I was actually really surprised when I saw that salmon meunière was a dish you could make in the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Not that there aren’t more outlandish things in the game mind you (the fact that you can make a loaf of bread in a pot of boiling water comes to mind!) but it just seemed like a really fancy food for someone roughing it out in the wild!

À la Meunière (and for those wondering, it’s pronounced something like “murn-yair”) is a classic french cuisine staple and effectively translates to “in the style of the miller’s wife.” Get it? A miller makes wheat flour so his wife would cook with it, right? Anyway, this technique involves covering the food in question, in our case, the Hearty Salmon, in a coating of flour and then sauteing in it in butter. Lo and behold the in-game recipe is just that: Hearty Salmon + Goat Butter + Tabantha Wheat + Rock Salt. Good Job guys!

What I think really stands out about this dish in the game is that it’s made with an entire salmon steak instead of a salmon fillet that you’re probably used to seeing. For this recipe I purchased my salmon steak at the local Asian market, but I’d imagine you could also ask a grocery story fish monger for help if you’re looking for this type of cut. As I’ll explain in the walkthrough section of the post, there is a bit of prep work involved in removing the bones from the fish so if you’d rather not take the plunge on a full steak, fillets will work fine as well.

In keeping with it’s classic nature, the sprite appears to be garnished with some kind of white sauce so I thought I’d throw in a quick and easy beurre blanc recipe you can find below as well. It’s funny to think about, but this is actually one of the most “normal” recipes I’ve ever posted here. No mushroom cake or hot dog sushi this time! Hope you don’t mind :].

+ Salmon Meunière+

ITEMS

EQUIP

• Sharp knife and cutting board
• Needle nose pliers or tweezers
• Shallow pan or plate (for dredging)
• Large frying pan
• Tongs

WALKTHROUGH

If you’ve never cooked a full salmon steak before, don’t be intimidated! It’s actually fairly simple once you get it in the pan, but there is some prep work to be done ahead of time. Most likely you’ll purchase your steak with all the bones intact and I can tell you from experience that they are certainly less than appetizing to crunch down on! By following these steps however, we’ll get the steak bone-free in a matter of minutes.

1) The first step is to remove the ribs from the inside of the steak. Use a thin, sharp knife to carefully slice a line between the bones (you’ll be able to feel them) and the rest of the fish. Cut on both sides of the salmon so you have something that resembles the bottom left picture below. Once the ribs are separated, hold the knife vertically and draw the blade around the spine of the fish to completely remove it.

2) If you run your fingers over the top of the salmon steak you’ll most likely feel several hard bumps along the surface. These are called pin bones. Use a pair of needle nose pliers or tweezers to firmly grasp the tip of each pin and pull them out at an angle. Be careful not to snap the bone by pulling too fast. Ensure that all the pin bones have been removed and we can finally get cooking!

3) Prepare the salmon to be dredged by first liberally seasoning the fish with salt and pepper. Fill a shallow cake pan or something similar with about 3/4 cup of flour and place the salmon cut side down.  Cover the entire steak in flour (including the insides and the skin) by turning it over gently and sprinkling more flour on top when necessary.

4) In a large frying pan over medium heat melt the 4 TBSP of butter until it begins to bubble. Carefully place the salmon steak skin side down to begin with. This will ensure the skin will be nice and crispy and will help keep the salmon from falling apart. After about 3 minutes, use tongs to flip the fish on to the other skin side to crisp that up as well. After another 3 minutes you can finally place the fish cut side down and fry it for 4 minutes on each side.

Throughout the cooking process be mindful of the burner temperature and adjust as necessary. The salmon will be done when it is solid pink all the way through and registers and internal temperature of 145F.  Once finished, transfer the salmon to a resting rack or plate while you make the sauce.

+ Beurre Blanc+

ITEMS

EQUIP

• Frying pan
• Whisk
• Sharp knife and cutting board

WALKTHROUGH

1) This sauce comes together in a snap and it’s definitely one that comes up a lot in classic cuisine. Feel free to wipe out the pan you cooked the salmon in and use it again for this recipe (no sense making more dishes to wash later!) Start with your pan over low heat and melt the butter. Once it’s liquefied, add the flour and whisk vigorously to create a roux. Let the rough cook while stirring for about 20 seconds and then add in the heavy cream.

2) Continue to whisk the sauce. It may look broken at this point but don’t worry; pour in the white wine and lemon juice and the sauce should come back together. Once the sauce is homogeneous, remove it from the heat and add the chives and the salt. Stir to combine and use immediately.

Pour the sauce over the fried salmon or use it as a side to dip it in. If the sauce begins to get weird on you, just return it to low heat and whisk in a little more liquid and it should smooth back out. This dish really goes to show you that while it make take a little more effort than throwing everything in a cooking pot (Link) it’s fairly straightforward to make a fancy dinner for yourself and others if you just give it a shot. Believe me, this one’s sure to impress :]

Hey! Thanks for reading all the the way to the end! You’re awesome :D! If you haven’t already and are looking for more nerdy food stuff, consider following me on Twitter, Facebook, tumblr and Instagram. I post a lot of work in progress pictures for the blog as well as stuff from my Twitch streams. If that sounds like something you’d be into, please check out those links above! Anyway, take care everyone and I’ll see you soon with an all-new recipe!

– Bryan