cooking salmon in a dishwasher

[Jules001]

Having watched Masterchef the Professionals, where they used the sous vide method of cooking. It got me thinking as I have a vacuum sealer whether I could seal a whole fresh salmon (on special offer at the moment in Morrisons) and cook it in a dishwasher, has anyone tried this and can give any tips. I have Googled it and there are loads of how to guides, but wanted personal experience, if poss. As even though it is on offer, it is still a lot of money to waste if it all goes wrong!

[boxtops]

Wouldn't the water in the dishwater pummel the package of salmon, risk damaging it?

[HowardKennitby]

Do you have an electric deep fryer with an accurate thermostat? You could cook it in that.

[EDDIE51]

Why the hell risk putting an expensive salmon in a dishwasher when you can just poach it.( I mean poach it in water to cook it, not acquire it by illicit means !)

[theprof]

We first tried this a few years ago and yes, it works magnificently. A vacuum sealer would be ideal for the job - MrsProf merely wrapped the salmon very tightly in carefully folded aluminium foil.

The wrapped salmon is best placed in the top basket of the dishwasher - placing it in the bottom basket might well overcook it. Choose a "normal", "economy" or similar program cycle rather than a "quick" or "intensive" etc as the fish might be undercooked or overcooked.

It's also advisable to clean the dishwasher beforehand with one of the proprietary cleaners that you place in the basket and run on a normal cycle. This will ensure there's no latent grease etc in the internal plumbing of the dishwasher.

Finally, pay attention to what you're doing as a friend of ours absent-mindedly placed a dishwasher tablet in the door compartment before switching on the machine. Fish flesh impregnated with phosphates and other detergents is inedible!!

There's no danger of the water jets pummelling the packaging to any extent that would damage the fish. The pressure is insufficient.

[theprof]

EDDIE51, one of the virtues of this method is that you can cook an entire salmon in the dishwasher easily without a lot of preparation beforehand. It's unlikely you'd have a salmon that wouldn't fit in a dishwasher basket.

Not everyone has a suitably sized container to poach something of this size.

[naomi24]

I have a friend who does this - and it works.

[EDDIE51]

Prof ,yes I see now but I don't have a dish washer, however I work in a pro kitchen so I can borrow a fish poaching tin.
For other non dishwasher owning fish lovers, wrapping the salmon tightly in foil then placeing it in a large roasting pan and cooking it in a slow oven also works well. If it is well enough wrapped you can dispence with the roasting tin make sure there is a double layer of foil under the fish and it is well sealed on top.

[sandyRoe]

All the salmon I eat comes in cans. So, just out of curiosity, how long would it take to cook a salmon in a dishwasher?

[EDDIE51]

You can't make the Hollandaise sauce in a dishwasher !

[NoMercy]

I had to read the title again. I thought I was dreaming.

Personally I like to pan-sear my salmon and then place under the grill with some herby butter.

[EDDIE51]

NoMercy thats the way to do it, leave some for me :-)

[theprof]

sandyRoe, there's no precise time. Our current Bosch all-singing and all-dancing model (MrsProf chose it!) has a "normal" cycle duration of 136 minutes at a maximum temperature around 50 degrees C. The next cycle up raises the temperature to 65 degrees C for a 120 minute cycle. The latter is too hot for the fish in my experience as the flesh tends to separate too easily.

As I understand it, most conventional dishwashers run at around these temperatures and programme duration. Our previous model had a 60 minute cycle at a maximum temperature of 60 degrees C and this worked fine as well.

[DTCwordfan]

Coconut flakes look like soap suds.....

[sandyRoe]

Thank you, The Prof. Always useful to know.

[theprof]

I remain surprised that cooking salmon in a dishwasher hasn't gained wider publicity.

I'm generally expected to attend at least four black-tie dinners at university colleges every month and more often than not, I'm accompanied by MrsProf. Both of us have lost count over the the last few years of the number of Masters', Provosts' etc who have asked us how we enjoyed the salmon only to hear him or her reveal that the college chef's had discovered a new, groundbreaking method of cooking the fish and yes, you've guessed it, in the dishwasher.

It's ironic in a way because a few years ago we served a dishwasher cooked salmon to a college Warden in our own home. We may well have started something in Academia around this city.

[sandyRoe]

Is there a grace in Latin at High Table, or does that only happen in Morse?

[Jules001]

well I am still don't know whether or not to give it a go, my dishwasher is new, very new, ie installed last weekend, so don't want to risk messing it up in any way before Christmas, although this could be the perfect time as there is no build up of residual grease, powder, etc. oooh I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure :)

[theprof]

SandyRoe, Latin grace remains compulsory I'm afraid just like Morse. Unfortunately, Morse doesn't reveal the necessity to wear academic regalia to these dinners as well as black-tie. In the summer, the heat causes the best of us to squirm in our seats

[888]

balance it out and wash your pots in the river

[fliptheswitch]

Are you being serious??