If you're looking for an impressive dinner option, this Extra Juicy Baked Whole Fish is the perfect choice. It is super flaky, moist, and incredibly flavorful.
Sometimes, cooking a whole fish may seem intimidating, but it can be surprisingly easy and delicious, provided you follow this recipe in detail, as outlined in my 'How to Cook a Whole Fish' recipe. When I want a meal that is comforting and doesn't take too much effort.
This reminds me of weekend dinners where a whole on the table meant something special. We never went wrong with baked whole Tilapia, Branzino (Sea bass), Mackerel, Red snapper, and Catfish, served with rice and salads. I have cooked all types of fish, and each time, they have turned out perfectly. Prefer stovetop? Skip the oven and try the no-oven Pan Seared Whole Red Snapper instead.
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Why Choose this Recipe?
Baking a whole fish locks in the moisture and allows seasonings to infuse into the flesh or cavity. If you love bold flavors, this Jamaican brow stew fish is a must-try.
You don't need fancy ingredients—just fresh fish and a few pantry ingredients that crisp up the skin easily. A whole baked fish stands out on the table, for sure.
Customizable for any flavor profile, such as Mediterranean, Asian, or Caribbean.
Recipe Ingredients
- Whole Fish: Use whole white fish, which is scaled, gutted, and perfectly rinsed with some lemon slices and vinegar.
- Extra virgin olive oil: To crisp the skin and prevent it from sticking.
- Ginger and Garlic Paste: For a depth of aroma.
- Seasonings: Creole or Cajun, to taste, with salt and black pepper.
- Italian Seasoning is a combination of herbs. Fresh herbs are a good option.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use any fish, such as sea bream, branzino, trout, flounder, red snapper, salmon, or any type of fish. Should I say good fish? Yes!
- Ingredients like fresh dill, parsley, thyme, oregano, rosemary, or herbs for earthy flavours.
- For a tangy flavour, you can use lemon juice and place some lemon slices in the cavity of the fish.
- Be inspired by jerk seasoning, or spices like turmeric, sesame oil, coriander, cumin, or soy sauce.
- Thick fish fillets like mahi mahi, cod, and halibut will work well for this recipe.
How to Make Extra Juicy Baked Whole Fish
NOTE: I used three whole fish, but the recipe below is for one fish.
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line your baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper, or lightly grease a baking dish or tray. I used a broiler pan.
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir until well combined.
- Pat the fish dry with a paper towel. Make deep cuts or slits on the fish.
- Marinate both sides generously, allowing the marinade to penetrate the cavity of the fish. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes. Bake for 20 minutes. For crispy skin, you can flip and grill the other side.
- Remove from the oven and let it sit for about 2 minutes for the juice to distribute before serving.
Recipe Tips
- Make sure your fishmonger guts the fish very well by taking out he guts, gills, scales, fins, and wash it perfectly. You can rewash it at home with some lemon slices or vinegar to reduce the fishy smell.
- This recipe calls for baking, but you can roast or broil it in the oven at 400°F for 10 minutes on each side.
- Make deep cuts in the fish using a sharp knife to allow the marinade to penetrate well inside the fish.
- Stuff the fish cavity or inside of the fish with lemon slices, sprigs of fresh rosemary, cloves of garlic, or thyme.
- Just before baking, apply cooking spray on top of the fish for extra crispy skin.
- Always preheat the oven before cooking the fish.
- Check for doneness with a thermometer by inserting it in the thickest part of the fish. It should read 145°F. Using a fork, lift the fish gently, and it should pull out from the bone easily. The fish must be opaque and flaky.
TOP TIP
Cajun, fish seasoning and creole can be salty, Make sure you taste it before adding more salt. You don't want to end up with salty fish.
Recipe FAQs
Bake at 375°F - 400°F for 20 - 25 minutes.
Bake in foil or parchment paper, pan searing and finishing in the oven, steaming and grilling in foil.
Please see the recipe card above with the tips.
Pan-frying, stove-top steaming, oven cooking, grilling, poaching, and in stews and sauces.
More Fish Recipes to Try
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
If you tried this baked whole fish recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Baked Whole Fish
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Whole fish Scaled and gutted. I used sea bream
- 3 tbsp. Olive oil
- 1 tsp. Creole seasoning or cajun
- ½ tsp. Lemon pepper contains salt and blackpepper
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning any dry herbs
- ½ tsp. Ginger garlic paste
- ½ teaspoon Fish seasoning or all pur pose seasoning
- 1 tsp. Paprika
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven 400℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- In a bowl, combine all ingredients together and mix.3 tbsp. Olive oil, 1 tsp. Creole seasoning, ½ tsp. Lemon pepper, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, ½ tsp. Ginger garlic paste, ½ teaspoon Fish seasoning, 1 tsp. Paprika, 2 tablespoon Lemon juice, Salt and pepper to taste
- Cut off all fins of fish using a kitchen sear or scissors. You can leave the tail on.1 Whole fish
- Score the fish by making three or more deep slant cuts on both sides till you touch the bone. Pat dry the fish.
- Rub the marinade on both sides of the fish making sure marinate gets deep in to the cuts.
- Cover and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour, then transfer to a baking sheet or broiler pan.
- Bake 400F for 20 mins. You can flip sides halfway through if need be. If you want the fish to have a charred look, change to broil for the remaining 2-5 minutes on each side.
Notes
- Lemon Pepper already contains salt and blackpepper, so taste your seasoning to make sure of the sodium content and adjust taste. If you don't have lemon pepper seasoning, use blackpepper and salt only because, marinate already has lemon juice.
- If using salted butter, please adjust lemon pepper seasoning or salt, you will not like salty fish.
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