Roasting a Whole Fish

Brainstorming for a side project with a friend, we realized that the simple process of roasting an entire fish is one of the most intimidating things to home cooks. Of course, if someone asked me to serve up an entire tuna, I’d be worried… However, 2-3 lb white fish—the ones widely available at local fish markets—shouldn’t be cause for alarm.

To roast a whole fish, head to your fishmonger and purchase a flaky white, medium sized fish… I like sea bass. Be sure that he scales, guts, and cleans the fish. This isn’t Madagascar people, we can get the guy whose job it is to do it for us—way more than half the battle here!

When you get home, preheat the oven to 425°. Rinse and pat dry your fish (that’s singular or plural—why not roast a few up at a time for a little get together?!). Slice a head of garlic in half and rub one half all over the inside and outside of the fish. Then, peel those half cloves and set them aside.

Now, make a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Put the fish in a bowl and douse it in the marinade. Place the oily fish on a baking sheet. Now, position the garlic cloves on the inside of the fish. Take a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary… or whatever herbs you like, and put them in the cavity of the fish as well. Close the fish up, drizzle any left over marinade over the bugger, and pop him in the oven for about 25 minutes.

Check for doneness based on the opacity of the interior skin. When the fish is done, remove it from the oven. Remove the herbs and garlic cloves from the inside. Now, you can choose whether you’d like to serve it as a whole fish to the table, with the bones in, or if you’d like to debone it prior to serving. Either is fine, just be sure to tell your guests about the bones if you choose to serve them avec.

I prefer if the fish is served whole because I like the meat in the cheek, which is often discarded if someone else is doing the filleting. Regardless of how you serve it, serve up a few lemon wedges as accompaniment.

Once you’ve mastered the technique, you can do all sorts of fun stuff, like switch up the herbs, use infused oils, and experiment with all sorts of types of fish. The possibilities are endless with this easy, impressive approach!