Any fish fillet or steak - cod, sole, halibut, sea bass, snapper, salmon, mahi mahi, to name only a few - may be cooked with this simple method, equally useful for family or guests. 

(For slow baking of salmon or halibut, see Baked Salmon section.) 

The fish is always moist, with an interesting top coating of your choice: onion-mushroom, lemon slices, tomato coulis, sweet red pepper, ham and golden onion, and more.

The general concept was broached by James Beard in James Beard’s Fish Cookery, but with few actual recipes. Considering the general usefulness of the method, it is surprising that it has not received more notice. I first encountered the technique in a women’s club cookbook that I brought back years ago from a visit to Bodega Bay, California.

It is important to detect when the fish is done, and not overcook. (See Basics, When is fish done?)

The fish is baked with a small amount of liquid, keeping the flesh moist. The top is protected from dry oven heat by a coating. Unlike usual oven braising, no cover is used.

Among many possible coatings, the master recipe uses one of the simplest: onions, butter, and fresh bread cubes. This is nevertheless quite delicious, suitable for family or guests.

Any fillet or steak may be used, as long as the top is relatively flat so that the coating does not roll off. The technique is valuable for frozen fish, which tends to break apart if sautéed. It also works for fillets too thin to be broiled.

To make coating, 10 to 15 minutes

Per person

Heat butter in pan. Add onions and sauté until they soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes.

Remove pan from heat and allow to cool.

Cut bread into ¼ inch cubes. Add cubes to onion mixture and stir to coat well with butter. Refrigerate until needed.

(May be done ahead to this point. Or proceed somewhat further.)

To bake the fish, 30 to 45 minutes

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Arrange the fish in unoiled baking dish. Thin fillets may be stacked if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Spread coating evenly on top of fish. Do this before adding liquid, so that bread will not roll off and get soggy.

(May be done ahead to this point.)

Add wine to cover bottom of dish. (More if using steaks or thick fillets.)

Bake uncovered, about 30 to 45 minutes. During baking, add liquid as necessary to prevent running dry.

To detect end-point, see When Is Fish Done? above. Bread cubes should be slightly toasted. Serve in the baking dish.

Variations
Stir a few raw mushroom slices into the coating.

With or without mushrooms, add grated cheese to the coating.

Mushrooms may be substituted for the bread cubes.

Omit: bread cubes
Add: chopped mushrooms, , ½ ounce, ¼ cup

Sauté onions in butter until translucent, 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Use the mixture as the coating.

Various additional coatings are possible. There is opportunity to improvise, as recipe books suggest very few.

If a fillet has its skin, this can provide the same protection against dry heat as a coating. Simply moist-bake with the skin side up.

Again, no flavor is produced, so serve with sour cream, etc., as for Lemon Slices above.

Coat with tomato coulis, or emergency tomato sauce, or favorite tomato sauce.

Top tomato sauce with bread crumbs. (Remove crusts from slices of sourdough bread or other substantial white bread. Tear bread in pieces and process in food processor until fine.)

Coat with red peppers roasted in the toaster oven. Allow perhaps ½ pepper per person, enough to coat the fish in one layer.

Or, use one of the red pepper sauces for pork in the Braised Pork section.

Coat with the sauce in the recipe for Baked Scallops with Onions and Ham. This requires 15 or 20 minutes additional time to sauté the onions to the golden stage.

Use milk or light cream instead of wine, producing quite a different effect. This works especially well with salmon. 

(Another recipe for salmon, using a more generous quantity of milk or cream, may be found in the baked salmon section.)

With experience you can start with minimum liquid, add spoonfuls as you go along, contriving to let all liquid evaporate just as the fish is done. This presents a dramatic appearance, with suggestions of crust in the dish, and the fish looking like it is baked on.

For this effect, an enameled cast iron baking dish is required. Ceramic or Pyrex won’t work.

James Beard’s Coatings

After many years of using a moist-baking technique, I noticed that James Beard included it in his mammoth volume on fish cookery. He made this observation:

This method (braising of fish uncovered in the oven) is little known in this country, but very popular in France. If you’ve never tried it, I urge you to make the experiment. The results are excellent. (James Beard’s Fish Cookery, 1954.)

Much Respect, Little Attention

The above information was contained in a discussion of various fish cooking methods. His general instructions were to use bacon or salt pork for the coating. Under the fish he placed a mirepoix (strips of carrots, celery, and onions sautéed in butter). Liquid was red or white wine, alone or combined with fish bouillon, brought to half the height of the fish. He recommended an oven temperature of 350 degrees F., and frequent basting.

Among some four hundred pages of recipes, however, James Beard provided only four recipes using the technique, two for whole fish and two for fillets or steaks. Thus from James Beard moist-baking of fish got respect, but little attention. Poaching and broiling remained the standard in the bulk of his recipes, as indeed in cookbooks in general.