The Blog of Chef Timothy May

Cooking Tip #3

I always get asked the same question over & over again. " When I get home, how do I cook the salmon that I caught?"

There is a misconception surrounding how long you should cook fish. If I am using the BBQ or cooking the fish in a oven the amount of time is always the same. Depending on the thickness of the fillet that your cooking will determine the length of time that you leave each side of fish on the heat for.

BBQ- Preheat the BBQ so the tempurature is approximately 400*f. I like the clean simple flavors of Sea Salt, Cracked Black Peppercorn and fresh chopped thyme. I will rub a little oil on the fish so it will not stick on the grill when I am cooking the fish. You can use olive oil  or canola oil depending on your preference. A mixture of canola & olive oil is a good idea. The taste of burnt olive oil will linger for a while.

Once the fish is seasoned & oiled I always place the side I am serving face down on the grill. I will leave the fish face down until the sides of the fillet change colour. I will then flip the fillet over which I call skin side down. Again the side of the fillet will start to change colour. This process will take all of 3-4 minutes.

Oven- Preheat the oven to approximately 400*f. Season your fish exactly like if you were to cook it on the BBQ. Heat up a saute pan with oil and allow the pan to become hot. (your saute pan should be able to be put in the oven. plastic handles will melt in the oven) Place the fish skin side up in the pan and sear until the fillet is golden brown or the sides are changing colour. Flip the fillet skin side down and place the fish in the oven for approximately 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

I always strive to cook my fish medium rare because the fish will be moist and dry.

Check back for my next post and I'll show you one of my favorite sauce recipes for Salmon.

Tim May
Executive Chef
Clayoquot Wilderness Resort

Cooking Tip #2

Vancouver Island, British Columbia has developed into an amazing melting pot of small organic farms that produce some of the best organic greens, herbs, fruits, cheeses & meats that you can buy. When dealing with fresh organic produce you need to remember that if the product is stored properly it can last for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.

Buying produce that is not organic only has a third of shelf life that organic products have.

Washing the produce before putting in a storage container also helps with longevity.

Storing organic greens in air tight containers with damp paper towel on the top & bottom of the container will ensure the freshness and the crispness of the greens, I use commercial Cambro containers with a snap lid which you can buy at any restaurant supply store, even if you are not in the restaurant business.

 

Cooking Tip #1

There has always been a misconception about how you handle pasta once you have cooked it el Dante. When ever I order pasta in a restaurant I always know how it has been cooled down.

After the pasta is cooked I always spread my pasta on a baking sheet and add some olive oil to the pasta and let the noodles cool. Mix the pasta from time to time, it will enable the all the noodles to be comepletley coated with olive oil. Which will then prevent the pasta from sticking together. When the noodles are hot they will absorb what ever you put on them. Olive oil has much more flavor than water. Water will absorb much faster into the noodle.

When I reheat my pasta I always use a little bit of vegetable stock (or chicken, beef, veal) depending on what type of pasta I am creating.