Basic Roasted Fish

• One 4-pound whole fish, scaled, gutted, cleaned (gills removed), 2¼ inches at the thickest point, head and tail on, interior cavity well washed to remove any blood

With a large kitchen knife, cut three parallel diagonal slashes—lined up with the bones at the body end of the head—into each side of the fish. Cut into the flesh, almost down to the center bone. Place the fish on a diagonal in an 18-×-13-×-2-inch roasting pan. If part of the fish head and/or tail hang