Striped Bass In Salt Dome Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together salt, whites, and water in a bowl. Season inside of fish with pepper, and stuff with half the ginger and lemongrass. Season outside of fish with pepper. Place remaining ginger and lemongrass on top of fish. Scatter one-quarter of salt mixture on the bottom of an oval baking dish or a baking sheet to form a bed for the fish. Lay fish on top of salt, and pat remaining salt mixture tightly over top to cover entire surface, including head, leaving tail exposed.
• Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Crack open salt crust using a spoon, exposing the fish. Transfer to a serving plate, and serve with lime wedges.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cover the bottom of a baking sheet large enough to hold the fish with parchment paper.
• Rinse fish inside and out with cold water and drain. Dry with paper towels. Stuff body cavity with herbs and citrus, saving a few lemon slices for garnish. Set aside.
• Pour 1 box of salt into a large bowl, add egg whites and water, then the second box of salt. Use your hands to work mixture to a mortar-like consistency. Lay down a 1/2-inch thick bed for the fish to lay on with a 1-inch clearance on all sides. Lay the fish on this bed and pile the remainder of the salt mortar on top. Work into a smooth dome completely encasing the fish. (Don't worry if the head or tail poke out a little.)
• Cook approximately 35 minutes. Check for doneness by pushing the probe of an instant read thermometer through the salt into the fish. When temperature reaches 130 degrees, remove from oven, and rest at room temperature for 5 minutes. Open the fish at the table by hitting the dome several times with a small hammer and lifting off the slabs of salt. Brush away any stray salt. Gently pull out dorsal (back) fin. Using a fish knife or serrated pie server, make a single incision all the way down the back of the fish and around the gill plate. Then lift the skin off working from the head to the tail. Remove meat from top side of fish, going down one side of the spine then the other. Grasp the tail and remove the skeleton, (it should come up intact). The meat revealed below will slide right off the skin.
• Sprinkle meat with a little virgin oil and lemon juice. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cover the bottom of a baking sheet large enough to hold the fish with parchment paper.
• Rinse fish inside and out with cold water and drain. Dry with paper towels. Stuff body cavity with herbs and citrus, saving a few lemon slices for garnish. Set aside.
• Pour 1 box of salt into a large bowl, add egg whites and water, then the second box of salt. Use your hands to work mixture to a mortar-like consistency. Lay down a 1/2-inch thick bed for the fish to lay on with a 1-inch clearance on all sides. Lay the fish on this bed and pile the remainder of the salt mortar on top. Work into a smooth dome completely encasing the fish. (Don't worry if the head or tail poke out a little.)
• Cook approximately 35 minutes. Check for doneness by pushing the probe of an instant read thermometer through the salt into the fish. When temperature reaches 130 degrees, remove from oven, and rest at room temperature for 5 minutes. Open the fish at the table by hitting the dome several times with a small hammer and lifting off the slabs of salt. Brush away any stray salt. Gently pull out dorsal (back) fin. Using a fish knife or serrated pie server, make a single incision all the way down the back of the fish and around the gill plate. Then lift the skin off working from the head to the tail. Remove meat from top side of fish, going down one side of the spine then the other. Grasp the tail and remove the skeleton, (it should come up intact). The meat revealed below will slide right off the skin.
• Sprinkle meat with a little virgin oil and lemon juice. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Set up a grill for cooking with direct and indirect heat. If using a charcoal grill, build the coals on one side only. If using a gas grill, heat one side only.
• Make the aioli: In a mixing bowl whisk together the mayo, cilantro, garlic, lime zest and juice. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. (If serving the fish later in the day, let the aioli chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.)
• Pat the fish dry with paper towels, then sprinkle with salt. Brush a cast-iron pan with 1/2 tablespoon butter. Place the fish, skin-side down, in the pan and place the pan on the direct heat side of the grill. Cook until the skin is crisp and has released from the pan, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the fish and add the remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons butter. Move the pan to the indirect heat side of the grill. Let the butter melt and lightly brown, then baste the fish for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice and continue basting for another minute. Close the lid of the grill and cook until the fish is cooked through, about 3 more minutes. Remove from the grill and spoon the remaining brown butter in the pan over the fish. Serve with the aioli, cilantro and lime wedges.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
• Trim the fins from the fish, rinse and pat dry. Set aside.
• Rub the bottom of a roasting pan with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Place 1/2 of the parsley, dill, lemon and onion in the center of the roasting pan. Make sure that this mound of aromatics is high enough to prevent the fish from touching the bottom of the pan. Rub the fish inside and out with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Season the fish inside and out with the salt and pepper and lay on the bed of aromatics. Place the second half of the aromatics on top of the fish and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes or until the fish reaches an internal temperature of 120 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for 10 minutes before transferring whole to a platter lined with the additional fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• For the sauce, whisk together: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, Salt, Fresh-ground black pepper.
• Taste for salt and lemon juice and adjust as desired. The sauce will separate as it sits; this is not a problem.
• Season: 4 pieces striped bass, skin on (4 to 6 ounces each) with: Salt, Fresh-ground black pepper.
• Choose a heavy-bottomed pan for frying the fish. Take another, slightly smaller pan that will fit into the pan for the fish, and wrap its bottom with foil. This pan will be used as a weight to hold the fish flat against the frying pan to ensure that all of the skin will cook and crisp. (You will see the fish contract when it goes into the hot pan, as the skin shrinks on contact with the heat.) Warm the larger pan over medium-high heat. When hot, pour in: Olive oil, enough to generously coat the bottom.
• Add the pieces of bass, skin side down, and place the foil-wrapped pan on top of the fish. Cook until the skin is brown and crispy, about 7 minutes. Check now and then to see that the fish is indeed browning, but not overbrowning. Adjust the heat up or down to speed up or slow down the cooking as needed. When the skin is browned, remove the top pan and turn the fish. Cook for another minute or so, until the fish is just cooked through, but is still moist and tender inside. Meanwhile whisk the lemon sauce together again and pour it onto a warm plate. Serve the fish skin side up, on top of the sauce.
• Garnish the fish with a couple spoonfuls of chopped tender herbs such as parsley, chives, chervil, cilantro, or basil.
• Soak, rinse, and squeeze dry a tablespoon or so of capers. When the fish is cooked add the capers to the hot pan and sauté for a minute or two. Remove with a slotted spoon and scatter over the fish.
• Make a Beurre Blanc (Warm Butter Sauce; page 228) instead of the olive oil sauce.