No barbeque this time. This time we applied a different technique, namely confit.
We have preserved a nice piece of nile perch. It turned out to be a wonderfully tender piece of fish with a buttery texture.
What is candying?
Confit or candying is nothing more than cooking a product in oil or animal fat. You cook fish or meat at a very low temperature in oil or animal fat. The advantage of this is that, due to the low temperature and the fact that the product cannot dry out, it becomes super tender.
In addition, it gets a particularly fine taste from the herbs and spices that are added to the oil.
What should you watch out for with candying?
If you are going to confit in olive oil, make sure you use extra virgin olive oil. The oil temperature must be between 50 and 90 degrees at all times. Make sure the oil does not get too hot.
What can be candied?
Technically, you can confit both fish and meat. The structure of the product is important here. When candying fish, make sure the fish is firm. Hake, nile perch and salmon are particularly well suited for this.
As for meat, duck is a product that is often candied, especially duck legs. By candying it in goose fat, you get an extremely tender piece of meat with an intense flavor. So, you can vary enough when making this dish. Just try it for yourself with whichever meat you like.
The recipe below describes exactly how you can ensure that this does not fail.
Candied Nile Perch
Ingredients
- 400 gr nile perch
- 1.5 l olive oil extra virgin
- 1 orange
- 1 chili pepper
- Rosemary
- Juniper berries
- Sage fresh leaves
- Cardamom
- Fennel
Instructions
- Let the fish reach room temperature. The colder the fish, the more it cools the oil and we don’t want that.
- Add the rosemary, juniper berries, chili pepper, sage leaves, cardamom and zest of the orange to the oil.
- Put the pan with oil on low heat and let it warm up to 65-70 degrees. You can measure this with a core thermometer.
- Put the fish in the oil and keep an eye on the temperature. You should try to keep this stable at about 70 degrees. Make sure the fish is completely covered in oil. Add additional oil if necessary.
- With a piece of Nile perch of about 400 grams and 2.5 cm thick, the fish will be ready in about 35 minutes. You don’t have to turn the fish.
- In the meantime, cut the fennel into nice slices and fry it in a pan with olive oil until it is done.
- Sprinkle the fennel with the juice of the orange that we used for the peel.
- Carefully remove the fish from the pan with a large spatula, allow the fish to drain slightly.
- Place the fish on top of the baked fennel and add salt and pepper to taste. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. A deliciously tender piece of fish with a buttery texture!