With or without milk, cooking haddock?

With or without milk, cooking haddock?

It is often said that haddock should be poached in milk.

But why ?

And is it really necessary?

We tested for you !

We cut a haddock fillet into four parts. We poached two with milk, and two without milk, that is to say simply in water.

In both cases, we do not salt, because the haddock is already salted for its good conservation. However, it does not require desalting, cooking in the liquid will suffice. You must poach the haddock in a small amount of simmering liquid (especially not boiling) for ten minutes, no more.

The result :

The downside of milk is that the proteins it contains coagulate in the heat. It is the "skin" of the milk. You can remove it, of course, but there are always small pieces that stick to the flesh of the fish, it's not very pretty. On the other hand, the flesh cooked in simmering water retains a good appearance.

The texture :

Cooked in milk, haddock has a slightly softer texture.

Taste :

In this respect, cooking in water prevails: the typical taste of haddock is slightly stronger.

Conclusion: cook the haddock without milk!

You noted our "slightly", we could have said "very slightly".

Cooking in milk is still a complication, it's not really worth bothering.

Simply cook your haddock in water.

And above all, do not throw away this precious cooking liquid: it has taken on a good part of the flavor of the haddock, you can make a sauce or a soup with it.