Baked Croaker with Citrus Aroma

To prepare the croaker en papillote with citrus fragrance, start by cleaning the fish. Take the croaker, place it under running water, and scale it using a fish scaler 1 or a knife blade. Rub the tool repeatedly along the entire body of the croaker, from the tail to the head. Repeat the process until it is completely scaled, keeping the fish under running water to aid in cleaning the scales and avoid spreading them on the work surface. Then place the croaker on a cutting board, take scissors and make a cut along the belly of the fish starting from the tail up to the head 2. Remove the entrails 3

and rinse the inside thoroughly under running water 4. Place the croaker back on the cutting board and, using a sharp knife, make a deep incision along the back of the fish from the head to the tail 5. Then, cut away the first fillet 6 and set it aside.

At this point, angle the knife diagonally and make a clean cut at the head, near the fish's gills 7. Then remove the central bone of the croaker 8. Remove the central bone with the help of the knife 9

and with kitchen tweezers, remove any remaining bones 10. You will then have two croaker fillets. Repeat all the cleaning steps with the other croaker and set the fillets aside. Proceed to prepare the citrus. Take the untreated orange and, with a small knife, peel it by rotating the blade around the fruit to obtain a long strip of peel about 0.8 inches wide 11 (be careful not to break it). If you have cut the white inner part of the peel, which is more bitter, scrape it away with the knife blade 12.

Then divide the orange peel in half following the line of the peel, lengthwise 13. Repeat these steps for the other orange and the lemons. Now take a croaker fillet and, starting from the widest part, wrap an orange peel around it, creating a spiral pattern 14. Then take a lemon peel and thread it through the orange peel 15.

in such a way that the orange and lemon peels are intertwined 16. Repeat the operation for the other fillets. Salt and pepper 17 and place the marjoram between the citrus peels 18.

Then take a baking sheet, line it with aluminum foil, and place parchment paper on top 19. At this point, place a croaker fillet on the parchment paper 20. Cut a garlic clove in half and place one half on the fillet 21.

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil 22 and wrap the parchment paper to cover the fish 23. Then wrap the aluminum foil, joining the ends 24.

You need to completely close the fish inside like a parcel and twist the ends like a candy wrapper 25. Repeat the operation for the other croaker fillets, place them on a baking sheet, and bake in a preheated static oven at 392°F for 20 minutes (if using a convection oven, 356°F for 12 minutes) 26. Once cooked, remove the aluminum foil and serve your croaker fillets with citrus fragrance still wrapped in parchment paper 27.