Skate.... a Daring Cooks Challenge

I must appoligize for the terrible picture...but is all I have. I've had an unfortunate event with the camera and I think I toasted an entire 16GB SD card when I took part in a shocking experiment at a historic park. OOPS! So much for the vacation pictures from Yellowstone. We have yet to see what can be salvaged.

This months Daring Cooks challenge gave me the opportunity to try something new. I had never before tried to cook skate and I was pretty interested to give it a go. After quite a bit of convincing....I got the go ahead from my husband to try the skate....he was a bit squeamish about eating such a flippy floppy thing. The recipe called for poaching skate in a butter and water emulsion that I felt was a bit of a waste of butter.....but for the sake of the challenge I let it go. The seasonings for the dish were 'Powders' made from drying and pulverizing quite a few different herbs and vegetables. The one which caused the dehydrator to be placed outside was the capers. Some of us could not handle the smell....it was pretty strong.

The skate cooked up very well and had a texture that I can only describe as interesting. Both my husband and I could only manage a small taste of it (and I am not at all a picky or a squeamish diner)..........the cat seemed to enjoy the rest. I'm not certain if it was the texture of the squidgy fish or the oddly fishy smell from the powdered capers or the layer of cartilage .......but we found the dish inedible because of it. I also would likely never go through the bother of all the dehydrating required to make the 'powders'. While some of them were good, I'm going to have to blame the smelly caper one for souring my attitude towards them all. I'm not sure what we will do with the remaining 4 pieces of skate in the freezer...just cannot get past the super soft cartilage that freaked me out. It was too easy to cut through it with the fork, and once in your mouth was so soft it was hard to separate it from the fish. When I do cook the remaining pieces, I'll figure out whether our issue was with the fish or the caper powder.



This challenge was organized by Sketchy , from Sketchy's Kitchen . The recipe is as follows and you can substitute the skate with cod.



The Challenge: Skate, traditional flavors powdered (slightly altered)Reveal Date: July 14th



Skate, Traditional Flavors Powdered - with changes
4 skate wings
* Beurre monte
* 300g fresh green beans
sea salt/kosher salt
1 banana
454g butter - 4 sticks
300g lemons
5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet
150g cilantro
150g parsley
100g dried banana chips
300g spray dried cream powder (or powdered milk)
100g cup minced red onion
200g capers (brined, not oil)
* For green beans, slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm)* Beurre Monte - 454g butter (4 sticks, 1 pound) cubed and cold, 60g water. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. This should from an emulsion. Keep this heated, but under 195 degrees. The emulsion will not break - this is your poaching liquid.
Powders - prepare ahead of time caper / onion lemon powder cilantro/parsley powder'brown butter' powder

Powders once dried, all powders should be pulsed in a coffee grinder/spice mill/morter and pestle then passed through a chinois or fine mesh strainer.
citrus powder300g lemons1000g simple syrup5g citric acid/vitamin c tablet
zest 300g of lemons (10.6 oz), remove the pith from the zest and poach in the simple syrup three times. dry with paper towels and move to a dehydrating tray. 130 for 12 hours. pulse the zest in a coffee grinder, pass through chinois, and mix with citric acid/vitamin C powder.
If you do not have a dehydrator, place in microwave for 8 to 10 minutes at medium powder. Once dried, follow the other instructions.

cilantro/parsley powder150g cilantro150g parsley
blanch the parsley in boiling saltwater for 1 second, submerge the leaves in ice water for 3 minutes. Dry on paper towels and place on dehydrator tray. 130 for 12 hours. grind and pass through chinois.
If you do not have a dehydrator, place in microwave for 30 seconds, turn over leaves and microwave for another thirty seconds. They should be dry by now, pulse in coffee grinder, pass through chinois and reserve.

onion powder100g cup minced red onions
dehydrator - 130 for 12 hours microwave at medium power for 20 minutes.
pulse in grinder, pass through chinois
Caper powder200g capers (get the ones packed in brine/vinegar)
run the capers under cold water for two minutes to remove some of the brine.dry on paper towels and dehydrate for 12 hours at 130 degrees.microwave instructions are unclear. Dry them as much a possible with paper towels, the microwave on medium for 1 minute. Check the moisture content and stir them. repeat for 30 second intervals until they are dry. If you use this method, pleas post the time needed to dry the capers.
Once dry, pulse and sift the powder. Mix it with the onion powder.

Brown Butter powder
100g Dried banana chips (unsweetened if possible - many are coated in honey - the freeze dried ones would be brilliant)300g spray dried cream powder
If you cannot find the cream powder, you can substitute Bob's red mill non fat dry milk powder, or even carnation instant milk powder. The substitutions will alter the flavor a little, but you will still get the general idea.
preheat the oven to 350 degrees, sift the cream powder into a fine layer on a silpat or on parchment. bake for 4 minutes, then remove for heat. If it bakes for too long, it will burn. Be very cautious with all powders in the oven. They all go from browned to burnt in a few seconds.
grind the banana chips in a coffee grinder and mix with the toasted cream powder. Pass this through a chinois and reserve.

* For green beans, slice each beans into very thin rounds (2 mm)* Beurre Monte - 454g butter (4 sticks, 1 pound) cubed and cold, 60g water. In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil, remove from heat and whisk in the butter 1 cube at a time. This should from an emulsion. Keep this heated, but under 195 degrees. The emulsion will not break - this is your poaching liquid.
SkatePrepare the skate - 50G v shaped cuts are recommended Bring 100g water, 100g beurre monte, and green bean rounds to a boil over high heat. Cook until the water has evaporated (about 3 minutes), when the pan is almost dry, remove it from heat and season with 3g salt
bring 300g water and 300g beurre monte to simmer over medium heat, add skate wings and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and flip the wing over and let rest in pan for two more minutes. Transfer to warming tray lined with parchment and season with 5 grams of fine sea salt.

Plating

Take the tip of a small spoon and make a small mound of the citrus powder, the onion-caper powder, and the cilantro parsley-powder. Swirl these around in a hurricane type pattern. I found that it is easier, and you get finer lines if you lightly shake the plate to flatten out the mounds, then swirl the spoon through it to get the pattern.
peel the remaining banana into very think slices (3mm) fan three slices on the plate, place green beans on top and place skate wing portion on top. On the tall edge, sprinkle the brown butter powder.