How Does Fish Succeed in a Salt Crust?

The so-called fish in a salt crust or salt coat is a particularly gentle form of preparation. Under the salt crust, the delicate fish stays aromatic and juicy in the oven. Preparation in a salt coat is not only suitable for fish, but also for poultry and other very tender types of meat.

To prepare salt-crusted fish for three to four people, use sea bass or one large sea bream, or two medium-sized sea bream, for example. Add about two kilos of sea salt. As a rule of thumb, when cooking in a salt crust, you can count on two kilos of salt for every kilo of the main ingredient. To give the crust more stability, you can strengthen it with beaten egg whites.

If you want to prepare fish in a salt crust, first wash the fish and cut it from the belly to the head with a fish knife. Gut it, cut off gills and dorsal fin. Then rinse the fish thoroughly with cold water and pat dry. Never remove the skin and scales, otherwise, the salt would make the meat inedible.

Now mix the salt with a small amount of water. For a salt crust with protein, you need the protein of 3 eggs for 2 kilos of salt, plus 5 to 6 tablespoons of flour and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. This variant of the salt coat is easier to achieve if you mix all the ingredients with a mixer.

To bring the fish and salt crust together, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread about a third of the salt mixture evenly over it. Now place the fish on the evenly spread layer of salt and cover it completely with the rest of the mixture. Press the salt coat down well, the layer should be about an inch thick at the end.

Put the salt-coated fish in the preheated oven, where you let it cook for about half an hour at 190 degrees on the lowest rack. When you serve the fish, break open the salt crust with a knife or screwdriver and hammer and peel off the skin. Be careful not to crumble too much salt onto the tender meat. Now you can fillet the fish, season as desired, and serve with suitable side dishes.