The Feast Finale: Salt-Crusted Whole Branzino
If you've been following along all week, you've finally made it to the end. On this Sabbath day, I reveal our final dish in the feast -- Salt-Crusted Whole Branzino.
The salt crusting method is used primarily to maintain moisture in the fish as it bakes, but it also seasons the fish while it steams inside the salt shell. This dish take about 30 minutes from start to finish, with 20 minutes of that time in the oven.
I love Branzino. It's a moderately-sized fish with firm, white flesh and a very subtle flavor. At the seafood counter or butcher, ask them to go ahead and gut and descale the fish for you, but leave the head and tail on for flavor and moisture.
If you're serving this as a standalone meal, I would add some roasted potatoes with dill or maybe a lemon rice or couscous. With its place at the end of the Feast of the Seven Fishes, we were verging on overstuffed, so we just ate the fish. You could also serve this with crusty, buttered slices of baguette.
Ingredients:
1 whole Branzino, gutted and descaled
Approximately 1 cup coarse salt
Seafood herb blend - you can buy it already packaged or mix parsley, dill, and chives
1 lemon
1 tbsp butter
Whole Branzino, gutted and descaled from the butcher.
To Make:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Slice the lemon in thin rounds. Reserve 4-6 rounds for serving.
Layer the inside of the fish belly with the lemon wedges.
Layer the herbs inside the lemon wedge lining. Put the butter in the center of the all the stuffing (i.e. nestled in the herbs).
Lay fish on its side on a baking sheet or dish. You could tie it shut with kitchen twine if you like. I let the salt crust do that for me.
Slice the skin with a sharp, unserrated knife - about three lines and one crosshatch for a medium sized fish.
Pour all the salt on the top of the fish and spread to make sure it covers the full fish.
Bake the fish in the oven for 15 minutes.
Stuffing with herbs is as easy as it sounds.
To Serve:
The fish is going to be HOT on the inside when you remove it from the oven, especially because it's been steaming in the salt crust. Let it sit for a few minutes before handling.
Remove the lemon and herb stuffing from the fish.
Pull the fish apart at the bottom seam. The flesh should fall right away.
Feeling for bones, pull pieces of the flesh out in chunks and serve. Believe me, it sounds off-putting, but you're going to want to just gobble these with your hands.
Place fish pieces with a lemon wedge. If needed, you can add a dash of salt on top. You probably won't need it.
Fresh out of the oven, I’m letting this cool slightly before handling.
It’s very difficult for me to share this fish cooked this way. These bites are firm, buttering, and bright.
There are any number of ways to conclude this feast, but I very much recommend a bite of lemon or orange sherbet to cleanse the palate.
I hope this series has given you a sense of the joy and celebration we feel in our house during the holidays. Don't forget to go back and check the original post for drink pairing recommendations and a full list of the menu!
Bon Appetit!