Salmon Rillete With Thyme & Chive

• 0.600 kg Boneless, skinless salmon fillet and belly, cleaned up, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 lt Cold water
• 0.030 lt Juice from 1 lemon, plus grated zest from 1 lemon
• 0.170 kg Leek or onion, halved
• 0.080 kg Celery stalk, cut into large pieces
• 0.060 kg Unsalted butter
• 0.050 kg Shallot, minced
• 0.075 lt Mayonnaise
• 0.040 kg Chives, minced
• 0.001 kg Ground coriander seeds
• 1 Pinch cayenne pepper

1. 1 Clean the salmon belly, making sure to remove any extra fat, skin, or cartilage in it.
2. 2 In a large saucepan, combine salmon with enough cold water to cover by 1 inch.
3. 3 Add juice from 1 lemon, leek or onion, celery, and bay leaf (if using). Set over medium heat and bring poaching liquid to 77°c / 140°f, using an instant-read thermometer if you have one; otherwise, bring liquid to just below a bare simmer. Adjusting heat to maintain water temperature, cook until salmon flakes easily when pressed, about 6 minutes.
4. 4 Drain, discard aromatics, and transfer salmon to a mixing bowl.
5. 5 Using your fingers, shred salmon roughly.
6. 6 Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt butter over medium heat, add shallot, and cook, sweating it, stirring, until softened but not browned, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cool aside.
7. 7 Scrape shallots and butter into the bowl with salmon.
8. 8 Add mayonnaise, chives, remaining 30ml lemon juice, coriander seeds, and cayenne.
9. 9 Season with salt and pepper.
10. 10 Stir well until ingredients are thoroughly mixed and salmon is more finely shredded.
11. 11 Transfer rillettes to a large ramekin or other container, pressing down with a spoon and working it into the corners and against the walls to avoid trapping any air bubbles.
12. 12 Press plastic against the surface and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.
13. 13 Rillettes can keep refrigerated for up to 5 days with plastic pressed firmly against the surface.
14. 14 Nutritional Highlights: this rich, creamy salmon rillettes recipe is loaded with high-quality protein and heart-healthy fats. The 600g of salmon combined with mayonnaise and butter creates a spread profile of roughly 150-250 calories per 100-gram serving, depending on exact fat ratios. Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA & DHA): salmon belly and fillets are excellent sources of marine omega-3s, which support brain function, reduce inflammation, and improve cardiovascular health. High-quality protein: the 0.600 kg of salmon provides around 120g - 130g of complete protein, delivering all essential amino acids needed for muscle maintenance and recovery. Vitamins & minerals: salmon contains rich stores of Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, and Selenium. Meanwhile, the chives, lemon juice, and celery stalks provide a modest boost of Vitamin C and antioxidants. Rich fats: the 0.060 kg (60g) of unsalted butter and 0.075 lt of mayonnaise provide the classic, spreadable texture of a rillette. While these additions increase the calorie and saturated fat content, they also lend a rich, velvety mouthfeel.

Sustainability impact

Wasted avoided: salmon belly. By-product used: salmon belly. Valorisation strategy: maximising the use of the cooking liquid, not to be seen as a cooking medium but rather as a primary solvent designed to capture the volatile oils, water-soluble proteins and micronutrients. A standard linear approach would be to use the lemon just for its juice, but the zest can be grated in, the juice use is maximised, and the last part, the pith, should not be discarded but tossed in the cooking liquids to enhance the flavours of the whole recipe. In an effort to maximise the vegetable biomass, the outer skins of the leeks and the onions, and also the shallots, these can be wrapped in cheesecloth and submerged in the cooking liquid to add more depth and flavours to it. The celery leaves can be minced and added to the final recipe, in an effort to reduce vegetable waste. Circular economy principle. Mixed-cut optimisation: using a mix of fillet and belly represents a "nose-to-tail" (or fin-to-tail) approach to seafood. Salmon belly is often trimmed away and wasted during commercial filleting. Combining it with standard fillet ensures you utilise the whole fish yield, reducing processing waste at the source. 100% Edible Yield: by using cleaned, boneless, skinless pieces, you ensure that every gram of the 0.600 kg fish input directly feeds humans. No structural proteins are lost during the final cooking phase. Fat and nutrient cascading: salmon belly is exceptionally high in omega-3 fatty acids and healthy oils. When cooked in the 2 litres of water alongside your aromatics (leek, celery, lemon), these fats partially render into the liquid. This turns your leftover cooking water into an incredibly rich, nutrient-dense fish stock asset that must be saved and reused for soups, sauces, or risottos. Zest and juice integration: you continue to extract maximum utility from a single citrus fruit by utilising both the chemical properties (acid juice) and the mechanical properties (flavedo zest), leaving only the spent, biodegradable pith. Organic nutrient loop: the 0.170 kg of halved leek/onion and 0.080 kg of large celery pieces function as flavour extractors. Once strained from the liquid, their structural fibres can go directly into a composting system. This safely returns organic carbon and nitrogen back to agricultural soils. Clean biological inputs: the remaining ingredients—like butter, chives, shallots, and spices—are pure biological nutrients. They process cleanly through human metabolism and return safely to the biosphere without introducing persistent synthetic pollutants.