Salt Roasted Red Snapper 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.

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.

ROASTED RED SNAPPER WITH ROSEMARY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Line a heavy large baking sheet with foil. Oil the foil and fish with 1 tablespoon of oil. Place the fish atop the foil. Sprinkle the fish cavity with salt and pepper. Squeeze 1/2 of the lemon inside the fish cavity. Fill the cavity with the onion, fennel and rosemary sprigs. Bake until the fish is just cooked through at the bone, about 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, squeeze the remaining lemon 1/2 into a small bowl. Whisk in the fennel fronds, rosemary, and garlic. Gradually whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. Season the lemon sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.
• Using a sharp knife, separate the 2 fillets from the backbone. Using a metal spatula, transfer the top fillets to a plate. Lift the fish backbone from the bottom fillets (the backbone and head should come off together easily), and discard. Using the spatula, transfer the remaining fillets to plates. Sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper. Drizzle the lemon sauce over the fish and serve.

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.

ROASTED RED SNAPPER WITH OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Make sauce:
• In a small skillet boil wine with garlic until reduced to about 2 tablespoons. Add remaining sauce ingredients and salt and pepper to taste and bring to a simmer. Sauce may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat sauce to warm before proceeding.
• Pat snapper fillets dry and season with salt and pepper. Divide oil between 2 shallow baking pans large enough to hold fillets in one layer without touching and spread oil evenly. Heat baking pans in upper and lower thirds of oven 7 minutes. Working quickly, put fillets, skin sides down, in hot baking pans and roast in upper and lower thirds of oven 7 to 10 minutes, or until fish is just cooked through.
• Transfer fillets with a metal spatula to a large platter, turning them skin sides up, and top with sauce.