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SALT-BAKED

Salt-Baked Whole Branzino

Serves 4 · 50 minutes

Why this recipe works

The salt crust is a lid, not a seasoning you eat. Egg white makes it hold together so the fish steams in its own juices while the lemon and herbs in the cavity perfume the meat. Leaving the head and tail out gives you a place to check doneness and a clean edge when you crack the crust.

Substitutions

This method wants a whole fish the counter can scale and gut. Branzino is the one to ask for. A fillet of snapper or redfish is a different dinner. Use the one-pan snapper or the blackened snapper instead.

Ingredients

• 2 whole branzino, about 1 to 1 1/4 pounds each, scaled and gutted, head and tail left on
• 8 cups kosher salt
• 4 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons water, plus more if the salt will not clump
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced, plus wedges for serving
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 4 sprigs parsley
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed

Steps

1. Heat the oven to 400 F. Ask the counter to scale and gut the fish. Pat the cavities dry and leave the heads and tails on.
2. Tuck lemon slices, thyme, parsley, and garlic into each cavity.
3. Stir the salt, egg whites, and water until the salt feels like damp sand. If it will not hold a clump, add water a teaspoon at a time.
4. Spread a half-inch layer of the salt on a rimmed sheet. Set the fish on it and pack the rest over the bodies, leaving the heads and tails exposed.
5. Bake until an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part just behind the head reads about 135 F, usually 20 to 25 minutes. Rest 5 minutes.
6. Crack the crust at the table with the back of a spoon and brush the salt off the skin. Do not eat the crust.
7. To fillet: peel back the top skin, slide a knife along the backbone from head to tail, and lift that fillet off. Pull the backbone away starting at the head, then lift the bottom fillet off the skin. Feel for the row of small pin bones down the center before you serve.

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