Salt Baked Striped Bass Recipes

WHOLE STRIPED BASS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Trim the fins from the fish, rinse and pat dry. Set aside.
• Rub the bottom of a roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place 1/2 of the parsley, dill, lemon and onion in the center of the roasting pan. Make sure that this mound of aromatics is high enough to prevent the fish from touching the bottom of the pan. Rub the fish inside and out with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Season the fish inside and out with the salt and pepper and lay on the bed of aromatics. Place the second half of the aromatics on top of the fish and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes or until the fish reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before transferring whole to a platter lined with the additional fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

STRIPED BASS ALL'AMATRICIANA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Spread olive oil in a baking dish just large enough to hold the fish in a single layer. Season the flesh side of the fish with salt and pepper, and set aside on a plate or cutting board.
• In a heavy saucepan, heat the guanciale on medium low, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered and the cracklings are golden. Add the onion and cook until onion is soft and barely colored. Stir in garlic and continue cooking until it softens. Add tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer gently about 15 minutes, until tomatoes have come together and reduced a bit. Stir in chile flakes and remove from heat.
• Heat baking dish in the oven and when the oil is hot, remove it from the oven. Place fish, skin side down, in the dish. Spread the tomato mixture on the fish. Return dish to oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the fish just turns opaque and is cooked through. Serve at once or set aside at room temperature to serve in 30 minutes or so. Scatter basil on top just before serving.

SALT-ROASTED BASS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat egg whites by hand or with the whisk attachment of a stand mixer until soft peaks form. Use a rubber spatula to fold in salt until combined.
• Season inside the fish with pepper and stuff with half of the lemon rounds and 3 sprigs thyme. Spread a 1/2-inch-thick layer of the salt mixture on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet to form a bed for the fish. Lay fish on top of salt. Season outside of fish with pepper. Place remaining lemon slices and thyme on top of fish. Pat remaining salt mixture over top to cover entire surface, including head, leaving tail exposed.
• Bake for about 35 minutes. Crack open salt crust using a fork or spoon, exposing the fish. Transfer to a serving plate.

STRIPED BASS IN SALT DOME

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cover the bottom of a baking sheet large enough to hold the fish with parchment paper.
• Rinse fish inside and out with cold water and drain. Dry with paper towels. Stuff body cavity with herbs and citrus, saving a few lemon slices for garnish. Set aside.
• Pour 1 box of salt into a large bowl, add egg whites and water, then the second box of salt. Use your hands to work mixture to a mortar-like consistency. Lay down a 1/2-inch thick bed for the fish to lay on with a 1-inch clearance on all sides. Lay the fish on this bed and pile the remainder of the salt mortar on top. Work into a smooth dome completely encasing the fish. (Don't worry if the head or tail poke out a little.)
• Cook approximately 35 minutes. Check for doneness by pushing the probe of an instant read thermometer through the salt into the fish. When temperature reaches 130 degrees, remove from oven, and rest at room temperature for 5 minutes. Open the fish at the table by hitting the dome several times with a small hammer and lifting off the slabs of salt. Brush away any stray salt. Gently pull out dorsal (back) fin. Using a fish knife or serrated pie server, make a single incision all the way down the back of the fish and around the gill plate. Then lift the skin off working from the head to the tail. Remove meat from top side of fish, going down one side of the spine then the other. Grasp the tail and remove the skeleton, (it should come up intact). The meat revealed below will slide right off the skin.
• Sprinkle meat with a little virgin oil and lemon juice. Serve immediately.

SALT-BAKED STRIPED BASS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together salt, whites, and water in a bowl. Season inside of fish with pepper, and stuff with half the ginger and lemongrass. Season outside of fish with pepper. Place remaining ginger and lemongrass on top of fish. Scatter one-quarter of salt mixture on the bottom of an oval baking dish or a baking sheet to form a bed for the fish. Lay fish on top of salt, and pat remaining salt mixture tightly over top to cover entire surface, including head, leaving tail exposed.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Crack open salt crust using a spoon, exposing the fish. Transfer to a serving plate, and serve with lime wedges.

SALT-BAKED SEA BASS

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.
• Mix the salt with the egg whites and put a thin layer in the bottom of a roasting tin.
• Place the fish on the salt and cover completely with the remaining salt.
• Cook for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, Crack the salt crust with the back of a heavy knife and remove completely. Remove the flesh from the fish (it should fall off the bone) and serve.

SEA BASS BAKED IN A SALT CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place salt in a baking dish, and heat in the oven for 15 minutes.
• Remove salt from oven, and increase temperature to 450 degrees. In the bottom of a roasting pan large enough for the fish, spoon about a third of the warm salt in the approximate shape and size of the fish. Lay 2 slices of lemon and 3 sprigs of tarragon on the salt.
• Lay the fish on top. Place the remaining lemon slices and tarragon on top of the fish. Spoon the remaining salt on top of the fish, patting it on the sides and making sure to cover it completely.
• Bake the fish 10 to 12 minutes, or 8 minutes for each inch of thickness. Check for doneness by inserting the tip of a knife through the salt crust into the thickest part of the fish and wedging it slightly to see if the flesh is cooked.
• Remove fish from oven, and quickly break off the salt, brushing off as much as possible. Transfer to a serving platter. At the table, remove the skin and fillet the fish. Pass the olive oil for sprinkling over the fillets.

GARLIC-ROASTED STRIPED BASS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500°F and put a large shallow baking pan in middle of oven.
• Cut 3 deep slits (down to bone) crosswise on each side of fish and put fish on a tray. Rub fish inside and out with 2 tablespoons oil. Cut a garlic clove in half and rub all over skin of fish. Thinly slice all garlic and insert into slits and inside fish. Squeeze lemon juice over both sides of fish and season with salt and pepper.
• Quickly brush hot baking pan with remaining tablespoon oil and transfer fish to pan (the pan should be hot enough to sizzle). Roast fish in middle of oven until just cooked through, 18 to 20 minutes.
• To serve, remove top fillet from each fish by cutting through skin along top edge of backbone and along belly. Carefully slide a large metal spatula between backbone and fillet and invert onto a platter. Pull out backbone, starting from tail end, and discard. Transfer bottom fillets to platter.