In a Salt Shell

In a Salt Shell

Take your time preparing it, put it in the oven and wait expectantly for the delicious result. Cooking fish in a salt crust is generally one of the easiest ways to cook if you pay attention to a few basic rules.

Fish simmers in its own juices in a shell made of salt and egg white, which bakes in the oven to create a solid crust. Salt prevents it drying out, produces unrivalled aromas and is part of the show when it comes to serving.

However, preparation precedes pleasure – and the question about the right salt. Whether you mix the dough with coarse sea salt, refined table salt or commercial quality salt is relatvely unimportant when cooking sea bass, salmon or perch. The salt grains should not be too big, because the following generally applies: the finer the salt, the thicker the crust.

And that's the main factor. If small cracks or gaps develop, steam will escape and the carefully packed food will dry out. This is just not what you want, whether you're an amateur or a professional chef.

You can easily avoid this if you follow the rule of "rather too much salt than too little" and pay particular attention to the consistency of the salt dough. It should be slightly sticky. With experience, this works best when the "white gold" is mixed with egg white – to bind the salt during baking – and a little water. 

Once the dough has been mixed, it is spread on a baking tray. Salmon trout, sea bass or sea bream should be cleaned, washed and stuffed any way you like, but may not be placed on the bed of salt without their scales; they would absorb too much of the salt without their natural protection. 

It will not be too salty if you put plenty of fresh herbs over and under the fish. Parsley, tarragon, basil or marjoram, coriander, thyme, rosemary or sage, for example, give the fish more aroma. They are simply lifted off together with the fish skin after cooking, before you remove the fillets.

However, you can of course open the salt crust by hitting it with the handle of a knife beforehand – guaranteeing "ahs" and "ohs" at the table.

Even more so when the first bite of this fantastically aromatic fish finds its way into your mouth accompanied by a bit of melted butter or olive oil.

You can find a few especially recommended recipes for baking in a salt crust in our recipe database.

Text: Kim Leclaire