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Seremoni 2026

Whole Roasted Red Snapper with Hazelnuts, Brown Butter and Lime

Recipes

Whole Roasted Red Snapper with Hazelnuts, Brown Butter and Lime

July 7th, 2026

Vilda Gonzalez

This whole roasted Seremoni Grade Red Snapper is a dream centerpiece for a summer feast. This method of cooking a whole fish yields succulent flesh with beautifully golden skin, and is lovely served on its own with a squeeze of citrus and flaky salt. With a few quick steps, notably browning butter and pulverizing toasted hazelnuts, you can turn this dish from simple to sublime. Ground hazelnuts, brown butter, and lime combine to form a luscious, textured sauce to slather all over the cooked fish. Vibrant, flaky, indisputably delicious.

Ingredients

  • 1 2lb Seremoni Grade Red Snapper, scaled and gutted
  • Fine sea salt to season
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 80 grams unsalted butter
  • 80 grams toasted and peeled hazelnuts
  • 1 Tbsp lime zest (from approximately 2 limes)
  • 2 tsp lime juice
  • ¼ tsp piment d’espelette
  • Lime wedges and cilantro leaves to serve

    Instructions

  • Begin by seasoning the snapper generously with salt, ideally the day before you plan on cooking it. Season both sides of the snapper and the inside of its cavity, using 1 tsp fine sea salt per pound of fish. If you’re seasoning the fish in advance, place it on a rack lined sheet tray and transfer it to the fridge for up to 24 hours. This time allows the seasoning to better penetrate the fish and helps to dry out the skin, leading to crispier skin when the fish is cooked.

  • If you have the time to season in advance, pull the seasoned snapper from the fridge an hour before cooking. If not, pull the snapper from the fridge an hour before cooking and season it then.

  • Preheat your oven to 450°F.

  • Heat a large cast iron or carbon steel skillet over medium high heat. When the pan is just beginning to smoke, add the olive oil to the pan. Heat olive oil until there are ripples moving through the surface of it, then carefully but assertively place the fish in the skillet. Cook, undisturbed, for 4-5 minutes, or until a nice golden crust has formed. Don’t be tempted to prematurely flip the fish, or you risk tearing its skin. Flip the fish and brown it on the other side for another 4-5 minutes. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook the fish for 12-15 minutes. Check to see if the fish is ready by making a small incision along the spine, the flesh should be white and flaky. If the flesh is still translucent, cook for a few more minutes.

  • While the snapper is in the oven, brown your butter. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, add the butter and allow it to sizzle and melt. Cook the butter, swirling the pan frequently, until it smells irresistibly nutty and has taken on a rich golden color, about 4 minutes. Blitz the toasted hazelnuts in a spice grinder or food processor until they’re just pulverized. Add the ground hazelnuts, lime zest, lime juice, piment d’espelette, and a small pinch of salt to the brown butter and mix to combine.

  • When the snapper is cooked, transfer it to a serving platter and slather the fish in the hazelnut brown butter. Serve with lime wedges and cilantro.