Roasted whole _ Red Vermillon Snapper Wild Caught - How to roast a whole fish

When purchasing a whole fish, ask the fish seller to remove the fins, scrape the scales and prepare the fish.  He offered to remove the head and filet the fish, maybe next time.  I had the fish sliced in half and a pocket created for slices of lemon and seasonings.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Score skin into portion-sized pieces.  Fill the fish cavity with lemon slices, salt, pepper and chopped parsley or other herb seasonings of your choice. Drizzle with olive oil.

Measure the height of the fish and roast 10 minutes per inch. The fish is done when the flesh flakes easily.  After roasting, remove the center skeletal bones and skin.  This is easy to do.

A small red snapper roasted in thirty minutes.

FYI:
There are two categories of fish, round and flat. Easy way to tell. Round fish  have an eye on each side.  Bronzini and Red Snapper  are round fishes.  The backbones are in the center of the fish.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, if desired and fresh lemon slices.

Good side dishes: roasted potatoes, green vegetables.