Whole red snapper baked in a salt dome

Heat the oven to 450F.

Trim the pectoral, ventral, anal, caudal and dorsal fins off the drawn fish with shears, cutting the dorsal from the back up into each joint.

Weigh the trimmed fish; the mortar is calculated from this weight.

Stuff the cavity with lemon slices and fresh parsley and tarragon, which also lifts the belly back into its natural position.

Mix a mortar weighing 1.5 times the fish: 85 percent kosher salt, 5 percent egg white, 10 percent water, plus a tablespoon of dry herbs per pound of salt. Mix by hand, holding back about an ounce of liquid.

It is correct when a squeezed handful holds its shape but releases when poked, like wet sand.

Lay a third of the mortar on a parchment-lined half sheet pan as a platform, at least half an inch thick and a little larger than the fish, pressing the air out.

Brush the platform with a very light film of oil, then lay the fish down.

Build the dome over the fish in three or four additions, spreading, smoothing and packing so there is no air and good adhesion.

Target 130F internal, which will carry over to about 150F on the thermal load of the salt. Insert a needle probe about half an inch past the hard head plate at 45 degrees towards the tail, then patch the salt around it.

Bake in the lower third of the 450F oven, all the way to the back, without turning.

Rest about 20 minutes; it peaked at 158F.

Saw a line round the dome with a serrated knife, scoring rather than cutting through, then crack the top off in one piece and brush away the loose salt.

Cut behind the gill plate and down the spine line with a narrow sharp knife, lift the fillets and peel back the skin, warning everyone about bones.

For the dipping sauce, stir together two tablespoons of mirin, six tablespoons of lemon juice and two teaspoons of hot sauce; tear off pieces and dip, or paint it on.