The 12 Best Fish To Cook Whole

Growing up in a coastal town in Southern California, I always had immediate access to high-quality, freshly caught seafood. It wasn't uncommon to head to the fishing harbor early on Saturday mornings to purchase a whole fish to cook that evening for dinner. With what seemed like an endless variety of options, my family and I always had a different whole fish on the dinner table each weekend. One weekend it would be whole flounder, pan-seared and basted in butter, and another it would be grilled whole mackerel with lime and tortillas. Once I started my first job working behind the fish counter at a local seafood joint, the responsibility of cooking the whole fish quickly became mine. Working behind the fish counter laid the foundation for how to handle a whole fish properly. This is where I learned to clean, butcher, and cook fish elegantly. During my time there, I learned the best types of fish to serve and cook whole — and most importantly, what to look for.

When searching for the perfect type of fish to cook whole, it's key to choose a variety that has firm and thick flesh to ensure it stays intact during the cooking process. Always prioritize freshness by looking for clear eyes and brightly colored gills. Additionally, the skin should be tight, shiny, and smooth. If you see any fish being sold that seems sticky, smelly, slimy, or discolored, it might be a good idea to head to another fish market.

If you're looking for an easy fish to cook whole, salmon is an excellent option. Whether you're an avid home cook or just learning how to turn on your oven, cooking a whole salmon will be as easy as saying your ABCs. Plus, it's a great option if you're looking for a tasty fish to conquer in the kitchen without breaking the bank.

The most popular type of salmon you'll likely find at your local fish market is Atlantic salmon. Atlantic salmon is well known for its mild flavor and high-fat content, resulting in a delicious melt-in-your-mouth flavor. It's best to cook Atlantic salmon in the oven due to its large size. Simply stuff the cavity with some parsley stems and sliced lemons, drizzle it with olive oil, and sprinkle it with salt and ground pepper, then you're good to go! It's usually available all year round and is pretty easy to find being sold whole.

If you're stuck on an endless cycle of only making salmon or cod at home, try switching things up a bit and cooking the next best option, black sea bass. Black sea bass is a smaller North American sea bass species that's a wonderful option for cooking whole. These fish have a plump and fat body, that's full of delicious flavor.

Black sea bass has a fresh and light taste with an underlying buttery flavor. Like many white fish, it doesn't have a strong fishy flavor and has a firm but also delicate texture. Most chefs view black sea bass as a blank canvas. The fish is fairly adaptable when it comes to cooking methods and is extremely receptive to flavors.

If you're looking to go a more traditional route, you can simply pan-sear with olive oil until the skin is crispy and the meat is cooked through. Be sure to use the leftover bits on the pan to make a quick sauce with some butter, white wine, and acidic ingredients like capers or lemon rind. Or you can try switching it up by steaming in a bamboo basket and stuffing it with lemongrass, ginger, scallions, and peppercorns. Steaming the fish is a gentler way of cooking it, ensuring it stays moist and tender while minimizing the risk of overcooking. Serve it alongside a bowl of jasmine steamed white rice and a crunchy bok choy salad recipe.

If the long and warm summer days are approaching, and you want to gather everyone in the backyard for a dinner party, it might be the perfect time to light up the barbecue and try grilling a whole fish. Rainbow trout is one of the easiest fish on this list that you can grill whole due to its extremely thin fillets. Grilling them on the barbecue is a breeze since it only takes a few minutes on each side. Don't worry about them drying out, the fish has a naturally high fat content, which keeps it moist and juicy during grilling, making it an excellent option for dry-heating cooking. Make sure to keep the skin on to lock in the moisture, plus, you'll get a crispy bite from the skin. Keeping the skin on will also prevent the flesh from getting stuck to the grill grates.

If grilling isn't your style, rainbow trout can also be cooked whole in a pan, broiled, roasted, or even deep-fried. Rainbow trout has a naturally mild fish flavor with a subtle sweet, nutty taste. The fish pairs well with a variety of ingredients, including citrus fruits such as lemon and oranges, alongside delicate herbs like dill and basil. Lean into the nutty flavors of the fish and serve it with a simple endive, radicchio, pear, and walnut salad. The bitterness from the chicory greens and buttery texture of the walnuts would be an excellent combination with the rainbow trout's delicious flavor.

One of the best things about cooking a whole halibut is that it can feed an army of hungry people. If you've got a handful of guests coming over for dinner and can't decide on which type of protein to cook, have halibut be your saving grace. The easiest way to cook a whole halibut is by roasting it in the oven. The sheer size of the fish makes it hard to pan-sear without slicing it into fillets, and due to the low fat content, it's notoriously difficult to barbecue. By roasting it in the oven, you can keep its unique shape while preserving its natural flavor, moisture, and fat.

