Poached Salmon with Hollandaise Sauce

  4.6 – 32 reviews  • French

Here is my recipe for hollandaise-bathed fish that has been poached. I serve broccoli and cubed sweet potatoes alongside this dish.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 25 mins
Servings: 2
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients

  1. 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  2. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  3. Salt and pepper to taste
  4. 2 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless salmon fillets
  5. 3 egg yolks
  6. 1 tablespoon hot water
  7. 1 cup butter, cut into small pieces
  8. 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  9. Salt and pepper to taste
  10. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

Instructions

  1. Find a high-sided pan large enough to accommodate both salmon fillets side-by-side, without too much excess room; a small skillet or medium-sized saucepan should do. Pour lemon juice and olive oil into the pan, along with enough water to bring the water level up to 3/4-inch. Season the water to taste with salt and pepper, then add the salmon. Pour in enough water to just cover the salmon.
  2. Place the salmon over medium-high heat, and heat until the water is hot and steaming, but not simmering (165 degrees F (75 degrees C)); reduce heat if needed to keep the water at the proper temperature. Poach until the salmon turns opaque, and is firm to the touch; or to an internal temperature of 140 degrees F (60 degrees C). Proceed making the Hollandaise sauce while the salmon is poaching.
  3. Pour a few inches of water into a saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat, then turn heat to medium-high and maintain water at a gentle boil. Place the egg yolks in a metal bowl, and whisk in hot water. Place the bowl over, but not touching, the boiling water. Whisk constantly until the yolks thicken, turn a light, opaque yellow, and double in volume. You may need to remove the bowl from the boiling water from time to time in order to keep from scrambling the yolks.
  4. When the yolks have thickened and increased in volume, begin whisking in the butter, a cube at a time until it melts and incorporates into the hollandaise sauce. Wait for each cube to melt and incorporate before adding the next. Once all of the butter has been incorporated, remove from heat, whisk in the lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  5. To serve, drain the poached salmon and place each piece onto a dinner plate. Generously ladle with the warm hollandaise sauce, and sprinkle with chives.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 1270 kcal
Carbohydrate 4 g
Cholesterol 650 mg
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Protein 39 g
Saturated Fat 65 g
Sodium 766 mg
Sugars 1 g
Fat 124 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Andrea Adams
Great simple recipe
Vanessa Carter
The hollandaise turned out perfect! I’ve always made hollandaise from the Korrs packet (amazing and easy). Since I didn’t have any and had a craving I figured I’d give this a try. It was easy except the arm workout and tasted great. I added dill to my sauce. The salmon itself is a little tasteless but I suppose that’s why some people like poached salmon as it seems to get rid of the fishy taste. I added capers, dill and garlic powder to the salmon before serving.
Jamie Ruiz
Salmon was excellent, although it broke when I flipped it, so presentation was not the best. Taste was perfect, though. I didn’t use clarified butter so hollandaise was a little thinner than I thought it should be.. Taste was also very good. Served with asparagus that also was made better by hollandaise. Altogether nice meal for guests. Thank you.
Amanda Jimenez
I halved the butter and it was still really yummy. Had it with halibut “fish sticks.” Yummy!
Jennifer Butler
I modified it by using eggbeaters to make the hollandaise and reduced fat margarine.
Devin Ryan
Poached salmon is, well… just poached salmon. What really makes this recipe is the Hollandaise sauce… if you follow the instructions carefully, you’ll end up with a deliciously rich sauce that is the highlight of this dish.
Philip Giles
Sooo good! My salmon filet still had the skin on it, so I pan seared the salmon instead of poaching it to make the skin crispy, it was still super yummy and cut down on some of the ingredients. I will definitely cook this again.
Jonathan Parks
If I could give more stars I would ..It was easy,and tasted sooooo good i NEVER TAUGHT I COULD COOK THIS TYPE OF FOOD..
Ana Mitchell
This was great! It made a perfect brunch. I placed the salmon on a toasted piece of rye bread and topped with fresh roma tomato and basil.
Colton Cole
My wife liked the fish but LOVED the hollandaise sauce. Prepared and served as written (not a big fish eater, so there was no taste testing), she found the salmon a bit under-seasoned. The hollandaise sauce made the fish better. I will poach salmon again but with use vegetable stock (used chicken previously with water), a little bit more salt, a hint of onion powder, and will use a lemon and cracked peppercorn. Poaching with straight water is stewing and water being a solvent, removes flavor.
Melanie Burns
This was so good! I thought it may be difficult but everything came together great for me. I served it with rice and asparagus. Thanks for a new salmon recipe for the rotation Luna!
Kristi Perez
DELICIOUS!
Stacy Dunn
This was pretty good overall but I think next time I will use a bit less butter in my hollandaise.
Kimberly Ortega
The salmon was good but the hollandaise was for . Probably didn’t make it right but still sucked.
David Simmons
This was great! The fish was cooked nice and the hollandaise was delicious!
Brent Byrd
Sooo good, and I don’t even like salmon. Had some and needed to use it up though, and I love Hollandaise. I used unsalted butter and then salted to taste. I used realemon concentrate, where 1 tsp = 1 tbsp lemon juice. I thought it was fantastic. The Hollandaise was perfect, and poaching while making the sauce made it soooo easy. Served over long grain rice. Will definitely make this again.
Maurice Castro
This was an excellent meal. I had sliced baked sweet potatoes that were spicy. Also, I added dill and capers to the recipe and that was so excellent! I had a winner meal.
Daniel Adams
Must try!
Dr. Zachary Fox
Must try!
Ashley Frye
The sauce had too much lemon. It was really, really intense. We did squeeze the lemons ourself, though, so that could have made it stronger.
Logan Clarke
I was getting tired of the quick Hollandaise sauce I’ve been making. If there is one thing I have learned about cooking it’s that taking the time to do things the right way is almost certainly the best way. Sauces in particular can be tricky. In addition to taste, consistency is very key. I’m giving this 5* rating to the Hollandaise sauce in this recipe. Yes—there is a ton of butter – there is supposed to be. Rich is expected in this classic French sauce. It is what it is. So please don’t rate it if you are at all anti-butter and en route to the food police. Following the instructions exactly will produce a sauce near perfection.

 

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