Poached King Salmon with Cucumber Beurre Blanc

Ingredients

• 2  bay leaves 
• 0.5 cup celery coarsely chopped
• 10 servings cucumber beurre blanc 
• 10 servings cucumber peeled chopped
• 1.8 cups cooking wine dry white
• 0.5 head fennel bulb sliced
• 1 small onion sliced
• 1 bunch parsley stems 
• 15 pound king salmon whole
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 5 cups water 
• 1 tablespoon peppercorns white

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• sauce pan
• sieve
• roasting pan
• spatula

Directions

1. Cut head and tail from salmon; set aside.
2. Cut salmon in half lengthwise; remove pin bones with tweezers or needle-nose pliers. Slice crosswise into 2-inch pieces; cover and set aside.
3. Place head and tail in a 4-quart saucepan. Cover with 5 cups water; add wine and next 6 ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.
4. Pour mixture through wire-mesh strainer into a bowl, discarding solids. Return liquid to pan. Stir salt into liquid.
5. Pour liquid into a fish poacher*; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer gently. Arrange fish on poacher insert, and place in liquid. Simmer 10 minutes; remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes.
6. Remove salmon, and place on serving plates. Top with Cucumber Beurre Blanc and chopped cucumber.
7. Serve with steamed fresh vegetables.
8. *If you don't have a fish poacher, use a roasting pan large enough to hold the salmon in a single layer.
9. Place salmon in gently simmering water with a metal spatula.