Whole Roasted Fish With Wild Mushrooms

By Melissa Clark

Whole Roasted Fish With Wild Mushrooms
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
5(269)
Notes
Read community notes

A very large whole roasted fish brought to the table with head and tail intact is a visually dramatic and incredibly tasty dinner party main course. Even better is that it’s both a breeze to cook (season it up, throw it in the oven and wait), and to serve (big fish have big bones, which makes it easy to scoop the flesh off the skeleton). Do not forget to call your fishmonger ahead to order a large fish.

This recipe, with lemons, herbs and crisp wild mushrooms, will work with any 4- to 6-pounder, from delicate black sea bass to salmon-colored arctic char. The variety of fish here is less important than the size. Generally speaking, you’ll need about a pound of fish per person, though three-quarters of a pound will do if you’re serving it in the context of a multi-course meal. Also, if you can’t find one very large fish, you can use two smaller ones, 1½ to 2½ pounds each. In that case, feel free to squeeze them into one roasting pan.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 1(4- to 6-pound) whole fish, such as black sea bass, blackfish or arctic char, cleaned
  • 3tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
  • ¼teaspoon coarse kosher salt, more as needed
  • ¼teaspoon black pepper, more as needed
  • Thinly sliced lemon, as needed, plus lemon wedges for serving
  • 1small bunch fresh herbs, such as sage, thyme or rosemary
  • 1pound wild mushrooms, including maitake and oyster, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • Best quality extra-virgin olive oil, for serving
  • Flaky sea salt, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

537 calories; 19 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 1 gram sugars; 78 grams protein; 455 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat fish with oil and season it generously inside and out with salt and pepper. Stuff cavity with lemon slices and herbs. Transfer to a baking sheet or large roasting pan and bake until the flesh is opaque and separates easily from the backbone, 35 to 45 minutes for a 4-pound fish, 45 to 60 minutes for a 6-pound fish.

  2. Step 2

    While fish cooks, toss mushrooms with 3 tablespoons oil, ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Spread mushrooms out in one layer on 1 or 2 baking sheets, taking care not to crowd them. When fish is done, remove from oven and turn on broiler. Broil mushrooms until they are crisp and golden, 5 to 10 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Let fish rest in roasting pan for 5 minutes. Using back of a fork, scrape away fish skin and divide top fillet among plates. Lift away backbone and discard; scoop bottom fillet away from its skin (which should stick to the pan) and divide among plates. Drizzle fillets with good olive oil, season with flaky sea salt and serve with lemon wedges and crispy mushrooms on the side.

Tip
  • To double this recipe, use two fish, each cooked in its own pan.

Ratings

5 out of 5
269 user ratings
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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Kevin Osinski

I made half a recipe with a 1.5 lb whole snapper, which took about 20 minutes to cook. I roasted the mushrooms along with the fish to simplify things, and that worked out great. The mushrooms need about 20 minutes, so if you're roasting the fish longer than that you should wait to add the mushrooms.

Harriet

Last summer I received a very large whole salmon from Alaska. Would this method work equally well with salmon? Would it make sense to use dill and parsley instead of the herbs recommended here?

Linda

If the bottom of the fish sticks to the pan, how can you remove to a platter and serve it at the table?

Jane Jordan

This reminds me of my mother's recipe for cooking a whole shad in burgundy. A single huge fish, bought at Baltimore's Lexington Market, lined with lemon slices and onion, then cooked slowly in a cool oven. A whole fish really makes a statement at the table!

adrienne rourke

Used Bronzino and Rainbow trout both worked beautifully. Fish were butterflied with head and tail on, I make this once a week.

Jason Chiu

Three enhancements - Alton Brown uses crumpled foil and onions to avoid fish skin sticking to the bottom - Never discard the skin - Use ThermoWorks thermometer to get to 55 C internal temperature

Amy B

To stuff the cavity, where do I cut the fish?

CL

The roasted fish is fine, it's a standard recipe, but I did not enjoy the crispy wild mushrooms. Texture & flavor did not complement the fish.

MH

Made this to recipe with a 3 lbs red snapper which I cooked for about 32 mins. Cooked the mushrooms for the last 20 mins. Perfect for four folks. Everyone loved it!

menunu

Had to use 2 1.25 lb black bass. Under 30 mins in the oven. Used rosemary sprigs. Beautiful to serve and tasty to eat. Perfect set it and forget it entree, and your guests will think you worked 4x as hard on dinner.

Bermadette

I made this with Branzino and a roasted pepper sauce in the side. Grilled rather than in the oven. It was magnificent with a side of rosemary grilled potatoes

Jason Chiu

Three enhancements - Alton Brown uses crumpled foil and onions to avoid fish skin sticking to the bottom - Never discard the skin - Use ThermoWorks thermometer to get to 55 C internal temperature

Evan

I used this recipe with two 1lb branzini. Adjusted cooking time to 15 minutes and it turned out wonderful!

CG

I often cook wild mushrooms this way with some minced garlic. The rest of the recipe is perfect.

Kevin Osinski

I made half a recipe with a 1.5 lb whole snapper, which took about 20 minutes to cook. I roasted the mushrooms along with the fish to simplify things, and that worked out great. The mushrooms need about 20 minutes, so if you're roasting the fish longer than that you should wait to add the mushrooms.

adrienne rourke

Used Bronzino and Rainbow trout both worked beautifully. Fish were butterflied with head and tail on, I make this once a week.

Linda

If the bottom of the fish sticks to the pan, how can you remove to a platter and serve it at the table?

Jane Jordan

This reminds me of my mother's recipe for cooking a whole shad in burgundy. A single huge fish, bought at Baltimore's Lexington Market, lined with lemon slices and onion, then cooked slowly in a cool oven. A whole fish really makes a statement at the table!

Hector

"Cooked slowly in a cool oven" sounds really good. 400 F, as in this recipe, is not exactly cool. What temperature and time per pound do you recommend, please?

Holly

Jane Jordan - Did the shad bones dissolve with this method? I met a fish monger in Maryland years ago who told me a similar method which would dissolve all of those tiny shad bones with slow roasting. I tried it but it didn't work for me.

Harriet

Last summer I received a very large whole salmon from Alaska. Would this method work equally well with salmon? Would it make sense to use dill and parsley instead of the herbs recommended here?

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