Striped Bass in Salt Dome

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Hook Line and Dinner

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (11)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(11)

Cook Time:
40 min
Level:
--
Yield:
8 servings

Times:

Prep: 25 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 40 min
Total:: 1 hr 5 min

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Ingredients

1 striped bass, 5 to 6 pounds, gills removed, fins trimmed
4 egg whites
1/2 cup water
2 (3 pound) boxes of kosher salt
1 handful parsley
1 fennel bulb, (with stem) quartered
Several sprigs thyme
1 lemon, sliced thin
1/2 orange, sliced thin
Olive oil

Directions

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.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Striped Bass in Salt Dome
r West Beach , FL 11-22-2009
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I tried it with Hogfish...yum!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I bought a 2.25 lb Hogfish without really thinking about prep method. Then I went back to Alton Brown season one, and said,... "I can do that". So I did, I followed the recipe very closely, (it took about 2.75 lbs of salt and 2 egg whites). Since I was cooking a smaller fish I took it out after 25 min and it was perfect. Cracking the salt dome was great. A little salt, pepper, and lemon juice and it was delicious. Now my million dollar question is... why does this recipe need to be done in a salt dome? couldn't a simliar effect be accomplished more cheaply in an aluminum foil pouch? Sure it might need it be flipped, and it would affect the cooking time, but why not?Read more
recipe Striped Bass in Salt Dome
Jill Birmingham, AL 11-10-2009
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So, I used flounder...
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

and maybe that was a bad choice of fish. I was cooking for two, so I was shooting for a fish of 4lbs. or less, and flounder... was my only choice at the market (they had snapper and grouper, but both were only available in large fish). It was easy enough to make the salt dome, but I was guessing as to how long to cook. My parchment paper is only oven proof to 400 degrees (read that on the box after I had created said dome on the parchment paper), so I lowered the temp to 400, and then guesstimated for time, as my fish was about 2.5lbs. It took about 30 minutes to reach just over 130 degrees. I let it sit for about 5 minutes, but my husband still complained that some of the fish was mushy and not flaky. It was also pretty bony when I began removing the flesh from the "bottom" layer. I think I'm better off with a fish that finishes with a crisp exterior. :-)Read more
recipe Striped Bass in Salt Dome
Edward Port Charlotte, FL 07-06-2007
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Incredible
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

Who would have ever thought that fish could be so good covered with a hard salt crust. It was marvelous. I used Yellow Tail... which is very easy to obtain here in Florida, instead of Bass.Read more
recipe Striped Bass in Salt Dome
David Bothell, WA 06-02-2007
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Fantastic Fish!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I tried this for the first time last week, doing it again tonight. It's far simpler than it may sound, and the amazingly... tender texture you end up with is so worth the effort. I will say that getting the pan-side-half of the fish is a little more difficult than simply "lifting the fish out", but it's a small price to pay for the quality of the cooking method. Literally some of the best fish I've ever tasted!Read more
recipe Striped Bass in Salt Dome
yuka rochester, NY 03-10-2006
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salt dome
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

You should try! If you are one of asian who miss a good fish, or if you are one who does not like any fish. This does give... you fish flavor but does not have fishsy smell. But, you need to choose GOOD fish and freash fish as Alton told.Read more
recipe Striped Bass in Salt Dome
dani MARIETTA, GA 02-27-2006
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excellent!!!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

this recipe was great! not only fairly easy but tasted wonderful. two helpful hints: use as many herbs and citrus as the... fish will hold & DO NOT use two small fish- side by side- instead of one. the center of the dome will not cook and harden properly. if you want to make smaller portions, prepare a salt dome for each fish seperatly, and place on the lowest and third rack on the oven- the highest rack will burn the salt.Read more