Baked Whole Fish Recipes

BAKED WHOLE FISH WITH LEMON, HERBS AND GARLIC BUTTER

Steps:

• If the fish hasn't been gutted and scaled, do so.
• Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Prepare a roasting tin.
• Mix the butter, 2 minced garlic cloves, chopped rosemary and chopped thyme very well. Season well with salt and pepper.
• Spoon the compound butter into the fish cavities. Stuff the inside of the fish with lemon triangles (you will probably not be able to fit all of them into your fishes) and rosemary sprigs. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. You can slash the fish two to three times if you like.
• Place the fish in the prepared tin, along with the extra thyme, garlic and remaining lemon slices. Bake for 20-25 minutes (a large sea bream takes about 25 minutes, branzino is probably ready after 20).
• In the meantime, mix the chopped tomatoes, capers, olives and parsley. Add enough olive oil to create a nicely dispersed condiment. Serve with the hot fish.

BAKED WHOLE FISH

Steps:

• Soak the fish in cold, salted water for 15-30 minutes; drain and dry slightly.
• Preheat oven to 400.
• Season cavity with lemon slices, celery, onion, salt, and pepper and 2 TBS lemon juice.
• Close the fish and place bacon strips on top or around fish.
• Sprinkle with salt, pepper, onion salt and remainder of lemon juice.
• Cover with pats of butter and bake until flesh is white and flakes apart with fork (about 30 minutes for a 2 1/2 pound fish or 40-45 minutes for a 3 pounder).
• the fish may be broiled at the end to brown the bacon.
• Cut into 1 1/2 inch wide sections and serve with lemon wedges.
• Serves 2-4, depending on size of fish.
• Note: Other vegetables such as potatoes and tomatoes may be cooked with the fish if desired.

WHOLE SALT-BAKED FISH

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Stuff the cavity of the fish with lemon slices, thyme, bay leaves, and garlic.
• In a large mixing bowl, mix the salt and egg whites with your hands; it will become the consistency of wet sand.
• In a large baking dish or rimmed baking sheet that is large enough to fit the entire fish (it's okay if the fish only just fits), lay one-third of the salt mixture down, roughly in the shape of the fish. Place the fish on top of the salt mixture and pack the remaining salt mixture around the fish, leaving exposed the area from the eyes to the nose, and also the tail fin. The salt mixture should fully encase the fish, but may not fill the pan. In fact, unless you use a really narrow pan, you'll probably leave most of the pan exposed.
• Bake for about 30 minutes, until the internal temperature of the fish is 130 to 135 degrees F. Depending on the exact size of your fish, your cooking time may vary. Don't break the salt crust while it's cooking or you'll let the juices escape. If you have one of those nice thermometers with the wires that you can leave in the oven while you cook to determine temperature, use that, and pack the salt around the probe to seal it in before cooking. If you don't have one of those fancy thermometers, check the temp by going through the exposed mouth with a probe thermometer. Once done, remove the fish from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
• While the fish is resting, whisk together the lemon juice and zest, oil, Dijon, salt, and pepper to make a lemon vinaigrette to serve over the fish.
• To remove the fish from the salt shell, use a butter knife and a wooden mallet or spoon. Like a paleontologist, I try to guess where the dorsal fin would be. Hit the fish right there, in the middle of the back (remember it's laying on its side). I place the tip of the butter knife where the dorsal fin was and tap it with the mallet or spoon, putting it in and giving it a wiggle. I score all the way around the fish, like I'm excavating it, so I can remove the salt dome in one piece. It doesn't mess anything up if you don't get it off in the one piece, but it just looks cooler if you do. Once you've gone all the way around the outline of the fish, remove the top part of the salt dome.
• The skin is a little chewy, but it still tastes good, so help yourself to a piece. Cook's reward. Then go under the skin with a fork, down to the spine, and slide across the bottom to filet the fish from the spine. You might get it all in one filet. But most times you have to go back and clean it up.
• Then take the mallet and butter knife, and place the knife at the base of the spine where it meets the head. Tap the handle end of the butter knife with the mallet to crack the spine. Remove the entire spine and bones. With a fork, slide along the bottom of the fish, between the flesh and the salt crust, to remove the other fish filet. You probably won't get the skin off cleanly with this filet, and that's fine.
• This will yield two 10-ounce (or so) filets. Place each filet on a plate and finish with a spoonful of the lemon vinaigrette and a sprinkle of salt and parsley on top.

WHOLE ROASTED FISH WITH HERBS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Make 3 diagonal slices about 1/2-inch deep on each side of the fish. Salt and olive oil the fish generously.
• Season the inside of the fish with salt and olive oil. Place 4 lemon slices, the bay leaves, a bundle of the mixed herbs and 2 of the garlic cloves inside the body cavity.
• Line a sheet tray with aluminum foil and arrange the remaining assorted herbs, lemon slices and garlic in the center of the tray and lay the fish on top.
• Fold the aluminum foil up around the sides of the fish to create a sort of baking dish. Add the white wine and place in the preheated oven and roast until the fish is just cooked through, about 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove from oven, present and collect your kudos then fillet to serve.

EASY BAKED FISH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Line 8x10" dish with foil.
• Place fish in pan, sprinkle with seasonings.
• Use a pastry brush to sparingly coat tops and sides of fillets with mayonnaise.
• top with generous sprinkling of paprika.
• Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, until fish flakes when touched with fork.
• Serves 4.
• Note: No need to turn while baking.
• any amount may be prepared by adjusting size of pan.

BAKED WHOLE SALMON

Steps:

• In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the first eight ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes., Remove head and tail from salmon if desired. Place a double thickness of heavy-duty foil on a baking sheet (longer than the length of the fish). Grease foil. Place salmon on foil; sprinkle the cavity with salt. Pour herb sauce over fish. Fold foil over fish and seal tightly. , Bake at 375° for 60-75 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork., Place salmon on a serving platter and keep warm. Strain cooking juices, reserving 1/3 cup. In a large saucepan, saute green onions in butter until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in the water, wine and reserved cooking juices. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened., Reduce heat. Stir a small amount of hot liquid into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Add the cream, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until mixture reaches 160°. Serve with the salmon.