You Won’t Believe Which Pantry Item Alton Brown Stuffs in His Fish

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Photo by: Eddy Chen ©2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

Eddy Chen, 2014, Television Food Network, G.P. All Rights Reserved

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If there’s one chef who can pull off cooking a perfect whole fish while tethered to another person, it’s Alton Brown. The king of quirky cooking: Alton’s latest challenge for a live class on the Food Network Kitchen app, was to cook up a whole fish with whatever ingredients he had in his pantry, all while tied (quite literally) around the waist to his wife, Elizabeth. What could possibly go wrong?

Actually, not much! Armed with a fresh red snapper and some Caribbean flavors, Alton and Elizabeth executed a simple and approachable technique for cooking whole fish in the oven, with one secret ingredient even I didn’t see coming.

Because red snapper is a lean, firm and mild fish, it’s an incredibly versatile ingredient that can be prepared in a variety of styles from Asian to Mediterranean. Elizabeth and Alton decided to work with ingredients they already had in their pantry like ginger and chiles, aiming for a Caribbean theme.

Alton recommends always stuffing the cavity of the fish with something flavorful like whole herbs or sliced citrus. But, because this isn’t your average Food Network Kitchen live cooking class, the pair went straight for a bag of plantain chips they had hanging out in their pantry. They crunched up the salty, lime-y chips and shoved them in the cavity of the fish.

Mind. Blown.

Aside from this game-changing tip, Alton walks you through the rest of the process in the class, dishing everything you need to conquer your fears of cooking a whole fish.

Want to tune in for more tips, tricks and Alton-antics? Be sure to catch him cooking live on Food Network Kitchen this Monday at 6PM EST.

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