It’s the start of a New Year and like most people, I like to start the New Year off with some goals and “resolutions.” I have a lot of personal goals and unsurprisingly, most revolve around food and cooking. Piyush and I have been wanting to focus on healthier eating/cooking for our family. We’d like to include more seasonal vegetables, incorporate more plant-based meals and choose sustainable meat whenever possible.
Another goal of mine is to create spaces in my home (on a budget!) that reflect who we are as a family. The boys are getting older and the past few years have been tiring. I want to freshen up the rooms that we spend our time in and it only makes sense to start with the kitchen.
I’ve been trying to do some small cosmetic things to upgrade my kitchen these past months (like impulsively painting my hood and island blue💙) and now thanks to Warners’ Stellian and Electrolux, I have all new appliances! And WOW! They really update the space and make me so excited to get cooking in 2022!
In full disclosure, this post is sponsored by Warners’ Stellian and Electrolux. I received the appliances and installation at no financial cost to me. That being said, all reviews and opinions in this post are my own and are my honest thoughts. Piyush and I have previously purchased appliances from Warners’ Stellian and loved the entire experience from start to finish. This time was no different!
My kitchen is the heart of my home and my appliances get a lot of use. I’ve needed a new cooktop for years but shopping for new appliances always feels SO overwhelming! I’m sure I’m not the only one who spends a ton of timing “doing the research”— reading reviews and sourcing opinions of friends—and still doesn’t know what to purchase.
Warners’ Stellian really makes this whole process—from selection to installation—so easy.
Since their sole focus is appliances, their specialists live & breathe this stuff. They were so knowledgeable and really seemed to enjoy creating the perfect fit for my kitchen (which took the stress off of me!). I also really love that the Electrolux brand, aside from making aesthetically beautiful and high quality appliances, is on a mission to create better and more sustainable living, something also important to me.
I also love that they offer FREE local delivery & haul-away (something the big box stores don’t usually do) and the crews are truly wonderful. The installers were so professional, knowledgeable, and got the job done right without damaging anything. And to top it off, they ensured everything worked properly, even setting the oven’s clock for me.
I’m so excited to start using my new appliances and was especially excited to test out the air sous vide function in my new Electrolux double oven. There are so many things I want to try making, but the first had to be my boys’ favorite salmon bowls!
I’ve cooked sous vide many times, (vacuum sealing food and cooking in a temperature controlled water bath), and the results are always incredible.
Cooking Sous Vide has many benefits. Foods cook to the perfect temperature, retain more vitamins and nutrients, and require fewer oils and fats. But the honest truth is that I rarely use my traditional sous vide machine. It uses so much water and is so big and bulky (my new Electrolux oven has both air sous vide and also an air fry function! This means I need fewer standalone appliances, which also means more usable space in my kitchen). I wasn’t sure if the air sous vide function would give the same results–but I was pleasantly surprised! It’s also so convenient, I foresee myself using this function often!
Cooking Wild Caught Sockeye Salmon with the Air Sous Vide Function in my Electrolux Oven
High-quality salmon is a luxurious food. My kids love salmon and we try to be really conscious of where we purchase our fish to ensure we support sustainable fishing. These beautiful sockeye salmon filets are wild-caught in Alaska by my dad’s friend. He owns a commercial fishing business and is very passionate about his product and his practices.
Sockeye salmon is less fatty than some other types, which makes it very easy to overcook/dry out. This makes it a perfect food to cook sous vide!
I first removed the scales and the pin bones from the filet. I then portioned out similar-sized pieces. After the fish was portioned, I set in saltwater brine (1 cup water to 1 tbsp salt) for 30 minutes. This helps ensure the fish is evenly seasoned and also helps to keep the albumin (white stuff) from leaching out too much. After they sat 30 minutes in the brine, I rinsed the fillets with cold water and set them into the marinade (recipe below).
Once the fillets were marinated (I left them only 20 minutes but they would be okay for up to 24 hours), I vacuumed sealed the fish as I would do if I was cooking them in traditional sous vide water bath.
