pan and if you are poaching smaller pieces find the right size pot to hold the fish in a single layer. Tear off long pieces of parchment, then double-fold lengthwise into strips. Place the pieces of fish in the middle of each strip, then lower them into a pot filled with water, stock, or wine or a combination of those depending on your recipe. Use the ends of the parchment strips to lift the poached fish out of the water, to keep from burning your fingers (see the picture above). If you are poaching a whole fish, cradle it lengthwise in a double-folded length of parchment (to keep the fish from breaking into pieces). Make sure that your parchment “cradle” is long enough to use the ends as handles to lift the fish in and out of the simmering poaching liquid.