Baked Stuffed Red Snapper
Submitted by baby m
Whole red snapper stuffed with a savory bread, celery, and tomato filling, basted with a tangy lemon-Worcestershire sauce spiked with hot sauce. Gulf Coast flavor at its finest.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
45 minREADY
60 minNow this right here is how they do it down on the Gulf.
A whole red snapper gets packed with a simple stuffing of soaked bread, sauteed celery, tomatoes, and fresh herbs, then basted repeatedly with a punchy sauce built on lemon juice, Worcestershire, and a few dashes of hot sauce.
The frequent basting is what makes this dish sing. It keeps the fish impossibly moist while building a glossy, tangy glaze on the outside.
When you bring a whole snapper to the table on a platter, folks tend to sit up straight. It’s that kind of dish.
Chef Tips
- Baste every 10 minutes. Seriously. The sauce is what separates a good baked fish from a legendary one.
- Soak the bread slices in cold water, then squeeze them dry before adding to the stuffing. This gives you a moist filling without making it soggy.
- Lay a greased sheet of parchment under the fish before baking. When it’s time to transfer to a serving platter, you can lift the whole thing without it falling apart.
- Figure about 10 minutes of baking per pound of fish. A 5-pound snapper needs roughly 50 minutes.
Ingredients
Directions
Sauté minced celery in butter over low heat.
add chopped tomato, hot sauce, parsley, thyme, salt and bread which was soaked in cold water and then squeezed dry.
Blend all in skillet then stuffed into fish cavity. Skewer opening closed.
Bake, uncovered, in preheated oven set at 350 degrees, basting often with sauce.
Allow about 10 minutes baking time per pound of fish.
A greased sheet of paper or white cloth left under the snapper will make it easier to transfer to serving platter.
Now back to the basting sauce: Blend butter, lemon juice, salt, Worstershire sauce and Tabasco sauce, adding oil a little at a time.
Pour over fish before starting baking. Baste often.
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