The Air Sous Vide function on the Electrolux oven is really easy to navigate. I placed a pan in the oven on the center rack and then simply chose the temperature and the length of time I wanted my fish to cook. No need to preheat–the oven should be cold when adding food for Air Sous Vide cooking.
I cooked my salmon at 125 degrees F for a total of 45 minutes since I knew I’d also want to sear the skin afterward. My kids LOVE salmon skin and even more so if it’s crunchy! After the 45 minutes (during which I used my time to make rice, cut vegetables, and make a quick spicy mayo sauce), my oven beeped to let me know my fish was cooked!
I removed the fish from the oven and opened the vacuum packs, dried off the PERFECTLY cooked filets, and started heating my cast iron pan. I wanted it to be very hot so that the skin of the salmon would sear nicely.
Once the fillets were dry and the pan was screaming hot, I added a little bit of oil and then put the fillets into the pan–skin side down. While the skin cooked for a minute or 2, I brushed a bit of diluted honey (honey + water) onto the flesh side. This added a nice sweet flavor to compliment my spicy marinade and also helped the fish caramelize a bit, giving it a really appetizing color.
Because the fillets are cooked to perfection using Air Sous Vide, they only need a quick couple of minutes in the hot frying pan.
This was the BEST piece of salmon that I’ve had in a long time and Electrolux’s Air Sous Vide function made it so simple to achieve in my home kitchen!
We added the delicious, perfectly cooked fish into our bowls with some seasoned jasmine rice, cucumbers, pickled onions, and spicy mayo–seriously, Best. Dinner. Ever!
Air Sous Vide Sweet and Spicy Salmon
Ingredients
- 1-1 1/2 lbs salmon fillets scales and bones removed. Cut into 4-6 equal portions. (I prefer a wild caught sockeye salmon)
- 1 tsp honey mixed with 1/2 tsp water, set aside
- 1 tbsp toasted white/black sesame seeds
- 1 recipe salt water brine recipe to follow
- 1 recipe spicy salmon marinade recipe to follow
Salt Water Brine
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 tbsp salt
Spicy Salmon Marinade
- 1/4 cup soy sauce I prefer low sodium
- 2 tbsp siracha add to taste
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder (or ½ tbsp fresh ginger paste)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or ½ tbsp fresh garlic paste)
Instructions
Salt Water Brine
- Mix 1 cup of cold water with 1 tbsp of salt in a large flat container. Stir until the salt dissolves.
- Place fish, flesh side down, in a single layer into the brine. If you need more brine, feel free to mix more using the same ratio: 1 cup cold water to 1 tbsp salt.
- Leave the fish in the brine for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, rinse the fillets with cold water and place into the marinade.
Spicy Salmon Marinade
- Place the ingredients for the marinade in a container large enough to hold the fish in a single layer. Mix the ingredients well with a whisk. Add the fish and cover. Set aside at room temperature if cooking within the hour or place in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for up to 24 hours.
Air Sous Vide Sweet and Spicy Salmon
- Remove the fish from the marinade. Pat the skin side with paper towels to dry it as best as possible. Add the salmon into vacuum seal bags and remove the air from the pouches following your vacuum sealer's directions. Do not overcrowd the bags.
- One the salmon has been vacuum sealed, place the pouches on a sheet pan on the middle rack of the cold Electrolux oven. Chose "Oven Modes" from the menu and select "Air Sous Vide." Set the temperature for 125 degrees and the time for 45-60 minutes, depending how well done you want your salmon. I chose 45 minutes since I would be searing them afterward.
- When the salmon have 2 minutes left to cook, preheat a cast iron pan over medium-high heat.
- When the oven beeps and the salmon is done, remove from the oven and open the vacuum sealed pouches. Pat the salmon with paper towels to dry as best as possible.
- Add a little oil to your hot cast iron pan and then carefully place the cooked salmon filets, skin side down, into the pan. While the skin crisps, lightly brush the flesh side of the salmon with diluted honey and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds–be careful so the oil does not splatter as this could be dangerous.
- After the skin has cooked for a minute or two (until it easily releases from the pan), flip and cook the fish flesh side down for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Remove from pan and serve.
Notes
