Salt Crusted fish recipe

With the weather warming up, thoughts of playing in the sand inspired me to try salt-crust baking. That's essentially what this technique feels like. Baking in salt involves burying food in a sand-like mixture of salt and egg white. The salt insulates the food, cooking it gently and evenly. When the dish comes out of the oven, you crack open the hardened, golden salt shell to unearth a moist, evenly cooked and fragrant buried treasure.

I tried this method out on new potatoes, red snapper, bronzini, chicken breasts, whole chicken, and duck breasts. Many boxes of salt later, I have this slideshow to take you through what I learned on my imaginary beach vacation.

If you have any salt-crust baking experiences, as always, please share them along with your tips.

About the author: Kumiko writes the blog She believes that having a few cooking techniques under your belt can help make home cooking creative and easy, and is excited to share these basics here on her regular column Technique of the Week. A graduate of Brown University, the Institute of Culinary Education, and a mother of two hungry girls, Kumiko is always trying to keep her Brooklyn kitchen smelling of something good.