Air Fryer Whole Fish

Learn how to cook some bream fish using your air fryer. No deep fat frying needed, yet you will get the same delicious, crispy results using a fraction of the cooking oil.

Unless you have been living in a hole or underneath a rock, you have probably heard about all the hype around the air fryer right?

The question is does it live up to its reputation? I personally believe it does and cannot live without mine.

I'm a true island girl in the sense that I love my fried fish, whole or fillets, I am very much partial to both kinds along with some Mackerel and Rice at the best of times.

With that being said, I know many of my Caribbean island readers enjoy eating fish too, but would you consider cooking it in the air fryer instead? Hopefully this recipe will convince to try it, even if it's once.

I brought my air fryer several years ago and the first fish recipe that I tried was using parrot fish. 

I shared the finishing results with my family, who were typically used to eating fried/steamed fish and they couldn't taste the difference.

The main benefits of air frying fish

Alrighty , so let's discuss some of the core reasons for air frying, well the main reason is how the appliance cooks the fish.

You see the air fryer is a hybrid, a cross between a conventional oven and a deep fat fryer. Instead of being placed in hot oil, the food is exposed to very hot circulating air.

The circulating air cooks the outside of the fish, creating a crispy brown coating while keeping the inside soft just like deep fat fried food.

The health conscious fish lovers out there, you will be pleased to know that the air fryer has the ability to deliver the same taste, texture and golden hue of fried food without compromising your health.

For me this a win win situation and a game changer at best, using little or no oil where possible is definitely a positive thing (I'm talking about the bad saturated fats, not the omega fats).

Cleaning the fish

The fish has already been gutted and scaled however the fin/tail are still attached. I'm going to show you how to remove this and how to wash the fish so it is ready to be seasoned.

• Place the bream in a medium sized bowl with cold water.
• Squeeze the lime/lemon/salt all over the fish in the bowl of water.
• Use your hands to wash the fish with the citrus water.
• Directly rinse off the fish under the tap (do this in a colander if it's easier).
• Rub the lime halves on the outside and cavity of the fish and rinse off a final time.
• Blot and dry off the fish with kitchen paper towel.

The steps

• Place the fish on a chopping board.
• Use kitchen scissors to trim off the dorsal and pectoral fins and discard.
• Use a sharp knife to make 3-4 diagonal scores, leaving a 3-4cm gap between each line on each side of the fish. (be careful not to cut too deep into the fish cavity).

• In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, lime juice, jerk seasoning paste and seafood seasoning and add a splash of water if the paste is too thick.
• Before applying the wet rub to the fish, do a taste test as you may want to add additional pink salt and black pepper.
• Use your hands (with gloves) or a pastry brush to thoroughly coat the fish with the wet rub including the scores and the cavity too.
• Leave the fish to marinate for 1-2 hours (or overnight in the refrigerator if you wish to).

• Preheat your air fryer.
• Once the air fryer is preheated, place some parchment paper or a liner in the basket.
• Place the fish in the basket.
• Air fry the fish for 25-30 minutes at 190c/375f.
• Half way through the cooking time turn the fish over, using an egg spatula to lessen the chances of the fish breaking up.
• Continue to air fry the fish and about 10 minutes before the finishing time add the vegetables of your choice to the basket.
• Once everything is cooked, sprinkle the vegetables with the seafood seasoning and serve.

Notes and tips

• Feel free to use any other whole fish for this recipe - parrot, doctor, butter fish, snapper, butter fish, red mullet, sprats etc.
• The lime yields a zesty taste, if you don't care for this taste then omit the lime and add more water instead.
• This is the link that you will need for my Homemade Jerk Paste and Seafood Seasoning.
• If you are planning on cooking 2 fish then you will need to do this separately depending on the capacity of your fryer.
• If you are a novice or don't like gutting the fish yourself, your fishmonger should be able to do this for you. (just ask!).
• Don't add the vegetables to the air fryer too soon or they will burn.
• As per typical Caribbean custom, the fish is washed/cleaned in either lemon/lime, vinegar, salt. I like to use Lime and salt.
• If you don't want to air fry the vegetables, you can steam them on the stove instead.

More air fryer recipes to try

• Jamaican Fried Chicken
• Cajun Air Fried Salmon
• Air Fried Tostones
• Air Fryer Snapper
• Spicy Air Fryer Peanuts
• Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings
• Air Fried Curried Chickpeas
• Air Fryer Onion Rings

**Don't forget to comment below and star rate if you have tried my recipes. Let's be friends and engage on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram I also like to pin on Pinterest, where you can find more amazing recipes.**

Air Fryer Whole Fish

Learn how to cook some bream fish using your air fryer. No deep fat frying needed, yet you will get the same delicious, crispy results using a fraction of the cooking oil.

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Caribbean

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 2 people

Calories: 665kcal

Author: Charla

Ingredients

• ▢ 1-2 large bream gutted and de-scaled
• ▢ 2 tablespoon seafood seasoning (8g) see notes for the link
• ▢ ½ teaspoon jerk seasoning paste (1g) see notes for the link
• ▢ 1 teaspoon paprika (2g)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lime juice (15g)
• ▢ 2 tablespoon olive oil (28g)
• ▢ a splash of water (if needed)
• ▢ 2-3 cups mixed vegetables tightly packed (250g-364g)

Instructions

• Place the fish on a chopping board.
• Use kitchen scissors to trim off the dorsal and pectoral fins and discard.
• Use a sharp knife to make 3-4 diagonal scores, leaving a 3-4cm gap between each line on each side of the fish. (be careful not to cut too deep into the fish cavity).
• In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, lime juice, jerk seasoning paste and seafood seasoning and add a splash of water if the paste is too thick.
• Before applying the wet rub to the fish, do a taste test as you may want to add additional pink salt and black pepper.
• Use your hands (with gloves) or a pastry brush to thoroughly coat the fish with the wet rub including the scores and the cavity too.
• Leave the fish to marinate for 1-2 hours (or overnight in the refrigerator if you wish to).
• Preheat your air fryer.
• Once the air fryer is preheated, place some parchment paper or a liner in the basket.
• Place the fish in the basket.
• Air fry the fish for 25-30 minutes at 190c/375f.
• Half way through the cooking time turn the fish over, using an egg spatula to lessen the chances of the fish breaking up.
• Continue to air fry the fish and about 10 minutes before the finishing time add the vegetables of your choice to the basket.
• Once everything is cooked, sprinkle the vegetables with the seafood seasoning and serve.

Notes

• Feel free to use any other whole fish for this recipe - parrot, doctor, butter fish, snapper, butter fish, red mullet, sprats etc.
• The lime yields a zesty taste, if you don't care for this taste then omit the lime and add more water instead.
• This is the link that you will need for my Homemade Jerk Paste and Seafood Seasoning.
• If you are planning on cooking 2 fish then you will need to do this separately depending on the capacity of your fryer.
• If you are a novice or don't like gutting the fish yourself, your fishmonger should be able to do this for you. (just ask!).
• Don't add the vegetables to the air fryer too soon or they will burn.
• As per typical Caribbean custom, the fish is washed/cleaned in either lemon/lime, vinegar, salt. I like to use Lime and salt.
• If you don't want to air fry the vegetables, you can steam them on the stove instead.

Nutrition

Calories: 665kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 83g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 514mg | Potassium: 309mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 6508IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 3mg

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