Striped Bass in Salt Dome - bass

Method

• Heat oven to 450 degrees.
• Cover the bottom of a baking sheet large enough to hold the fish with parchment paper.
• Rinse fish inside and out with cold water and drain.
• Dry with paper towels.
• Stuff body cavity with herbs and citrus, saving a few lemon slices for garnish.
• Set aside.
• Pour 1 box of salt into a large bowl, add egg whites and water, then the second box of salt.
• Use your hands to work mixture to a mortar-like consistency.
• Lay down a 1/2-inch thick bed for the fish to lay on with a 1-inch clearance on all sides.
• Lay the fish on this bed and pile the remainder of the salt mortar on top.
• Work into a smooth dome completely encasing the fish.
• (Don't worry if the head or tail poke out a little.)
• Cook approximately 35 minutes.
• Check for doneness by pushing the probe of an instant read thermometer through the salt into the fish.
• When temperature reaches 130 degrees, remove from oven, and rest at room temperature for 5 minutes.
• Open the fish at the table by hitting the dome several times with a small hammer and lifting off the slabs of salt.
• Brush away any stray salt.
• Gently pull out dorsal (back) fin.
• Using a fish knife or serrated pie server, make a single incision all the way down the back of the fish and around the gill plate.
• Then lift the skin off working from the head to the tail.
• Remove meat from top side of fish, going down one side of the spine then the other.
• Grasp the tail and remove the skeleton, (it should come up intact).
• The meat revealed below will slide right off the skin.
• Sprinkle meat with a little virgin oil and lemon juice.
• Serve immediately.