This recipe was inspired by a dinner I had at The James Beard House. I was amazed at the melt-in-your-mouth feel of the salmon and just had to figure out how this texture and look was created. It appears raw, but it's completely cooked! The key is to cook it at a very low temperature for approximately 20 minutes (however, each oven is different). Just make sure it feels a tad more firm to the touch than raw salmon. I thought a salty/sweet sauce would be perfect. It may appear to be a small amount of sauce, but when only lightly sprinkled on, it doesn't overpower and enhances the flavor of the salmon; it's also a great component to the pea shoots. - Mariya —Mariya
The lowest temperature for my KitchenAid oven is 190 (and a oven thermometer registered the heat at about 220), quite a bit higher than the 145 called for. It has a dehydrator setting that ranges from 100 to 200. I decided to set it at 145, close the door rather than leave it cracked as you do when dehydrating, monitor the temperature and give this a go. I used a 1" thick piece of wild king salmon, about 3 ounces and began with the 20 minutes Mariya suggests. At 20 minutes, the salmon was shiny and "dry" to the touch but the inside was still very raw and no albumin had yet oozed. Oven thermometer read 170. After another 5 minutes the albumin started showing up; after another 5 minutes the albumin was oozing more; at 35 minutes total, the salmon was perfect! It had a silky, melt in your mouth texture and a lovely color, so different than poached, baked, grilled, roasted, cured or raw! The sauce was a delicious accompaniment. A unique recipe which deserves to be recognized. Monitoring the oven temperature is a must, since the normal ranges will not produce success. - Amber Olson —The Editors
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