Barramundi (Paperbark-Steamed)

Ingredients

• 1 (approx. 1.2 kg) Barramundi, whole, scaled and cleaned
• 4 large sheets Dried paperbark (Melaleuca), soaked in cold water for 20 minutes until pliable
• Seasoning
• 1 tsp Lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora), dried and ground
• 1 tsp Bush tomato (akudjura), dried and ground
• 1 tsp Saltbush leaves, dried and crumbled
• 2 tbsp Macadamia oil

Method

1. 1
   Soak the dried paperbark sheets in cold water for 20 minutes, so the bark absorbs enough moisture to steam the fish from the inside rather than scorching over the heat source. The bark is ready when it is fully pliable and bends without cracking — rigid bark must soak longer. Do not proceed with dry bark; it will burn and impart acrid rather than tannin notes.
2. 2
   Combine the ground lemon myrtle, bush tomato, and crumbled saltbush in a small bowl. Rub the macadamia oil over the entire surface of the cleaned, whole barramundi, then apply the native seasoning blend evenly to the skin on both sides and inside the cavity, so every part of the fish carries the aromatics into the sealed environment. Keep the seasoning restrained — the bark itself perfumes the flesh as it steams, and a heavy hand with the spice blend will bury that quiet, woodsy character entirely.
3. 3
   Lay two overlapping sheets of soaked paperbark on a flat surface and place the seasoned fish in the centre. This is where the dish lives or dies: fold the bark firmly up and around the fish, overlapping the seams tightly and securing with kitchen twine or dampened strips of bark, because any gap will bleed steam throughout cooking, collapsing the contained environment and leaving the flesh dry rather than extraordinarily moist. Press along every seam to confirm there is no give before the parcel goes near heat.
4. 4
   Place the sealed parcel in an oven set to 150 °C, or over low-medium coals, for 25–35 minutes. Do not open the parcel during cooking, so the accumulated steam — carrying the lemon myrtle and tannin of the bark — remains trapped and does the work of both cooking and flavouring the fish. The parcel is ready when it feels firm but with a slight give when pressed at its thickest point.
5. 5
   Transfer the intact parcel to the table and open it tableside, so the column of aromatic steam — lemon myrtle, saltbush, and the green-tea-adjacent woodsy tannin of the paperbark — rises at the moment of serving rather than dissipating in the kitchen. The flesh must be opaque throughout and pull cleanly from the bone; the bark's interior surface will have darkened, and the fish will be extraordinarily moist.