faster.
Poaching Temperatures The great advantage
of poaching fish is the ease of controlling the
heat to obtain a moist, succulent result.
Moderate-sized fillets and steaks should be
started in liquid just below the boil and so hot
enough to kill surface microbes instantly. The
pot should then be taken off the heat, cool
liquid added to bring its temperature down
more quickly to around 150–160ºF/65–70ºC,
and the fish cooked through gently. Allowing
the cooked fish to cool while immersed in its
liquid will leave it moister, since a hot piece
of fish exposed to the air evaporates its
surface moisture away.
Poaching at the Table Fish and shellfish cook
so quickly in hot liquid that some cooks make
poaching part of the presentation at the table.
Pour steaming consommé into a bowl
containing raw scallops or small cubes of fish,
and the diner can witness their instant