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Spain · Red Snapper

Salt-Crusted Whole Snapper

Pargo a la Sal

A whole fish packed in wet salt and baked. The crust seals in the steam, so the meat comes out juicy and perfectly seasoned, never salty. Cracking it open at the table is half the fun.

  • Prep 15 min
  • Cook 35 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Easy
Photo: AVID Vines · CC BY 2.0
Served with: Wrinkled Potatoes with Mojo Sauces ↓En Español

Ingredients

Tap each item as you gather it.

For the fish

For the salt crust

To serve

Method

Step by step, the way it is done on the island.

  1. Heat the oven. Heat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C). Leave the scales on: they protect the meat from the salt.
  2. Stuff the fish. Rinse and dry the fish. Fill the belly with the lemon slices, herbs and bay leaves.
  3. Make the crust. Mix the salt with the egg whites and enough water to feel like wet beach sand.
  4. Wrap it in salt. Spread a ½-inch (1 cm) layer of salt on a baking tray, lay the fish on it, and pack the rest of the salt over the top until it is completely covered.
  5. Bake. Bake 30–35 minutes for a 2½–3 lb fish (about 12 minutes per pound). The crust turns hard and lightly golden.
  6. Crack and serve. Rest 5 minutes, crack the crust with the back of a spoon and lift it off. Peel back the skin, lift the fillets off the bone and drizzle with olive oil and lemon.

On the side

The side dish that belongs with it, full recipe included.

Canary Islands, Spain

Wrinkled Potatoes with Mojo Sauces

Papas Arrugadas con Mojo

Little potatoes boiled in very salty water until the skins wrinkle and frost white, served with a red and a green mojo.

  • Prep 15 min
  • Cook 25 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Easy

You need

  • 2 lb (900 g) small new potatoes, unpeeled
  • ⅓ cup coarse sea salt
  • 1 tbsp sweet paprika + ½ tsp hot paprika (red mojo)
  • 1 cup fresh cilantro, packed (green mojo)
  • ½ green bell pepper (green mojo)
  • 6 garlic cloves, split between both mojos
  • 1 tsp ground cumin, split between both
  • 1 cup olive oil, split between both
  • 4 tbsp sherry or wine vinegar, split between both

How to make it

  1. Boil in salt. Put the potatoes in a pot with just enough water to cover and stir in the salt. Boil 18–20 minutes until tender.
  2. Wrinkle them. Pour off the water, put the pot back on low heat and shake it for 4–5 minutes until the skins dry, wrinkle and turn salty white.
  3. Red mojo. Blend 3 garlic cloves, both paprikas, ½ tsp cumin, ½ cup olive oil, 2 tbsp vinegar and a pinch of salt until smooth.
  4. Green mojo. Blend the cilantro, green pepper, the other 3 garlic cloves, ½ tsp cumin, ½ cup olive oil, 2 tbsp vinegar and salt. Serve both sauces with the potatoes.

Photo: Fer.. · CC BY 2.0

More ways to cook Red Snapper

Same fish, a different corner of the sea.

Salinas, Puerto RicoWhole Fried Snapper with Mojito Isleño
Havana, CubaCuban Griddled Snapper with Mojo Criollo
JamaicaJamaican Escovitch Snapper
Algarve, PortugalAlgarve Oven-Roasted Snapper
Greek IslandsGreek Island Grilled Snapper with Lemon-Oil
New Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans Blackened Red Snapper