Halibut has a clean, mild fishy flavor with a firm white flesh that's great to match with bolder sauces and seasonings. The fish shines through with Cajun spice blends with cayenne pepper, paprika, and red peppercorns. But, if you want to take a traditional route, after roasting it in the oven, use the drippings to make a quick beurre blanc sauce to serve alongside. The French sauce has a bright, acidic flavor that delivers a classic, elegant element to the halibut. All you have to do is toss some waxy potatoes and asparagus with olive oil, place them on an additional sheet tray, and let your oven do its magic — then you've got dinner on the table. 

You might see branzino on a restaurant menu and think it's some fancy Italian fish, however, it's just the Italian word for a European sea bass. Branzino is known for its delicate, slightly sweet taste and mild flavor. The fish has an exceptional range of textures, from being flaky and firm in the outer muscles to soft and fluffy in the inner flesh. The subtle flavor and diverse textures make branzino a great option if you're trying to ease yourself into eating more fish.

This mild white fish is almost always served and cooked whole with sliced lemon and minced parsley. The most common cooking method for whole branzino is to roast it in the oven with a bit of sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. The skin becomes crispy and the flesh remains soft, moist, and perfectly tender. While roasting it in the oven is preferred amongst chefs, the fish adapts pretty well to all cooking methods. Grilling it whole over a spit fire or barbecue is another excellent option. The open flames will slightly burn the skin, leaving you with tasty char marks and a delectable smoky flavor.

Whichever way you cook it, pair it with some sliced lemon wedges, a bottle of high-quality olive oil, and crusty bread. Dig into the whole branzino with a knife and fork or simply with your hands, and make sure to only leave the bones behind.

Flounder is another flatfish that is an excellent option if you want to cook a whole fish. Most home cooks confuse flounder with halibut. The primary difference between the two species is their size. Halibut tends to be larger with a firm texture, whereas flounder is much smaller and tends to be more delicate and flaky. Flounder also has a richer, buttery taste due to its significantly high fat content. This buttery, fatty flavor is complemented by notes of minerality and nuttiness.

Since flounder is one of the smaller flatfish, there are several ways to cook it whole. Most professional chefs prefer to either pan-sear or bake the flounder in the oven. If you're pan-searing, be sure to lightly flour the flounder on both sides to achieve a nice crispy exterior. It's best to keep it simple by searing it with some butter and deglazing the pan with chopped capers, lemon, parsley, and a knob of cold butter. If you're using the oven, convenience is on your side since the fish can be fully cooked in less than 15 minutes. Just make sure the internal temperature reaches between 140 and 145 degrees Fahrenheit, and then you're ready to set the table.

Since the fish is naturally buttery, you don't need to add any extra seasoning or sauces. It's best to lean into the fatty flavor by cooking it with butter and balancing it with some acidic ingredients and sharp, hearty herbs.

Another great fish to cook is red snapper. This fish is known for its vibrant red skin color and, most importantly, its mouthwatering flavor. Red snapper has a mild taste with notes of sweetness and nuttiness, which lends itself well to hardy herbs and acidic ingredients. Depending on the weather, you can either grill it on the barbecue outside or roast it in the oven. Slather the fish in an herby salsa made from minced parsley, garlic, capers, and lemon rind, cook it with whichever way is easiest for you, and pair it alongside a glass of dry white wine, then enjoy!

A perk of cooking a whole red snapper is that you can save the bones for fish stock. Their bones are excellent for making stock because they contribute a deep, savory fish flavor without leaving behind an oily texture. Add in some aromatics such as onions, leeks, garlic, and celery, then you're on your way to crafting umami-packed stock that can be used in various recipes.

Sea bream is an excellent fish to cook whole, whether it's your first time cooking a fish or if you're an expert. The fish is well-known for its meaty, dense, and juicy texture. It has a rich flavor with a hint of minerality and a subtle umami richness. Unlike many fish, sea bream doesn't have a strong fishy flavor or aroma, which is a great option for any beginner seafood eater.

The relatively small body and plump, round shape make it versatile for almost every cooking method. You can either drizzle it with some olive oil, stuff it with hardy herbs, and roast it in the oven, or simply pan-sear until crisp on both sides. If you're planning on pan-searing the sea bream whole, you might want to invest in a kitchen thermometer to make sure it's fully cooked in the center. Whichever way you cook it, sea bream can either be made for an easy weeknight dinner or as the main protein for a dinner party. It would pair lovely alongside some steamed white rice and a crunchy cucumber salad.

