Baked bream

How to prepare baked sea bream or sea bream on the back . If you go to a restaurant at Christmas, a  fish recipe  that cannot be missed on Christmas menus is baked bream .

The sea bream is the indisputable protagonist of this recipe that concerns us for our Christmas menus.  It is a blue fish, although it is one of the leanest within this denomination.

We have cooked this sea bream in the oven, accompanying it with potatoes, onions and a touch of garlic. It is perhaps the most traditional way of doing it, also the easiest and the least caloric, since it does not have heavy sauces and it goes as it is, in the oven.

This time we have prepared it on the back or in a butterfly . This technique, together with cooking salt , is a simple way of cooking, it is a healthy cooking method and where we will taste sea bream in all its splendor. A preparation that supports different cooking methods, the most common is baked, although it also supports the grill, with its smoky touch.

The sea bream is one of the tastiest fish and its meat has a very special texture that makes it highly appreciated. In fact, it is so valued that it has even given its name to a kitchen utensil, the sea bream.

Although it is true that its price is not the best it has, since it is usually uneconomical. It is a fish highly valued for its delicate flavor and its juicy white meat. If the price puts you back you can always opt for cheaper fish such as a traditional baked trout , a classic baked gilthead with potatoes or the always useful baked hake .

With a recipe like the one we are going to prepare today we ensure a very healthy dish, with very little fat and with all the flavor of one of the richest fish on our coasts.

Before starting the recipe. Sea bream and potatoes

1. We buy a big bream and ask the fishmonger to clean it well of scales.
2. We are going to prepare it on the back with which we must cook the whole and open sea bream, so previously it must be cleaned well inside, free of viscera.
3. When we ask, tell your fishmonger that you want it to cook on the back, then they open it like a book or a butterfly.
4. At home we go over the fish to remove any possible remains that may have been left, season with salt and pepper on the inside of the belly and reserve.
5. We peel the potatoes and cut them into not too thin slices, one centimeter thick. We place them covering a baking dish.
6. Peel and cut the onion into thin slices. We cover the potatoes with it and add a good splash of extra virgin olive oil.
7. Season with salt and pepper.

Baking and final presentation of baked sea bream

1. We preheat the oven to 180º C. As soon as the oven reaches this temperature, roast the potatoes at 180º C for 25 minutes. Middle tray, heat up and down with air.
2. Once this process is done, place the bream on the onions and potatoes, skin side down.
3. We season. We pour a jet of extra virgin olive oil and pour the wine over the fish very carefully.
4. Bake at 180º C for about 30 minutes. The time in the oven is essential, heat up and down (without fan) for 30 minutes and it weighed 1.4 Kg.
5. If the fish is smaller it will take less time. And if it is bigger, you should give it more or less time, approximately 10-12 minutes more for each extra Kg. To know that it is ready, you will see that the eye has become opaque and the meat is easily separated from the bones.
6. Meanwhile, we heat oil in a pan. Chop the garlic very finely and add it to the hot oil. Add the chilli and stir. When the garlic is golden, turn off the heat and add the vinegar. Mix well.
7. Once the bream is done, we remove from the oven and pour over the sauce that we have made with the vinegar.

We serve immediately before it cools down to enjoy all its flavor and that juicy meat. We place a bed of potatoes and onion, on top the portion of sea bream and water with the sauce.

Here you have a step by step in photos where I show how to prepare this recipe for baked sea bream . Do not miss any detail so that it comes out perfect.

Tips for a perfect baked sea bream

• Bake times for sea bream are very relative, since they will depend on each oven and the weight of the fish. To know when the bream is really at its exact cooking point, you have to carefully observe it.
• One of the first indicators to know if the bream, or any other fish we cook, is cooked is the texture and color of its meat, which goes from translucent to white.
• The meat around the bone has not only had to change color, but must be easily separated with a fork or small knife. If the meat cannot shed, then it means that the fish is not yet cooked.