battle of the potted salmon

At last, I found my favourite potted salmon/salmon rillettes. Salmon was on a really good special so I bought a big piece, and the SDM requested potted salmon. I probably last made this 10 years ago, but I guess it stuck in the memory :) So I made a batch, here's what I did and what I tried. One of them was a winner by miles (reveal below) ...

Cut the salmon in chunks and cook it slowly in a pan in plenty of butter. (If no cats will be offered pieces of it, optionally add some white wine. It turned out that our cats are so spoiled they don't think salmon is made of catfood.) I used about 800g salmon and 50g or so butter for this step. 

Meanwhile, prepare flavourings and clarify (ideally) or melt (lazy) about 250 g salted butter (yes, two hundred and fifty). 

I tried:

1. Fennel pollen, ground wild black pepper, tequila reposado

2. Desert sage, juniper, sage gin

3. Chiltepin, dried orange peel, absinthe

4. Lime peel, triple sec, chipotle powder, samphire powder

Divide the salmon into small bowls and mix in each set of flavourings, breaking up the fish into flakes and moistening with butter to make a rough paste. Check the seasoning - I found they all needed added salt. Pack very firmly into small clean jars or pots, leaving at least 1.5 cm at the top for the butter :-D Pour in melted butter just to the surface, pack down again with a spoon. Let them cool a little, then top up the butter and optionally garnish so you can see what flavour it was. Chill thoroughly, optionally freeze.   

And the winner was ...

Great balls of orange! 

The orange/absinthe/chiltepin had no competition, it's just divine. So, to go into a bit more detail ...

Chiltepin: are wild peppers, considered to be the original from which all others are descended. They're tiny adorable ferocious balls of chiletasticness. I got these guys down Tucson way, as you do. Substitute: bird's eye chiles?

Orange: I was at a farmer's market in San Diego a few weeks ago and they had the most terrific little blood oranges, unwaxed, organic, and about 2 inches across. We had really enjoyed these commercial ones and I decided to have a go at reproducing them. Sliced about 2 mm thick on a mandoline, the end slices kept separate to grind or chop into straight up orange peel for cooking. Dried them first in the fridge and then in the sun (bless the desert climate). Yep, they're really good. Substitute: dried unsweetened orange peel 

Absinthe: I grabbed a mini of this brand a while ago to try it. Now I want to try this salmon again with St George absinthe to get a really regional flavour mix (or should that be flavor mix?) Substitute? IDK, let me know.

Tips:

• Take your time with the mixing to get a good paste that holds together. Aim for a pate-like texture. 
• Don't stint the butter - it's what preserves the fish. Use the best quality you can bear to buy - you'll really taste it. And what's the point in lashing out on salmon then economising on butter?
• If you plan to eat it all within a day or so, you should still mix in some butter to moisten, but you'll only need a cosmetic layer on top if any. Still refrigerate, and cover once it's cold. 
• If you didn't clarify the butter, make sure you don't get any of the white milk liquid/solids in the salmon - it will make it spoil faster. 
• If you've removed all the air and sealed each pot well with butter, it will keep for several weeks in the fridge. Make sure any garnishes are already dried (herbs, spices, etc.) so they won't spoil. 

To try next time:

• Different kinds of absinthe 
• Skinos Mastiha liqueur

Baked chicken with desert sage

Baked chicken with desert sage

Ingredients

6 free range chicken thighs with bone
2 T extra virgin olive oil or to taste
2 tsp dried desert sage*, finely rubbed or crumbled
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano or 1/2 tsp dried Mexican oregano
chopped garlic to taste
salt and pepper

Method

Set the oven to 200 C/400 F and line or spray a baking dish. Crumble the dried herbs together, and garlic if using, and rub into the chicken. Drizzle, brush, or spray with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in dish for 25 - 35 minutes or until cooked to 75 C/165 F internally. Serve.

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*Desert sage Q&A
Q. Is desert sage safe to eat?
A. Yep. Note that we're talking about the salvia species (in particular s. dorrii) not, not, NOT sagebrush. Sagebrush is an artemisia - i.e. it's closely related to wormwood. It has its own uses, mainly household and medicinal, and they are not the same as sage. As with all wild plants, know what you're doing before you collect it.

Q. But would I want to?
A. IDK. I like it. If you like other camphorous herbs and if you like garden sage, then give it a try.

Q. Camphorous herbs?
A. Such as bay, rosemary, Mexican oregano, lavender.

Q. Okay great, where can I get it?
A. Ahhhhh my house? The Great Basin or Mojave deserts? I have never seen this for sale as a culinary herb anywhere, and only rarely as a garden plant (and once, the dried cut plant, along with white sage and cedar, probably for ritual purposes.) I collect it in extreme southern Nevada or nearby parts of California.