Andrea is back! In our last video Andrea and I visited the Dutch Yellowtail farm where we learned everything about the kingfish. Click here if you want to see more. Before we head home, we took a little detour to pick some delicious seaweeds. They also grow in Oosterschelde water and this time we took some sea lettuce and we’ll use it for our seaweed & chives oil. The Yellowtail we confit in clarified butter and we serve it with a dashi beurre blanc, poached oyster and a kohlrabi seaweed bundle.
How to fillet the yellowtail kingfish
Start by removing the scales. You can also leave them on if you’re not using the skin, but I always like removing them anyway because it makes the filleting a lot easier and you don’t need to worry about getting scales on your fillets. Now make an incision just behind the fin and cut along the bone of the head. Then directly twist your knife horizontal and cut along the spin all the way down to the tail. Repeat this and put some pressure on your knife to insure you don’t leave any fish on the bones. Now turn the fish around and repeat the same process that we just did, only now I like to remove the head first making the filleting a bit easier. Then remove the other fillet as well. Now keep the bones and head to make a delicious sauce. Then take one of the fillets and cut the belly bones off. After that use a bone tweezer to remove the remaining bones. You can also just cut them away if you use the top join and belly part for different preparations. Like we’re doing today. Then make a small incision at the tail side and use it to pull the skin tight. Now use a long knife to gently remove the skin. Keep the skin tight, otherwise you’ll remove too much fish as well. The joins you can portion into big pieces. The belly part of the fillet used in our last video.
The dashi broth
| The yellowtail bones and head |
4 liters | water |
100 grams | kombu |
1 kg | chicken necks |
100 grams | dried shiitake mushroom |
300 grams | spring onion |
300 grams | onion |
First turn on your barbeque. Then take kingfish head and remove the eyes and gills. These are very bitter. After that take the bones and tie a piece of cooking rope around the center or tail. Place it so that I hangs just above your barbeque. Now also add the fish head and barbeque it all around till well toasted. The fat from the fish will melt and this will act as full for the barbeque, making it hotter in the beginning with a super nice flavor. After that remove the fish head and leave the bones till toasted and they start to color. Then pour the water into a big pot. Now add the kombu and let this sit for 4 hours to 5 hours. Then bring this to a simmer on a medium heat. While it’s coming to a simmer scoop off the white foam with a ladle. Once the broth is almost at a simmer, let’s say 90 degrees Celsius gently remove the kombu. Then add the toasted bones and head and bring this to a simmer. Once it’s simmering, turn down the heat and let it marinade for 40 minutes. Meanwhile transfer the chicken necks on an oven rack and toast them at 200 degrees Celsius for one hour till nice and golden. Once the bones have marinated pass it through a fine sieve. Now pour the dashi back into the pan and add the toasted chicken necks. Let this simmer for 90 minutes. Meanwhile also remove any white foam with a ladle. After those 90 minutes add the dried shiitake mushrooms and let it simmer for 1 more hour. Then drain the broth and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, so you don’t waste a single drop. Meanwhile trim the ends from the spring onions and chop them. Then take the onions, cut them in half, clean them and chop them. Once that’s done pour the dashi back into the pan and add the chopped vegetables. Let this simmer for 90 minutes. Then pass the dashi through a fine sieve and let it sit so you don’t waste a single drop. After that bring it to a simmer once more and reduce it till it’s a rich and powerful broth.
The dashi beurre blanc
400 grams | dashi broth |
20 grams | cream |
200 grams | cold cubes of butter |
| Rice vinegar & salt |
Pour the dashi into a saucepan and reduce it till you’re left with 100 grams. Then add the cream and bring it to a boil. Once it’s boiling turn down the heat and while stirring add the cold cubes of butter. Then give it a little taste for seasoning and when necessary, add some rice vinegar or salt.
The seaweed and chives oil
20 grams | sea lettuce |
10 grams | chives |
150 grams | neutral oil (I use sunflower oil) |
Lay the sea lettuce on a kitchen paper and put another paper on top. Then press it down to remove any liquid. After that transfer it into a blender and also add the chives and the neutral oil. Now blend it till the oil is at 65 degrees Celsius. It will heat up from the friction. Then pour it on a sieve that’s lined with a kitchen paper and let it drain in your fridge.
The sweet and sour kohlrabi bundle
150 grams | white wine vinegar |
100 grams | water |
100 grams | sugar |
3 grams | salt |
1 | lemongrass |
2 | kohlrabies |
| Sea aster, samphire, fennel leaves & chive flowers |
Pour the white wine vinegar into a saucepan and also add the water, the sugar and the salt. Then chop the lemongrass and add it to the pan as well. Bring this to a boil on a medium heat. Once it has boiled turn off the heat and let it cool down completely out of the fridge. Then pass it through a fine sieve and keep it in your fridge for later. Now take the kohlrabies and remove the leaves. Then remove the top and bottom and trim the sides. After that install it on a vegetable sheet slicer and slice both the kohlrabies in long thin slices. Now portion a small amount of the slices in small but long rectangles and let them marinade in the sweet and sour. Keep them in your fridge for at least 30 minutes. The remaining kohlrabi you can chop in thin julienne. Also keep it in your fridge for later. Now lay a couple of the sweet and sour slices on a tray and place some sea aster on top. Also add some samphire and fennel leaf. Then roll it up into a nice bundle. Now add a couple chives flowers and keep them in your fridge for later.
The oysters & final prep
Season some boiling water with salt and boil a couple of oysters for 1 minute. Now directly cool them down in ice water. After 5 minutes remove them from the water and open them up. Put the oyster between a kitchen cloth and insert an oyster knife in the joint. Then twist the knife to pop the joint and gently cut the muscle on the flat side. Now cut the muscle loose on the bottom shell and transfer the oyster on a metal tray. Keep them in your fridge for later. The final thing we need to prep is the clarified butter. For that transfer 400 grams of butter into a saucepan and slowly melt it on the lowest heat. Once melted gently pour the clarified butter into a small saucepan. All the liquids will sink to the bottom. Today we are not using the liquid.
How finish the dish
First heat up the clarified butter till it’s 80 degrees Celsius. Now season the fish with salt and submerge them completely in the butter. Let this cook for around 12 minutes. Meanwhile transfer the kohlrabi julienne into a pan and add a couple tablespoons of the delicious sauce. Heat this up on a low heat till the kohlrabi is tender, but still has a small bite. The oysters you can heat up in the hot dashi beurre blanc for around 30 to 45 seconds. To check if the yellowtail is cooked just insert a needle in the fish and check if there is no resistance. If it’s cooked it will slide through without any trouble. Otherwise let it cook a bit more. Now place a spoon of the kohlrabi in a bowl and place the fish next to it. Then place the oyster on the kohlrabi and also add the bundle. Now finish it off with the hot dashi beurre blanc that’s mixed with the seaweed and chives oil.
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