Gilthead with salt

How to make a sea bream with salt .

One of the most successful fish recipes on the blog is  sea ​​bass in salt .   For what I could not miss in my cookbook this gilt-head baked and salted.

Making fish in salt is very simple. A technique with which the fish is cooked in its own juice and has a perfect texture.

In the same way we have prepared some gilt-head bream , and the result has been a success.

The bream is a fish prized for the quality and texture of meat. In fishmongers you can find it “wild”, in large pieces and at a high price. The other option is aquaculture, with standard sizes and much cheaper.

This way of cooking, cooking with salt , helps the fish to come out juicier, it is cooked in a smooth and homogeneous way, its flavor is respected and it is a healthy cooking method.

If we have good fish, we need nothing more than a good cooking point to make it a real delicacy of the gods.

In addition, the sea bream with salt is very healthy , since it has very little fat, perfect for special occasions such as a Sunday with the family or a meal with friends, but where this fish reigns is at Christmas.

Prepare this recipe and you will stay with all the staff. I hope you like it and cheer up with it.

Preparation of sea bream with salt

1. We preheat the oven to 200º C, in the “heat up and down” function.
2. In a large bowl, mix the coarse salt with the fine.
3. Add the water and mix with the help of your fingers. First we pour half of the water, mix and then add the rest, repeating the process.
4. We begin by preparing the base or “bed” of salt on the oven tray.
5. With the help of the palm of our hands, we make a layer of approx. half a centimeter. We place the fish on the salt.
6. We cover the sea bream from Crianza de Nuestro Mares with a very compact layer of salt, pressing with your hands, and then remove it easily.
7. We left the tail and the part of the head (from the eye) exposed.

Baking and final presentation of sea bream in salt

1. We introduce the tray in the central part of the oven and bake. Remember the ratio of 20 minutes per kilo of fish, and the trick of examining the eye.
2. Being covered by salt, to know when the golden one will be at its point, we will leave the eye exposed.
3. When it is completely white, this will indicate that we can remove the fish from the oven.
4. Do not open the oven during preparation, so that the temperature does not vary.
5. After the baking time, we remove the fish and remove the layer of salt as soon as possible, so that it does not continue to become inside the crust.
6. We must remove the salt crust to prevent the gilthead from continuing to cook inside.
7. With the help of a knife, we peel it around the contour and remove it easily. You will see how the skin of the fish comes out very easily. This recipe also applies to similar fish: sea bass, sea bass, sea bream, bream, etc.
8. We pass the piece of fish to a platter to serve on the table. When tasting it, you will see that the skin comes out very easily.
9. It will have an optimal texture, with the meat tender and juicy, because it has been cooked in its own juice.

To accompany the fish, the garnish that you like best, from a vegetable ratatouille or accompanied by mayonnaise or hollandaise sauce .

In this case the recipe goes with some cooked potatoes seasoned with an extra virgin olive oil and freshly chopped fresh parsley. Just yummy.

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

Tips for a gilt-head bream with yummy salt

• When buying it, we will check that the fish is firm, the gills are red and the eyes are bright and bulging.
• You should buy it at the last moment, before going home, so that the shortest time possible without refrigeration.
• We will tell the fishmonger that it is for cooking “in salt”, not to remove the scales, and to remove the viscera just by the gills, without tearing the belly. You only have to gut it and cut the fins, but without leaving holes in the body where the salt then strains.
• To make the salt crust, we will use the “extra-fat” size. You will find in stores a special salt to make fish with this technique, of a caliber higher than fat.
• The proportion that we must use is twice as much salt as the weight of the fish.
• To make the salt crust compact, we can use a trick. Some cooks have told me that they add a couple of egg whites and then mix the salt well. I have used a simpler one: 3 parts extra-thick salt and one part fine salt, then using a little warm water to moisten and compact the salt.
• The baking time varies depending on the weight of the piece: it is advisable to bake 20 minutes for each kilo of fish. If you have a 1.5 kg piece, the time would be 30 minutes, for 2 kg, 40 min., And so on.
• Remember that I always tell you that the baking times are always approximate, depending on the power of your oven.