Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 whole porgy, 2 pounds or so, gutted (scales can be left on or taken off), head on
- 2 pounds kosher or coarse sea salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup warm water
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Rinse and dry the fish. Mix together the salt and flour, then add enough water to make a paste about the consistency of thick cake batter. Spread this thickly all over the fish, completely covering it. You can decorate the crust if you like, or draw designs in the batter with a spoon or fork.Lay the fish in a baking pan and cook, undisturbed, for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and take it directly to the table (where you can let it rest for a few minutes if you like, while everyone admires your genius). Crack the crust, peel off the fish's skin if it didn't come off with the crust, spoon the fish off the bone, and serve.
Alternate fish for this recipe: Almost any whole fish under 3 pounds, including croaker, grouper, rockfish, sea bass (excellent), red snapper, tilefish, or weakfish. Increase cooking time by 10 minutes for a 3-pound fish.
Yield: 2 to 3 servings
The author says: "After baking fish in salt using the method below for years, I learned another way in Seville: Make a 3-inch-deep bed of salt in a large baking pan, nestle the fish in it, and cover with another thick layer of salt. Bake as directed below; the crust is not as attractive, but the results are identical." --Mark Bittman
Recipe Source: Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking by Mark Bittman (Macmillan)
Reprinted with permission.