Looking for delectable fish to fry whole for your next fish fry? Smelt, the small, silvery fish, is the perfect option. As opposed to anchovies and other smaller oily fish, smelt have a soft texture with a fresh, sweet flavor. While they still are a pretty oily fish, incredibly rich with omega-3 fatty acids, the delicate texture is incomparable to other tiny fish species.

Smelt fish are typically around 6 to 8 inches in length and are delicious when cooked whole. The most common cooking method for smelt fish is to deep-fry them whole, including the bones, skin, head, and fins. While you can remove the bones and innards if you're a picky eater, it's actually totally fine to eat them. Smelt bones are naturally soft, and when cooked, the bones practically melt away into the flesh.

Smelt fish are often battered in a wet dredge or dusted in flour before being fried in oil, resulting in a crispy, crunchy exterior and soft, flaky interior. Serve it with a side of sliced lemon wedges, spicy mustard, and garnish it with a bit of minced parsley, and then you've got a delicious appetizer or snack.

While you're probably more familiar with seeing these tiny but mighty fish tinned or canned, they surprisingly taste amazing when freshly caught and served whole. In coastal towns in Italy, deep-fried anchovies can be found served as a snack or appetizer. They are typically coated in flour, never battered, and lightly fried in hot olive oil. This cooking technique is extremely popular in the region of Liguria, where street vendors sell endless plates of fried anchovies. Similar to smelt, the bones are so small that they almost dissolve away when cooked, so don't worry about trying to gut this tiny but mighty fish.

Besides frying, whole anchovies are also excellent when pan-seared, baked, or grilled. Pan-searing them is quite simple. Just heat an oiled pan to medium-high and sear them on both sides for one to two minutes. If you want to make a sauce, add cold butter, a splash of white wine, minced garlic, and scrape off the leftover residual from the anchovies, cooking until the alcohol taste fades away. This style of cooking anchovies is one of the most common ways in Mediterranean households when anchovy season rolls around in April. In Genoa, you can find them baked, sometimes stuffed with seasoned breadcrumbs, parsley, garlic, and lemon zest, then baked until bubbly. Grilling them couldn't be easier as well. Simply skewer them whole, lightly grill over an open flame, then garnish with a squeeze of lime juice. Just make sure they don't fall between the grill grates.

While you might recognize haddock from your basket of crispy fish sticks, it's a great option if you're looking to cook a whole fish. Haddock is categorized in the white fish family — it's closely related and sometimes confused with cod, but it has a slightly sweeter and milder flavor than cod. It also has a firmer and meatier texture, allowing it to hold its shape during cooking, whereas cod has a softer, flakier consistency.

When buying a whole haddock from your local fish market, to save some time in the kitchen, ask your fishmonger to gut the innards and remove the gills for you. The best way to cook a whole haddock is by roasting it in the oven. Stuff the cavity of the fish with some sliced lemon, fresh herbs of your choice, and some aromatics like garlic, ginger, or onions. You can either cook it directly on a sheet pan or cook it the French way, "en papillote," where you enclose the fish in parchment paper or aluminum foil and then bake it in the oven. This method traps the steam as it cooks, creating a perfectly moist and fluffy fish almost every time. Whole haddock also works well on the barbecue. The size of the fish can be difficult to manage in the kitchen, so grilling it on the barbecue is ideal if you've got a haddock that's on the larger size.

Just like all the fish on this list, mackerel tastes amazing when prepared whole. This affordable fish can be found at most seafood markets and is often overlooked by home cooks. This fish has a distinct, rich, oily flavor with a moist and succulent texture. It's known for a strong fishy flavor due to its high fat content; however, don't let that deter you from cooking it at home — the strong flavor is one of the best qualities of the mackerel.

The best way to cook a whole mackerel is either by grilling it or gently baking it in the oven. Grilling is by far the tastiest way to cook a whole mackerel, since it'll give the fish a nice crispy skin and unique smoky flavor. To start, just place the mackerel directly on the grates and cook it on both sides for about four to five minutes. Given that the fish is already extremely oily, you don't have to worry about dousing it in olive oil beforehand — just make sure your grates are clean. Because grilling is a dry-heat cooking method, be careful that you're not overcooking and drying out the fish.

If you don't have access to a barbecue, don't fret, simply place it on a lined sheet pan, season it to your liking, and bake it for around 20 minutes. Baking it in the oven is the most convenient way, because you won't have to fire up the barbecue and it's easier for moisture to stay retained.