Chef Lupita
Caguamanta de Mantarraya Sonorense
Sonora's manta ray and shrimp stew, with green olives, carrots, capers, and the wild chiltepin chile from the Sierra Madre Occidental. The pure broth, served first in a tin cup, is the bichi.
Culinary Explorer
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Birria de Pescado Bajacaliforniana
Created by
Baja California's fish birria: cabrilla or sierra braised in an adobo of guajillo, ancho, chile California, ginger and clove. Coastal cooking that takes the inland Jalisco template and rewrites it with what comes off the Pacific that morning.
Soups & Stews
Mexican
Comfort Food
Special Occasion
Dinner Party
30 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 15 min total
Yield6 servings
This is birria from Baja California, not from Jalisco. Say it out loud before you start, because everything that follows is shaped by that distinction. The Jalisco birria is goat and the broth is built around the meat. The Baja birria is fish, cabrilla or sierra pulled from the Pacific that morning, and the broth is built around the chile and the spice. Same name, different cuisine. Cada estado, su propia cocina.
The adobo is what marks this version as Bajacaliforniana. Guajillo and ancho do the heavy lifting, like they do everywhere in the north, but the chile California, the dried Anaheim that grows from Ensenada all the way up the peninsula, sweetens the base and gives it the gentler edge the coast prefers. Then the ginger and the clove. The ginger is not an accident and it is not a fusion. It is in the cooking of the Baja peninsula because the port of Ensenada has been moving spices up and down the Pacific for over a century, and the cooks who feed fishermen put what is on the shelf into the pot. Clove and canela land here for the same reason.
My mother never made fish birria. She was Jalisciense and she would have called this something else. But I have a page in my notebook from a senora in San Felipe who served me this from a clay cazuela in 2014, with flour tortillas on the side because that is the noroeste, and she told me the recipe came from her mother who learned it from the women who fed the shrimp boats. The fish was cabrilla. The broth was deep red and clean. The clove came through at the end like a memory. La cocina no es decoracion, es trabajo, and this is coastal Baja work. Saber cocinar es saber vivir.
Birria as a category emerged in 19th-century Jalisco as a way to make tough, gamey goat meat palatable through long braising in chile adobo, and it spread north along the Pacific coast through the 20th century, adapting to local proteins as it traveled. The Bajacaliforniana version, built on fish rather than goat, reflects the peninsula's distinct culinary economy: a long, narrow coastline where seafood is more abundant and affordable than red meat, and where the port of Ensenada's spice trade with Asia introduced ginger and clove into everyday cooking long before such ingredients became common elsewhere in Mexico. Cabrilla, the Pacific sand bass, has been the preferred fish for this dish in Baja's fishing villages since at least the mid-20th century, with sierra (Pacific sierra mackerel) serving as the everyday substitute when cabrilla is out of season or off the docks.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
firm white fish fillets, cabrilla or sierra preferred
Quantity
2 pounds
cut into 3-inch pieces
kosher salt
Quantity
1 tablespoon
divided
lime juice
Quantity
from 1 lime, plus more for serving
dried chile guajillo
Quantity
8
stemmed and seeded
dried chile ancho
Quantity
4
stemmed and seeded
dried chile California (chile Anaheim seco)
Quantity
2
stemmed and seeded
white onion
Quantity
1 medium
halved, one half charred, one half reserved for garnish
garlic cloves
Quantity
5
unpeeled
fresh ginger
Quantity
1 (2-inch) piece
peeled and roughly chopped
whole cloves
Quantity
4
black peppercorns
Quantity
6
cumin seeds
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Mexican canela
Quantity
1 (2-inch) stick
bay leaves
Quantity
2
Roma tomatoes
Quantity
2
apple cider vinegar
Quantity
3 tablespoons
manteca de cerdo
Quantity
1/4 cup
fish stock or shrimp-shell broth
Quantity
4 cups
dried Mexican oregano
Quantity
1 tablespoon
diced white onion (optional)
Quantity
for serving
chopped cilantro (optional)
Quantity
for serving
lime wedges (optional)
Quantity
for serving
hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional)
Quantity
for serving
warmed
salsa de chile de arbol (optional)
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| firm white fish fillets, cabrilla or sierra preferredcut into 3-inch pieces | 2 pounds |
| kosher saltdivided | 1 tablespoon |
| lime juice | from 1 lime, plus more for serving |
| dried chile guajillostemmed and seeded | 8 |
| dried chile anchostemmed and seeded | 4 |
| dried chile California (chile Anaheim seco)stemmed and seeded | 2 |
| white onionhalved, one half charred, one half reserved for garnish | 1 medium |
| garlic clovesunpeeled | 5 |
| fresh gingerpeeled and roughly chopped | 1 (2-inch) piece |
| whole cloves | 4 |
| black peppercorns | 6 |
| cumin seeds | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Mexican canela | 1 (2-inch) stick |
| bay leaves | 2 |
| Roma tomatoes | 2 |
| apple cider vinegar | 3 tablespoons |
| manteca de cerdo | 1/4 cup |
| fish stock or shrimp-shell broth | 4 cups |
| dried Mexican oregano | 1 tablespoon |
| diced white onion (optional) | for serving |
| chopped cilantro (optional) | for serving |
| lime wedges (optional) | for serving |
| hand-pressed corn tortillas (optional)warmed | for serving |
| salsa de chile de arbol (optional) | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide clay cazuela or heavy enameled Dutch oven, 4-quart or larger
- •Cast iron comal or heavy dry skillet for toasting
- •High-powered blender
- •Fine-mesh strainer
- •Slotted spoon for lifting the fish without breaking it
Instructions
- 1
Salt and rest the fish
Pat the fish dry with a clean cloth. Season with half the salt and a squeeze of lime. Set on a plate, cover loosely, and refrigerate while you build the adobo. Salting the fish ahead firms the flesh so it holds together in the broth instead of falling apart into shreds. Cabrilla is the traditional choice. Sierra works. Any firm Pacific white fish from a reputable fishmonger will do, but soft fillets like tilapia have no business in this pot.
