Salt-Baked Whole Sea Bass
Watch now! A 28 second video
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Hola and Hello!
Today, a rather impressive dish that is much easier than anyone thinks it is … one of my (and my mum’s) absolute favourites: salt-baked whole fish.
Crack it open at the table. Peel back the skin and reveal the moist white flesh underneath. The salt-crust acts like a mini-oven, trapping in all the steam and juices of the fish. If you’ve only ever roasted fish before you are in for a real treat. Very juicy and moist. And no, not salty. (especially if you don’t knock the salt crystals in to the fish as you peel back the skin)
Pescado a la sal. You can use this method for many types of fish; trout, turbot, corvina, bream. Here, I’ve used whole sea bass, and you can get an idea of how easy it is to do in this 28 second video.
And I assure you - that’s it. It really is that easy to salt-bake a whole fish.
Use coarse salt. Table salt is too fine and will be absorbed by the fish making it salty. Maldon will bankrupt you. Just use ordinary coarse salt. Out here, in Spain, it costs around 1 euro for a 2kg packet.
The salt, when mixed with egg white and heated creates a crust, encasing the fish, stopping any juices evaporate. It keeps the fish steaming in it’s own juices.
How long to cook the fish for?
Depends on weight. Work on: 20 mins per 1kg of fish at 180°C / 355°F.
You can use a thermometer to make sure the internal temperature of the fish has reached a safe 63°C / 146°F. But be aware of carry on. Take the fish out a few degrees earlier as it will continue to cook in the salt crust as you mess around cracking it open.
But don’t sweat it too much. Salt-baked fish in Spain, dates back to the pescaderos who would cook the doradas they’d caught, encased in salt scraped up from the salt flats. I’m sure the fishermen neither had timers or thermometers. Nor recipes for that matter. But you do…scroll down a bit more for the Salt-Baked Whole Sea Bass recipe.
Give it a go over the weekend, and if you have any questions leave as comments and I’ll do my best to answer them,
Nik
PS. Tomorrow keep an eye out for next episode of 100 Days Chef Stage and a recap of the first week working in a professional Spanish kitchen.
Salt-Baked Whole Sea Bass
1 whole sea bass (you can use whole turbot, trout, corvina)
1 kg coarse sea salt
100 g egg white
Step 1: Fish
Get the fishmonger to gut the fish.
Note the weight of the fish (this is important to know for cooking times.)
Rinse the fish under cold running water and pat dry.
Lightly oil the surface of the fish (this helps the salt slip off later.)
Step 2: Salt
Mix the egg white with the coarse sea salt until the mixture feels like wet sand.
Line a tray with baking paper (makes clean-up easier, you’ll thank yourself later).
Place a little of the salt on the baking tray and place the fish on top of the salt.
Cover the fish with the rest of the salt mixture. Pack it in tightly.
Step 3: Oven
Place the dish in a preheated oven at 180°C / 355°F for fifteen to twenty minutes per kilogram of fish.
You can use a thermometre to check the internal temperature of the fish which should reach 63°C / 146°F.
How to serve it?
With aioli, braised leeks and dill
With herb mayonnaise and buttery, minty new potatoes
With hollandaise and steamed asparagus
This is SO helpful - thank you!