Guest Blog: Salt-Crusted Fish

Sometimes the universe tries to balance things out. I have been ill for the past few days so haven't done much cooking. What a perfect time to have a good friend guest blog for me! My friend and fellow foodie Kandice is my connection to all things highly technical in the kitchen and her creation of Fine Cooking's salt-crusted fish with lemon dill beurre-blanc sauce is certainly an inspiration. Thanks Kandice!

Hello.  My name is Kandice and my weakness in the kitchen is seafood.

The Cook Crook knows I love Fine Cooking magazine.  I recommend it to everyone I know.  It is the epitome of food porn with page after page of amazing photography of food.  The pictures are what first attracted me.  When I delved deeper and read the articles, I found them instructive and educational.  That is exactly what this home cook with no professional training needs!

The April/May 2011 issue of Fine Cooking magazine featured Salt-Crusted Fish in the “Learn A New Technique” section.  Hooray!  I am forever trying to add different techniques into my repertoire and preparing seafood is my Achilles heel.  Obviously, I had to give this a try. 

Three things.  One, this technique does not impart any saltiness to the fish (unless you drop the meat into the salt when serving--oops).   Do not be alarmed by the many cups of salt in the recipe.  It is for the outside only.  Two, this is a presentation dish.  Be sure your family and friends can see you crack it open and serve.  It is impressive and they will be in awe of your culinary prowess.  Three, beware of bones!  Please, please, please be careful when eating fish with bones.  Children should always be supervised whenever they eat fish with bones.

This technique creates the most moist fish I have EVER had.  My standing offer to family and friends is to make this whenever they ask  They just have to bring me a whole fish.

I also made the Lemon-Dill Beurre Blanc sauce.  Be sure to REALLY reduce the wine!  The first time, I did not reduce the wine enough.  The sauce tasted good and the butter emulsified into the wine.  It just was not as thick as a sauce should be.  The second time, I reduced the wine much, much further and the consistency was perfect.  The sauce adds a rich brightness to the fish.

So readers? Beautiful AND delicious, right? I am still waiting for my chance to get in person instruction, guess I need to go shop for a whole fish!