Whole Trout Cooked in Salt

Looking over some fish in the shop’s display case yesterday, Stephanie mentioned a great video of Donna Dooher, chef-owner of Mildred's Temple Kitchen, demonstrating how to cook whole fish in a salt crust. It sounds a bit intimidating, but apparently Donna makes it look easy. Trout would be great done this way.

Here are the proportions, temperature and cooking times:

For 4 people, one or two whole trout totalling about 2 ½ lbs

2 lb. sea salt (Donna says coarse)

3 egg whites

a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

1 lemon sliced in rounds

400F [in a preheated oven] for about 25 minutes.

And no, says Steph. It’s not an old Irish or Druid technique. That’s just Donna kidding around. The technique is a very common European technique that more and more new world restaurants are making popular.

Glenn, what do you recommend for whole fish baked in salt?

This dish is a great opportunity for a red wine, first because it’s trout, which is a minerally fish, its habitat being rocky river beds, and second, because it’s baked in salt. Although sauvignon blanc is a great wine for its mineral qualities, a young pinot noir would be great, too. Young pinots are a lot like Beaujolais, light, fresh and grapey. They’re less tannic and have more berry qualities. But it’s their mineral quality that makes them a great match for trout. Serve it slightly chilled.