If your fishmonger sells cabrilla heads or sierra collars, buy them and simmer them for 30 minutes with onion and bay to make the stock. The broth carries the dish. - 2
Toast the chiles and aromatics
Heat a dry comal or heavy skillet over medium. Toast the guajillo, ancho, and chile California separately, about 30 seconds per side. The skin will puff and the kitchen will smell sharp and warm. Pull each one off the moment it changes color. Burned chile is bitter chile and there is no fixing it later. On the same comal, char the half onion cut-side down until blackened in patches. Add the unpeeled garlic cloves and the tomatoes. Turn them as they blister. Pull everything off when the tomato skins crack and the garlic is soft inside its skin.
Chile California is the dried Anaheim. In Baja the cooks use it because it grows up and down the peninsula and into Alta California. It gives the adobo a sweeter, gentler edge that distinguishes this birria from the Jalisco version. - 3
Soak the chiles
Place the toasted chiles in a heatproof bowl and cover with hot tap water. Hot water, not boiling. Boiling cooks the skin and makes the adobo bitter. Let them soften for 20 minutes until they are pliable. Drain and reserve a cup of the soaking liquid in case the blender needs it.
- 4
Toast the spices
In the same dry comal, toast the cloves, peppercorns, cumin seeds, and canela for about a minute, shaking the pan, until they release their fragrance. Tip them onto a plate so they stop cooking. The clove and ginger are what mark this birria as Bajacaliforniana. They are not in the Jalisco version. They are here, and you will taste why.
- 5
Blend the adobo
Peel the charred garlic and slip the tomato skins off. Combine the soaked chiles, charred onion half, garlic, tomatoes, ginger, toasted spices, bay leaves, vinegar, and a teaspoon of salt in a blender with one cup of the fish stock. Blend on high until completely smooth, two or three minutes. The adobo should be thick, deep brick-red, and clinging to the sides of the blender. If it is too thick to move, add reserved chile soaking liquid one tablespoon at a time. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the solids with the back of a ladle. Discard the skins and seeds. The strained adobo is your foundation. Asi se hace y punto.
- 6
Fry the adobo
In a wide clay cazuela or a heavy enameled pot, melt the manteca over medium heat. When it shimmers, pour in the strained adobo. It will sputter and hiss. Stand back. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the adobo darkens, deepens, and the fat starts to separate at the edges. La manteca es el sabor. This step is the difference between an adobo that tastes raw and one that tastes built. Do not skip it. No me vengas con atajos.
- 7
Build the broth
Pour in the remaining fish stock. Add the dried oregano crumbled between your palms. Bring to a gentle simmer and let it cook for 15 minutes, partially covered, so the broth thickens slightly and the flavors come together. Taste for salt now, before the fish goes in. The broth should be assertive, a little salty, with a clean chile heat that builds at the back of the throat. Adjust with the remaining salt as needed.
- 8
Braise the fish
Lower the heat until the broth barely trembles. Slip the fish pieces in, one at a time, in a single layer. Spoon some adobo over the top of each piece. Cover and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. The fish is done when it flakes when you press it with the back of a spoon but still holds its shape. Pull the pot off the heat the moment the fish is done. Fish does not forgive overcooking. A minute too long and the cabrilla goes from silky to chalky.
- 9
Serve from the cazuela
Bring the cazuela to the table. Set out small dishes of diced white onion, cilantro, lime wedges, salsa de chile de arbol, and a basket of warm corn tortillas wrapped in a cloth. Each person ladles broth and a piece of fish into a bowl, dresses it as they like, and folds tacos at the table with the fish broken into the tortilla. The broth is for sipping between bites. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
Chef Tips
- •Buy your fish from someone who can tell you what boat it came in on. Cabrilla is ideal, sierra is the everyday choice in Ensenada and San Felipe, and a firm white Pacific fish like rockfish or corvina will work as a compromise. Tilapia, basa, or any soft farmed white fish has no place in this pot. The fish has to hold together in the broth.
- •Do not skip the chile California in favor of using more guajillo. The Anaheim brings a sweetness and a vegetal warmth that the guajillo alone cannot give you. If you cannot find dried chile California, use one extra ancho and accept that you have made a compromise, not an upgrade.
- •The ginger surprises people who only know Jalisco birria. Trust it. It is not a mistake and it is not fusion. It is what the senoras in Ensenada and San Felipe have been doing for generations. La manteca es el sabor and the spice is the geography.
Advance Preparation
- •The adobo can be made and fried up to two days ahead. Refrigerate it covered. Reheat with the fish stock and oregano on serving day, then add the fish at the last moment. The flavor only deepens.
- •Do not braise the fish ahead. Fish birria is a now dish. The fish goes in minutes before you eat. Once it sits in the hot broth it overcooks and turns chalky. Make everything else, then cook the fish when your guests are at the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 550g)
Calories
510 calories
Total Fat
15 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
85 mg
Sodium
1100 mg
Total Carbohydrates
55 g
Dietary Fiber
10 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
42 g
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