Description
this is so easy, looks amazing, and tastes like it is fresh from the sea.
Ingredients
| 10 | egg whites (may be less with extra large eggs) | |
| 5 | lb | coarse kosher salt (may need more, depending on coarseness) |
| 7 | lb | whole sockeye salmon (head and tail on) |
Notes
this is a great centerpiece to any dinner party. you smash the sarcophagus open at the table, and depending on how hard you hit it, the salt can go flying or crack, gracefully, and you can peel it off the fish. people usually serve white with fish, but sockeye can stand up nicely to a light or even fruity red. i recommend sockeye. the milder fishes don't benefit as much from the salt.
Instructions
preheat oven to 375F. rinse the fish and pat it dry. stuff it with mint. take a length of aluminum foil 3 times longer than the fish, then fold it over on itself 3 times. (this should sit on a baking tray of some kind to give it stability getting it in and out of the oven.) mix 10-12 egg whites with 5-7 lbs of salt. i have used fine to coarse, and have used kosher, sea salt, even pickling salt. my favourite is medium-coarse kosher. mix together, add a little water. it shouldn't be too runny or too crumbly, but really, you can't screw up this recipe... you just want it to stick together and cover the fish. make a bed of the salt mixture for the salmon to lie on on the foil. place fish on it. cover the rest of the fish with salt mixture. put in oven for 40 minutes or so. it's ready when the interior temperature is 130F, somewhere between 45min-1hr. the meringue should be lovely and brown. peel the foil off the bottom and place on a plate that you can garnish with leaves or fronds or what you will. serve with a hammer or something impressive to knock the salt off.
(p.s. you can make a custard with the egg yolks-or LOTS of aioli!)
