Catalan Kitchen LogoThe Catalan Table
High-Temperature Cooking
High-temperature cooking that combines Thierry Marx's technique-2 with two handfuls and 2000 grams of ingredients to create a crispy exterior and succulent interior texture.
technique
main dish
Ingredients
Servings:
4

Ingredients

  • technique-2 recipe Thierry Marx
  • 800 g2 pinches
  • 500 g2000 grams
  • I'm sorry, it seems like the ingredient name is missing. Could you please provide the full ingredient name for translation?
  • aromatic herbs
  • - 240ºC….15 minutes - 200ºC… 15 minutes
Step-by-step Guide

Oven-Baked

  • Preheat the oven to 220ºC for about 10 minutes to reach the appropriate temperature.
  • Sear the fish on both sides in a very hot pan with a few drops of olive oil. Attention: cook for less than a minute on each side to seal the fish without cooking it completely.
  • Then, place the fish in the preheated oven at 220ºC for about 7 minutes, suitable for a large fillet, to ensure it remains tender and cooks evenly.

Salt-Baked in the Oven

  • Preheat the oven to 180ºC for about 10 minutes to reach the appropriate temperature.
  • Cover the baking tray with a layer of coarse salt approximately 1/2 cm thick, ensuring the salt is distributed evenly.
  • Moisten the salt by lightly sprinkling it with a little water, ensuring that the entire surface becomes wet without dissolving.
  • Place the product (fish, meat, etc.) directly onto the layer of salt, making sure the surfaces are well positioned on the salt for better cooking.
  • Completely cover the product with another thick layer of salt, ensuring it is totally sealed. Moisten the top layer of salt with water to help create a hard crust when baking.
  • Place the tray in the oven and bake at 180 ºC for 20 to 25 minutes per kilogram of the weight of the product you are preparing.

Grilled on a bed of coarse salt

  • Place the griddle over the heat at a medium-high temperature until it is well heated.
  • Create an even bed on the grill with a layer of coarse salt to cover the entire cooking surface.
  • Moisten the salt by lightly sprinkling it with water until it is damp but not soaked. Note: You may also add two fingers of clarified butter over the salt first; see the dairy chapter for details on preparing clarified butter.
  • Place the product on the salt and allow it to cook for the necessary time to achieve the desired doneness, turning it as needed.

In Boiling Water with the product wrapped with

  • Put a pot with plenty of water on high heat to bring it to a boil.
  • Cut the fish pieces to approximately the thickness of 3 fingers to ensure even cooking.
  • Wrap each piece of fish with plastic wrap, wrapping it several times to ensure the wrap extends beyond both sides.
  • Twist the ends of the plastic wrap to fit tightly around the piece of fish, making it look like a candy wrapper.
  • When the water in the pot begins to boil vigorously, submerge the packages with the fish pieces and immediately turn off the heat.
  • Leave the packages in the hot water for 12 to 15 minutes to cook with the residual heat.
  • If the fish is 3 fingers thick, leave it in the water for about 15 minutes to achieve optimal cooking.
  • Unwrap the fish by removing the cling film; it is advisable to cut the ends of the film with scissors to facilitate the process.
  • Sear the fish fillets on both sides in a very hot pan with a few drops of oil until they take on color.

In a Covered Paella Pan

  • We need a pan with a lid suitable for the size of the fish fillet.
  • Place the pan on the heat without covering it and heat it until it is very hot, approximately for 5 minutes on high heat.
  • When the pan is very hot, add a small drizzle of oil and place the fish fillet skin side down against the griddle, leaving it uncovered for about 3 minutes or until the edges change color.
  • When we see the edges of the fish starting to change color, turn off the heat, flip the fish placing the skinless side now against the pan, cover immediately and let it rest for 3-4 minutes so it cooks with the steam.
  • Wait a few minutes for the fish to continue cooking with the steam generated in the covered pan. IN THE Oven IN A Salt AND Herb Crust
  • Add 4 grams of cumin seeds to the crust mixture.
  • Add 4 grams of fennel seeds to the crust mixture.
  • Incorporate 4 grams of coriander seeds.
  • Incorporate 4 grams of chopped rosemary into the dough.
  • Add 4 grams of chopped thyme to flavor the crust.
  • Bake at 200ºC for about 35 minutes, increasing to 240ºC for the last 15 minutes.
  • Alternatively, bake at 200ºC for about 15 minutes for a quicker result.
  • We can prepare the crust using either of the two techniques. Technique-2 is recommended by the French chef Thierry Marx.
  • Preheat the oven to the indicated temperature, which can be either 190ºC or 240ºC.
  • Place all the crust ingredients into a large bowl and mix them with your hands until you obtain a homogeneous dough.
  • Roll out the dough on a baking tray until it reaches a thickness of about 1 cm or 1.5 cm.
  • Place the meat or fish vertically on the salt base and wrap it with the dough, ensuring it is well sealed. Alternatively, you can place a base layer of the crust, position the item to be cooked, and cover the sides with more dough until it's completely sealed.
  • Bake at the indicated temperature (top-bottom fan) for about 30 minutes, keeping in mind that the total time will depend on the type of material being cooked inside the dough.
  • For large fish, bake for 35 minutes, following Thierry Marx's instructions to start at 240ºC for 15 minutes and then reduce to 200ºC for an additional 15 minutes.
  • The pork tenderloin needs about 35 minutes of cooking in the oven.
  • Beef fillets weighing around 700 grams need to be in the oven for 35 minutes.
  • The monkfish tail cooks in approximately 25 minutes in the oven.
  • Once cooked, remove the dish from the oven and take off the crust by cutting it with two tablespoons. It is quite a spectacle to present it at the table in front of the guests.
  • Then, cut the fillet into scallops and cover it with the sauce we have prepared for serving.
Recommendations & Tricks
  • Lightly mist the product with water to maintain moisture during cooking. Optionally, you can first add a two-finger layer of clarified butter over the salt for a richer flavor.
  • Place the product evenly on top of the salt in a baking tray, and let it cook until it reaches the desired level of doneness, monitoring the temperature to achieve optimal texture.
  • Use cling film to fully wrap the fish, ensuring there are enough layers so it doesn't fall apart during cooking. The film should protrude adequately on the sides to facilitate sealing.
  • Securely twist the ends of the cling film, compressing the fish firmly to prevent water from entering during cooking.
  • Bring a pot of water to a boil and insert the wrapped fish parcels. Once the water returns to a boil, turn off the heat and allow the fish to finish cooking with the residual heat.
  • Ensure the fish cuts are sufficiently thick, at least about 1 inch (2.5 cm), to guarantee they remain juicy and cook evenly.