Salt Roasted Snapper With Caribbean Spices Recipes

SALT-ROASTED SNAPPER WITH CARIBBEAN SPICES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse fish thoroughly inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. In a large bowl, stir together salt, egg whites, lime zest, thyme leaves, allspice, and chopped chile until mixture is thoroughly combined and has the texture of wet sand. Transfer one-thirdof mixture to a rimmed baking sheet; pat into a 1/2-inch-thick layer, slightly larger thanfish. Arrange half each of lime rounds, thyme sprigs, and sliced chile on top of salt, roughly inshape of fish. Fill fish cavity with remaining lime, thyme, and chile; place on top of salt mixture.Pour remaining salt mixture over center of fish; pat down with your hands to fully enclose body,with head and tail sticking out.
• Roast until fish is just cooked through and crust turns hard and golden, 25 to 30 minutes for a1 1/2-to-2-pound fish, 30 to 35 minutes for larger. Gently break away crust with a large spoon. Transfer fish to a carving board, remove skin and separate fish from bones with a serving fork, and serve.

WHOLE RED SNAPPER BAKED IN SALT

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Rinse and dry the fish thoroughly. Whisk together the egg whites and water and combine with the salt in a large mixing bowl. Work the mixture with your hands to distribute the water and egg whites in the salt. The salt mixture should hold together when you press a mound of it together between the palms of your hands. If it doesn't, work in another egg white.
• Fill a baking dish that is 2 inches longer than the fish about 1/3 full of the salt mixture. Place the fish on top. Cover the fish with the rest of the salt mixture and smooth the salt over with a spatula. Place the fish in the oven for about 40 minutes. The only way to know whether the fish is done is by inserting an instant-read thermometer through the layer of salt and measuring the temperature of the fish. When it reaches 135 degrees F, take it out, and serve immediately.
• Bring the fish to the table on a baking sheet or on a large platter and crack it with a mallet or even a hammer. Pull back the salt layer, then peel off the skin with a fork. Serve on hot plates.

SALT CRUSTED WHOLE RED SNAPPER

Steps:

• When cooking with a whole fish you must first be sure that the fish is gutted, your local fish market will do this for you. The skin should be scaled and the gills and fins removed. Leave on the head and tail. Rinse the fish inside and out then pat dry.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the parsley, orange, fennel, bay leaves, shallot, red pepper flakes, fennel seed, and 1/4-cup olive oil. Stuff the cavity of the fish with 3/4 of the mixture, then spread the remaining 1/4 on the bottom of a roasting pan so the fish will not stick.
• Transfer the fish to the roasting pan and rub the skin with remaining olive oil. In another bowl, whip the egg whites to a stiff peak, then fold in the salt to make a paste. Smear the salt paste over the entire fish and roast in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 to 40 minutes. The egg whites form a hard crust that will crack like a shell. To serve, scoop the flesh from the fish with a spoon.