This delicious herb roasted whole branzino is savory, buttery, and delicious. Perfect for the whole family.
What is Branzino?
Branzino is a mild, flaky white sea bass from the Meditteranean sea that is similar to tilapia, trout, and halibut. It is best for me when prepared whole as the skin helps it to keep moist plus the skin is fatty so It makes it even more delicious. Just a preference. After roasting in the foil you could broil it 3 mins on each side to get the skin crispy which is even more delicious.
Whole or Fillet?
This recipe calls for the whole fish. You can definitely do it without the bones if the Whole fish makes you uncomfortable. Buy your choice of fish fillet so you don’t have to worry about filleting it yourself. The method is still the same, all you have to do is add the herbs and butter on top of the fillets. Cover and place in the oven.
What are the different styles of Whole Fish?
The whole fish is something I enjoy no matter what season, time of day. There are many different styles in which you can enjoy the whole fish.
- Roasted
- Steamed
- Fry
- Seared
- Grill
- Poached
Herb Roasted Branzino
I made a blend of parsley, thyme, scallion, lemon, and garlic and stuff it inside all the cavities with butter. You can add other herbs or subtract from this recipe to suit your palate. However, butter is a key ingredient to add extra flavors. 
Oil or Butter?
Substituting with olive oil is ok but it won’t have the same taste. It will be a little bit dryer, you could tip a little fish stock in the foil paper. However, if you’re ok with that, then it’s fine. While I used the Branzino, you can use another type of fish if you like. Snappers, flounder, blackfish, butterfish, or parrotfish are great roasted. Usually, I wouldn’t roast flaky fish because a buttery textured fish would be best for optimal taste, as it would just melt in your mouth.
Roasting Fish in foil paper
Using foil does make a difference to this technique of roast fish. The foil helps not only to cook it faster but it helps to hold the flavors and moisture to produce that awesome buttery fish herb sauce. Also, please note that this is the method which we use in Jamaica to roast fish, hence I adopted our technique, as I prefer this way.
Garnish
I garnish with sliced scallions and fresco peppers to add little heat to it. Totally optional. If you like you could add peppers to your herbs to add heat.
Shopping List
- Foil
- Roasting Rack
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Herb Roasted Whole Branzino
Equipment
- Foil
- Roasting Rack
Ingredients
- Whole Fish
- ½ cup parsley chopped
- ¼ cup thyme chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- ½ cup scallion chopped
- 3-4 tbsp butter
- salt
- black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a bowl add parsley, thyme, lemon zest, garlic, scallion, salt and pepper. Mix together and set aside.
- Optional: Rinse your fish with lemon and vinegar.
- Pat dry with a hand-towel to get rid of the excess water from the fish.
- Make three large slices across the fish (diagonal) to make a pocket.
- Season fish with salt and pepper. Then stuff the pocket of the fish and cavity with the herb mix. (if there is any remaining herb you can rub it all over the fish)
- Place the fish on a foil paper and stuff the gut area with 1-2 tbsp butter, add the remaining butter on top of the fish then wrap the fish in the foil paper.
- Place it on an oven rack and roast the fish for 30-45mins.
- Remove fish from foil and then serve.