In the Kitchen: Salt Crusted Fish

This New Year, B has decided to be as ecotarian as possible, which I find to be an extremely admirable goal. Basically, he's trying to stay away from meat that isn't local or he hasn't hunted himself (ie venison, pheasant, and other things in our chest freezer). Environmentally friendly species of fish, however, are still on the list which is cool with me because I prefer seafood anyways. One my favorite ways to prepare fish is to bake it in a salt-shell so in honor of B's New Year's resolution, here is my method of preparation for salt-crusted fish.

The first time I had this dish was when I was in Torremolinos, Spain and I absolutely fell in love. Not only is it tasty, but it is a great dish to prepare when you have company over. The time it takes to bake the fish gives you ample time to hang out with your guests and it is an easy crowd pleaser that is sure to impress.

 Here is how I go about making Salt-Crusted Fish:

Start by finding a great seafood department. This dish is typically made with a whole fish (scaled and gutted) but if you don't have a local fish monger at your fingertips you can also grab two large fillets and put them together (skin side out).

Now, to the preparation:

This is what you'll need: A nice sized whole fish or two fillets stacked together skin side out, about 2 lbs of kosher salt (mix this with 1/3 cup water and you've got your salt mix!), 1 lemon, herbs of your choice.

• Pre-Heat oven to 475 degrees
• Line your pan with parchment paper
• Make a bed of salt 3/4 of an inch thick for your fish to lay on
• Slap your fish down on the salt
• Fill the cavities of the fish with lemon slices and your favorite herbs (I like to use fresh oregano, sage, and basil from my garden)
• COMPLETELY cover the fish with salt, packing it into a nice mound
• Pop it in the oven, leave it for 45 minutes or until the salt gets a nice brownish crust on it
• Use some heavy kitchen utensils to crack open the salt
• Behold the tender and juicy goodness that is your salt-crusted fish and serve

An important note:
Make sure to use a non-endangered species of fish! Many seafood species have become drastically over-fished and are about to become extinct. For a great way to make sure your seafood is sustainably sound, check out the system the fine folks at Monterey Bay Aquarium are using to make these decisions easy for all of us.

P.S. Thank you Haley, at Haley O'Brian Photography for the photos!