Fish in a salt crust
Fish cooked in a salt crust is simply baked in the oven, surrounded and completely covered by a layer of coarse salt. This allows the fish to cook gently and it should be eaten as soon as the salt crust is opened. In this version, it is stuffed with lemon and herbs. Using a thermometer is the best way to ensure that the fish is cooked to perfection.
163 K 3.9/5 (23 reviews)
1 hour 8 min.
Easy
1 fish
5 IngredientsLast modified on: January 29th 2012
For 1 fish, you will need:
1 Fish
½ 
herbs of your choice
4 cups + 3 tablespoons 
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 40 min.
Cooking: 30 min.
All in all: 1 hour 8 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - 8 min.
Prepare your whole fish (cleaned by the fishmonger, but no need to remove scales): wash the inside thoroughly to remove any traces of blood.
It is better to use a whole fish, but if this is not the case, as in the photos, you will see how to allow for this later.
It is better to use a whole fish, but if this is not the case, as in the photos, you will see how to allow for this later.
Stage 2 - 3 min.
Dry the inside of the fish with absorbent paper and fill the cavity with thin slices of lemon and the herbs of your choice (parsley, thyme, bay, etc.). Pepper, but do not salt.
Stage 3 - 1 min.
Close the fish well over the stuffing.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F).
Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F).
Stage 4 - 3 min.
Spread an even layer of coarse salt ½ cm ( ¼ inch) a little larger all round than the fish on a baking sheet.
If you are using Guérande sea salt, this is easy to work as it is very slightly damp. But if you are using ordinary white coarse salt, I advise you to humidify it a little with a glass of water.
If you are using Guérande sea salt, this is easy to work as it is very slightly damp. But if you are using ordinary white coarse salt, I advise you to humidify it a little with a glass of water.
Stage 5 - 1 min.
Place the fish on the bed of salt.
If your fish no longer has its head, seal the end with a small piece of aluminum foil. It is important to do this, or your fish will be too salty.
If your fish no longer has its head, seal the end with a small piece of aluminum foil. It is important to do this, or your fish will be too salty.
Stage 6 - 1 min.
Insert the probe of the thermometer into the centre of the thickest part of the fish.
Stage 7 - 5 min.
Then cover the fish completely with more salt until you can no longer see it (apart from the tail).
Stage 8 - 30 min.
Bake in the oven until the thermometer reads 60°C (140°F), at which moment the fish will be perfectly cooked.
Heat the serving plates.
Heat the serving plates.
Stage 9 - 3 min.
Break open the salt crust...
Stage 10 - 3 min.
...and lift off the fish skin, which should be easy to remove now.
If possible, scrape off and discard the brown part, indicated by the arrow, which is not good to eat.
If possible, scrape off and discard the brown part, indicated by the arrow, which is not good to eat.
Stage 11 - 10 min.
Remove all the flesh (watch out for bones) and arrange on the serving plates beside the stuffing.
Serve immediately with just a squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil with herbs, or a more sophisticated sauce, such as a Béarnaise.
Serve immediately with just a squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil with herbs, or a more sophisticated sauce, such as a Béarnaise.
Remarks
The choice of fish is up to you, depending on what you can find at your fishmonger's. In the photos I am using line-caught sea bass. Almost any fish will work, but salmon and sea bream are particularly good.
If you do not have a thermometer, your can calculate the cooking time by the weight of the fish: 1kg = 30 to 40 minutes cooking.
If you do not have a thermometer, your can calculate the cooking time by the weight of the fish: 1kg = 30 to 40 minutes cooking.
Keeping: Should be eaten right away, less good if reheated.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 180 RDI=70 % | 5 RDI=1 % | 0 | 750 RDI=40 % | 3,120 RDI: 40 % |
| Per 100 g | 8 RDI=3 % | 0 | 0 | 40 RDI=2 % | 150 RDI: 2 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 1 fish : 10.65 €
Change currency: 
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Coarse salt
Like these other recipes: Preserved lemons, Gravlax, Roast potatoes "à la provençale", Potted meat (rillettes), How to cook pasta properly, ... See them all 16
Fish
Like these other recipes: Stock-pot fish , Fish petals, vegetables julienne, and beurre blanc, Warm autumn salad, Fish in a sesame crust, Seafood sauerkraut, ... See them all 8
Lemon
Like these other recipes: Poivrade artichoke Salad, Baked salmon fillet, Panzanella, Endives "bonne femme", Little lemon biscuits, ... See them all 119
Pepper
Like these other recipes: Soup Cornouaillaise, Eggs Arsène, Roquefort sauce, "Au vert" beef, Tomatoes Provençal, ... See them all 606
Other recipes you may also like
Crème brulée
Crème brûlée (burned cream) is quite easy to prepare: it's a simple egg-cream dessert. The only difficulty is in making the delicious crunchy caramel layer on top. The perfect crème brulée (for me) is a cold and soft cream, with on top a nice hot caramel crust. This is a completely new version...December 31th 20111.65 M 74.3 4 hours 40 min.
Brioche dough
It's a soft and rich dough, with butter and eggs which give a smooth and incredibly tasty brioche. This is the basic recipe for brioche dough, used for all other brioche-based recipes on the site.September 16th 2020518 K 44.2 14 hours 30 min.
Creamy risotto with vegetables
Risotto is one of the many delights of italian cooking... Here is a version with vegetables cooked separately, and their stock used to cook rice. Delicious, as you will see...June 12th 2011381 K5 2 hours 55 min.
Fruit crémeux
This kind of "crémeux" (it means "creamy", but contains no actual cream) is a basic recipe in the repertoire of French pastry chefs. It is smoother but less frothy than a mousse and uses gelatin to set it as it cools. Often used as a tart filling or in other desserts, crémeux is usually poured to...September 12th 2020174 K2.5 40 min.
Clarified butter
This is a way of melting butter to eliminate all the impurities. The clarified butter can then be heated without spoiling, and is more digestible. It is ideal for cooking at high temperatures where small black specks would spoil the appearance, or for emulsified sauces like béarnaise or mousseline.June 21th 2017456 K4.2 2 hours 15 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2024-11-24)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.