Fish in Salt Bake

Sure the picture looks freaky but honest to goodness, I never thought fish could be sooo tender and flaky and just melt in your mouth. I have NEVER had fish this fantastic and I mean it!

Fish baked in a salt dome

• Whole fish - any kind about 2-3 pounds in weight. I got a trout.
• Ground rock salt or kosher salt - 3 to 4 pounds
• 3 egg whites
• A pinch of cream of tartar
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• Slices of 1/2 lemon
• Lemon Juice of the other half
• 2 tbsp rosemary sprigs

Directions

Note - You might be tempted to use only 2 pounds or lesser of salt, thinking why waste it? But it actually is not enough. Trust me, I tried. I ground up half of the 4 pound box of rock salt to mimic the Kosher salt flakes. (The rock salt is otherwise too big to form clumps easily). It just wasn't enough to create a dome for the fish.

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Add a pinch of cream of tartar to the egg whites and start whisking till it attains soft peaks.
3. Fold in the ground rock salt or Kosher salt. Add the lemon zest and half of the chopped rosemary.
4. Make a base of the salt and lay down the whole fish. 
5. Place the lemon slices, rest of the rosemary in the clean belly of the fish. 
6. Cover the entire fish with the rest of the salt, packing it into a dome shape. Try to cover every part of the fish. 
7. Bake for about 30-35 minutes depending on the weight of your fish and your oven peculiarities.
8. Use a wooden mallet or something hard to break off the dome. Carefully separate the fish from the bones. It should be very easy. 
9. Serve with the rest of the lemon slices and your favorite sides

I served this along with roasted red potatoes and cauliflower flavored with rosemary and ground salt and pepper. Next time around I would add more herbs to the eggwhite and salt mixture to better permeate flavors. This is definitely going to be a repeat dish in our house :)

Notes - Fish prepared in this way, won't be too salty.