Roasting whole fish in a salt crust is a great way to get an extremely moist fish, that surprisingly isn't salty. The salt literally forms a crust around the fish (hence the name) and it traps all the natural moister from the fish, along with any aromatics you've added. Ali and I have made this a couple of time, both for ourselves and with friends. We've only used Branzino, but you can use any whole fish (red snapper is very popular).
Ingredients
2 1 to 1½-pound whole Branzino gutted
4 thin lemon slices, sliced into half moons
1 3 lb box coarse kosher salt
2 scallions
5 (or more) large egg whites
Good EVOO
8 fresh parsley sprigs
Fresh Lemon juice
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400. Take 2 c of your kosher salt and grind it in a spice grinder (you can also just use store bought table salt). I've found a mix of both coarse salt and ground salt forms the best crust. Next, mix the egg whites with all the salt (some recipes use water instead of egg white, but the whites work much better). The end product should be a grainy paste (add more egg whites if needed). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then pack ¼" layer of the salt past on top, spread out enough to place both fish on top. Lay your fish on the salt mix and stuff the cavity with half the parsley, thyme and lemon (note: you can stuff anything in the fish. We've also stuffed our with orange slices, all spice, star anise, garlic and fennel). Poke a short skewer into the thickest part of the fish, just behind the head. Then pack the remaining salt mix over and around the fish to enclose it; leave the skewer visible.
Bake the fish for about 20 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the skewer hole registers 135°. The salt crust should turn golden brown. Let the fish rest 5 min, then crack the crust with a large serving spoon along the side of the fish. Remove the salt crust (it's OK if the skin comes off too). Slide a spoon under the top fillet, over the spine, and lift it to a serving platter. Remove the bones, then slide a spoon under the bottom fillet and serve. Generally the fish is served with a drizzle of good EVOO and fresh lemon juice. I take my scallions (green part only) and slice them on a bias. Then soak the onions in a mix of good EVOO and fresh lemon juice and use that to top my fish.
