Wood Fired Striped Bass Recipe

Posted by ilFornino New York on 6th Jul 2018

Level: Intermediate (or expert?)
Total: 45 min
Prep: 20 min
Yield: One roasted striped bass

Chef Anthony LoPinto explains how to roast a striped bass in a ilFornino Largo Wood-Fired Pizza Oven. Cooking this beautiful, fresh black sea bass gives you the opportunity to share a wood-fired fish with a guest. Here’s a delicious Striped bass recipe in a wood-fired oven highlighting its delicate flavor and flaky texture.

Ingredients:

1 whole striped bass (about 2-3 pounds), scaled, cleaned, and gutted
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 lemon, sliced
2-3 cloves of minced garlic
Fresh herbs
Salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat the Oven: Light your wood-fired oven and let it reach a temperature of 400-450°F.
Prepare the Fish: Scale, gut, and clean the bass. Remove the gills and cut off the fins. Rinse the striped bass under cold water and pat it dry with paper towels. Make three diagonal slashes on each side of the fish to help it cook evenly, but don’t cut all the way through.
Season: Rub the outside and inside of the fish with olive oil then season with salt and pepper, including inside the slashes. Stuff the cavities with lemon slices, minced garlic, and fresh herbs. Drizzle with olive oil.
Prepare the Baking Tray: Place the fish on a baking sheet covering the baking rack or in your skillet.
Roast the Fish: Place the fish in the wood-fired oven. Roast for about 20-25 minutes, turn the fish over halfway through, until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.
Check for Doneness: Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature, must reach 145°F.
Serve: Carefully remove the fish from the oven. Let it rest for a few minutes before serving. Drizzle with extra olive oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, if desired.

First, make sure your sea bass is cleaned and prepared – scale, gut and remove the gills from the fish. Personally, I like to trim the fins off because they usually will burn. Next, add a few slits to the gills. Remember to follow the gills, but don’t cut all the way through. This will help cook the fish from the inside out. Season the cavity of the fish with salt and pepper, then blend fresh thyme, garlic herbs, and lemon pieces and place them in the cavity. Add a few lemon slices behind the gills and some fresh herbs in the front part of the fish. Now, your whole black sea bass is ready to be cooked. Don’t forget to turn your fish half way through your cooking time.

I cooked my stuffed sea bass at ilFornino in Valley Cottage, New York on a baking rack in a beautiful ilFornino Largo Wood Fired Pizza Oven. It was perfect!