Whole Red Snapper Baked In Salt Recipes

SALT-ROASTED RED SNAPPER

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Rinse fish thoroughly inside and out until no traces of blood remain. Pat fish dry with paper towels.
• In a large bowl, stir together salt and egg whites until thoroughly combined. Place a 1/2-inch layer of salt mixture in the bottom of a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan. Place lemon rounds, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves on top of salt, arranging ingredients so they form shape of fish and reserving some of each ingredient. Fill fish cavity with reserved lemons and herbs; place the fish on top of mixture.
• Pour the remaining salt over fish, completely covering the body; the tail can stick out of the pan. Using your fingers, pat down salt, completely sealing the fish.
• Place pan in center of oven. Cook fish until done, allowing 15 minutes per pound. (One way chefs check for doneness is to insert a carving fork or metal skewer through the salt crust and into the fish, then place it to the chin under lower lip for 15 seconds; if the metal feels very warm, the fish is done.) Remove pan from oven; let sit 5 minutes.
• Gently break away crust. Transfer fish to a cutting board. Using a paring knife and your fingers, peel away skin. Separate, and serve.

RED SNAPPER BAKED IN SALT WITH ROMESCO SAUCE

Steps:

• For sauce:
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss tomatoes, bell peppers, and onion in small baking dish with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Roast until partially charred, turning every 15 minutes, about 45 minutes. Cover with foil; let stand 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add chile; fry until darkened and slightly puffed, turning once, about 30 seconds. Transfer to small bowl. Add enough hot water to cover. Let stand 30 minutes.
• Peel and seed ancho chile, tomatoes, and bell peppers; place in blender. Peel onion; coarsely chop and add to blender.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in small skillet over medium-high heat. Add almonds; sauté until lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Transfer to blender. Add 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, vinegar, bread, and paprika to blender; blend to coarse puree. Transfer to bowl; season with salt. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.)
• For fish:
• Preheat oven to 450°F. Place 1 fish in each of two 13x9x2-inch metal baking pans. Cover each fish with 3 pounds salt. Drizzle 1 1/2 cups water over salt in each pan. Using hands, pack salt over fish to cover completely.
• Bake fish until thermometer inserted into center of fish registers 135°F, about 30 minutes. Gently rap salt crust with back of spoon to crack; carefully remove salt. Use pastry brush to remove any remaining salt. Carefully transfer whole fish to platter and serve with sauce.
• *Sold at Latin American markets, specialty foods stores, and some supermarkets.

SALT BAKED RED SNAPPER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees with a rack in the center. Rinse fish thoroughly, inside and out, until no traces of blood remain. Pat fish dry with paper towels. Stuff cavity of fish with a few lemon slices, a few sprigs of parsley, a few sprigs of thyme, and a bay leaf; set aside.
• In a large bowl, stir together salt and egg whites until thoroughly combined. Spread a 1/2-inch layer of salt, about the size of the fish, in a baking dish. Arrange the remaining lemon slices, parsley, thyme, and bay leaves over the salt; place fish on top of herbs.
• Pour the remaining salt over fish, completely covering the body; the tail can stick over edge of pan. Using your fingers, pat down salt, completely sealing the fish.
• Place pan in oven, and cook until fish is done, allowing 15 minutes per pound. (One way chefs check for doneness is to insert a carving fork or metal skewer through the salt crust and into the fish, then place the skewer to the chin under lower lip for 15 seconds; if the metal feels very warm the fish is done.) Remove pan from oven; let sit 5 minutes.
• Gently break away the crust. Transfer fish to a cutting board. Using a paring knife and your fingers, peel away skin. Separate, and serve.

WHOLE BAKED RED SNAPPER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Rub the fish with olive oil and place it in an oiled oval pan, gratin dish, or sheet pan. Bake for about 15 minutes per inch of thickness at the thickest part of the fish. Check for doneness by carefully sliding a paring knife into the back at the thickest part, gently lifting the top fillet, and peeking inside to make sure the fish pulls away from the bone and the flesh is opaque (but still moist) rather than translucent and raw. Season with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon.;

BAKED RED SNAPPER IN A SALT CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl blend together the flour, cornmeal, coarse salt, and fresh rosemary. Add the egg whites and the water. Stir to combine. Add more water if necessary to form a stiff dough.
• On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough. Transfer it to a baking sheet. Wrap the whole red snapper completely in the dough. Press the edges of the dough to seal. Put in oven and bake for 25 minutes.
• Remove the crust. Fillet and serve the fish. Lacryma Christi del Vesuvio, Mastroberardino, 1994

WHOLE RED SNAPPER BAKED IN A SALT CRUST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• In a bowl stir together salt and water until combined well. On a large baking sheet spread half of salt mixture in a rectangle just larger than the red snapper and set fish on top. Halve lemon crosswise and cut 3 slices from 1 half, reserving remaining half. Insert slices into cavity of fish. Pat remaining salt mixture over fish to cover completely and bake in middle of oven 30 minutes.
• Rap all around edge of salt crust with the back of a large spoon to loosen and lift top off. Squeeze juice from reserved lemon half over fish and drizzle with oil.

SALT-ENCRUSTED RED SNAPPER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Position a rack in the middle of oven. In a bowl, stir together salt and one cup water until salt is evenly moistened. Score both sides of the fish, cutting slits just through skin to expose a little flesh. Sprinkle inside cavity lightly with salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Rub two tablespoons of the herbs into cavity and insert lemon slices. Rub one tablespoon chopped herbs onto each side of the fish, pressing into slits.
• Spread half the salt mixture in an oval just larger than the fish on a large baking sheet. Set fish on top of the salt. Pat remaining salt mixture over fish to cover completely and mold around curves of the fish. It's okay for the tail to stick out a little bit. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove baking sheet from oven and rap edges of salt crust to loosen it. Lift the crust from fish. It's okay if the skin comes away with crust.
• To serve, use a spatula to cut exposed side of fish into two portions and place on two warmed dinner plates. Lift tail to remove bones in one piece and expose other side. Cut that side into two portions, lift it from bottom salt and place on warmed plates. Drizzle each portion with extra virgin olive oil and splash of sherry vinegar if desired. Sprinkle with remaining herbs and serve immediately.

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.

BAKED WHOLE RED SNAPPER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Clean red snapper inside and out under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels.
• Brush grapeseed oil all over the inside and outside of the fish, and sprinkle with Cajun seasoning on all sides. Insert garlic cloves, citrus slices, and thyme sprigs into the cavity of the fish. Set on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 20 minutes, depending on size of the fish.