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Salt-Crust Baked Whole Fish with Herbs

The Fisher-King's Salt Coffer

Whole fish packed in a crust of damp salt and baked. The crust seals it, so the fish steams in its own juices with lemon and herbs, and the flesh is not salty at all. Cracking the crust at the table is the show.

Fork or mugProtein-forward
Prep20 min
Cook30 min
Rest/rise5 min
Yield2 whole fish

At the table: Serve right away. Cracking it at the table is the point.

Not yet table-tested. This recipe is written from standard, well-known methods and has not been through our test tables yet. The badge changes when it has.

Crafting formula

Challenge★★★☆☆
Reward300 XP

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Prestige ranks

  1. As written: baked in the crust, served with oil and lemon.

  2. Serve with a pan sauce: reduce cider vinegar with a minced shallot to a spoonful, then whisk in cold butter a piece at a time until glossy.

  3. Buy the fish whole and scale and gut it yourself, and bake barley bread for the table.

  4. Bring it to the table in its crust, crack it open there, and fillet it onto warm plates with buttered leeks and a pot of green sauce.

Cooking at Hearth. The dish as written. Simple, honest, done well.

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Hero sheet

Why nowIt's one of the oldest ways to cook a fish, it uses no fat, and it is almost impossible to dry out.

Salt-Crust Baked Whole Fish with Herbs
Illustration generated with AI, not a photo of this recipe.

Ingredients

4

As written: 2 whole fish.

Fish

Salt crust

To serve

Kosher salt means Diamond Crystal. With Morton kosher salt, use about half.

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Rinse the fish inside and out and pat dry. Fill each cavity with lemon slices, herbs and garlic.

    Look forWash your hands and the board after handling raw fish.

  2. In a big bowl, mix the salt and egg whites with your hands, adding water a little at a time.

    Look forIt feels like damp sand and holds its shape when you squeeze a handful.

  3. Spread a ½-inch layer of the salt on a large rimmed sheet pan. Lay the fish on it, cover them completely with the rest, and pat it firm. The tails can poke out.

  4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes. Push an instant-read thermometer through the crust into the thickest part of a fish.

    Look forIt reads 140°F. It climbs to 145°F while it rests.

  5. Rest 5 minutes. Crack the crust with the back of a heavy spoon, lift it off in slabs, and brush away loose salt. Peel back the skin and lift the fillets off the bones onto plates.

  6. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with lemon wedges.

Make ahead

Fill the fish and mix the salt up to 2 hours ahead. Keep the fish in the fridge until it goes in the crust.

Holding

Serve right away. Cracking it at the table is the point.

Allergens

Contains fish, egg (in the crust, unless you make it egg-free). Always check labels on packaged ingredients.

Notes

Egg-free: use salt and just enough water to make damp sand. The crust is crumblier but works.

The salt is not reusable for food after it has touched raw fish. Throw it away.

Two smaller fish cook more evenly than one large one.

Tavern Night

This dish's twist table (d6)

1–2The classic stands. No twist. Cook it as written.
3Herb swap. Fennel fronds and dill inside the fish
4Acid strike. Green sauce (parsley, mint, vinegar and a little bread, pounded) on the side
5Plating challenge. Crack the crust at the table, in front of everyone
6Host's boon. The Host picks any twist above, or the table invents one. The safety rule still applies.

Roll before you start cooking. No twist ever changes a time, a temperature or how done something must be.