This may be a new term to most of you. Confit is a term used in culinary to mean cooking food under low temperature either in sugar syrup, grease or oil as a way of preservation.
Meat confit is a meat dish that has been prepared slowly under low temperature in either oil or fat. Confit dishes are known to last for months when they are stored in cool, dark places.
This style of cooking has been in uses for many years and it is considered one of the oldest food preservation methods. It originated from the southwestern region of France.
What Is Salmon Confit?
This is a salmon dish that was just recently introduced to the culinary world- a dish to expand the benefits of salmon nutrition. It is made of salmon that has been cooked in warm fat for about 20 minutes and it is absolutely delicious.
The salmon once cooked is very tender and mouthwatering to look at. This dish has a texture that is similar to that of smoked salmon but it doesn’t have that smoky flavor.
This dish is very easy to make and the result will be 5-star restaurants worthy. We will are going to give you a step by step procedure for preparing your very own dish of confit of salmon.
Here is a confit of salmon recipe:
Ingredients
- One lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill
- 3 tablespoons of Sea salt (coarse)
- 2 tablespoons of Maple sugar flakes
- 2 Salmon fillets (skinless)
- Olive oil
Procedure
- Prepare your ingredients by chopping your dill and making lemon zest by grading the un-chopped lemon.
- Take a shallow bowl and mix the lemon zest, sea salt, dill and maple sugar flakes together. Ensure you mix these ingredients well using
- your fingers and squeeze the ingredients so as to release all flavor from the dill and the lemon zest.
- Take your salmon fillets and place them on a large plate and then rub the spice mixture all over each fillet and ensure you coat both
- sides of the fillet.
- Place the fillets in the fridge without covering them and leave them for about 45 minutes
- Remove the fillets from the fridge and then rinse them under running cold water. Dry them by patting them paper towels
- Get an ovenproof dish that is large enough to fit all your fillets and then cover the fillets completely with olive oil. Ensure that the fillets are completely submerged in olive oil.
- Set your oven to a temperature of 1700F
- Place your salmon in the middle of the oven rack to ensure even cooking. Leave the fish to cook for 20 minutes
Once cooked, use a fish spatula to carefully lift the fillets from the oil bath and allow the excess oil to drip off the fish first.
Place the salmon on your serving plate and garnish it with homemade mayo and a handful of greens
NOTE
The oil you used in cooking you dish should not be dumped out. You should sieve it and use it in cooking other dishes. Ensure that you use the oil in a couple of days after making your confit so as to avoid it going bad.
The Health Benefits of Salmon
There are a number of health benefits of eating salmon and protein rich fish substitutes. The following are a few of these benefits:
1. It Is Used in the Treatment of Arthritis and Other Joint Problems
Salmon has been proven to contain some small proteins referred to as bioactive peptides such as calcitonin which is known to increase collagen. It also regulates and stabilizes the creation of collagen in the osteoarthritis cartilage. The protein found in salmon has also been proven to increase the density and strength of bones.
2. It Improves the Health of Your Heart
Salmon is rich in omega-3 fats, DHA and EPA which are great at improving your cardiovascular health including reducing inflammation. You should make sure you eat salmon at least twice a week so as to prevent conditions such as stroke, heart attacks, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and arrhythmia.
3. It Provides Us With Vitamin D
It is vital for the human body to get vitamin D in order for us to stay healthy. Lack of vitamin D can lead to many diseases including multiple sclerosis, cancer, arthritis, and cancer. Eating salmon can provide you with all the vitamin D you require each day.
4. It Reduces the Risk of Getting Depression
The human brain is made of approximately 60% fat. Most of this fat is omega-3 fats and DHA and they are both essential for the proper functioning of the brain. These fats are also necessary for the proper functioning of the nervous system.
When you eat salmon frequently, like twice a week, you will tremendously decrease your risk of getting depressed and it also reduces hostility in young adults. Salmon also helps to decrease congenital depreciation in the elderly citizens.
5. It Helps in Childhood Brain Development
If you are pregnant right now it is advisable for you to eat salmon as frequently as possible. This is because it contains a lot of DHA which is the main component of the fatty acids found in the central nervous system and the retina.
This is essential in ensuring your unborn child will have increased learning capability as well as great academic performance once he/she is born. Salmon is also great for pre-school children as it can prevent them from getting ADHD and also help increase their learning capabilities.
6. It Helps in the Prevention of Cell Damage
Salmon contains selenium which is a mineral that works to detoxify your body. This mineral is great at ensuring your thyroid and immune system are working smoothly and it also prevents joint inflammation.
Selenium is also vital in preventing cell damage thus keeping body tissue healthy.
7. It Helps Protect Your Eyes
Studies have shown that people who eat salmon at least twice a week significantly reduce their risk of macular degeneration. This is an eye disease that can lead to the complete loss of vision. Salmon is also vital in the prevention of another eye disease called dry eye syndrome.
Benefits of salmon for aiding sleep
Studies have shown that people who eat a lot of salmon experience a higher quality of sleep as compared to those who do not. Children who eat fish on a regular basis have been proven to get better sleep and thus perform much better in school.
This can be attributed to the richness of omega-3 fatty acids in salmon. Salmon also contains tryptophan which is a natural sedative that helps us fall asleep much faster.
Getting enough quality sleep is essential in ensuring that our brains perform at 100 percent on a day to day basis.
People who get quality sleep on a nightly basis will be able to do their work efficiently and they will also have a happy disposition throughout the day which will be great at improving their social interactions.
If you are suffering from insomnia you should include salmon in your diet and consume it at least 3 times a week if not on a daily basis. This will help you fall asleep early enough thus ensuring your brain gets the rest that it needs.
Children should also be given salmon as often as possible. This will help them sleep better and also increase their brain capacity. This will be great at ensuring that their learning capabilities are increased which will, in turn, increase their academic performance.
Conclusion
From the information, we have given you it is clear that salmon is very beneficial to us on a daily basis.
It may be a bit difficult to consume salmon on a daily basis due to their dwindling numbers as wild salmon are not able to reproduce as fast as other types of fish and thus fishing of salmon is being restricted a bit. You should try and consume it at least twice a week.
Domestic salmon may not be as beneficial as those in the wild due to the kind of food they are being fed. This results in them having low quantities of omega-3 fatty acids.
Salmon has very many health benefits which include prevention of cancer and keeping our eyes and the central nervous system healthy. The recipe for making a salmon of confit that we have given you is easy to follow and anyone can do it.
Making the salmon confit ensures that the dish lasts for much longer and thus you will be able to consume salmon on a daily basis without having to spend too much money and without having to go through the process of cooking it every day.
Confit preparations are great for those people who are too busy or who are just lazy when it comes to cooking since you do the cooking once and then store the dish in the fridge. All you have to do is warm a piece of the dish at the end of the day and enjoy a tasty and healthy meal.
Salmon is a great dish for everyone irrespective of their age or gender as it has great health benefits for everyone.
The amazing thing about consuming salmon is that it can help us to sleep better which is very important. Quality sleep is essential in ensuring that we perform excellently in our jobs as well as education. Great sleep also helps us to interact peacefully with one another as we will be less irritable.
Read more: What to Make with Fresh Coconut
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