Caballa en Adobo Gaditana

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Glass or ceramic marinating dish
• •Deep frying pan or heavy pot
• •Kitchen thermometer
• •Wire rack or kitchen paper

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the fish

   Rinse the mackerel briefly and dry it well. Cut it into thick pieces, about 4cm, leaving the skin on. If your fishmonger has left pin bones, pull them now. Caballa is oily and generous, but it must be very fresh: bright skin, clean smell, firm flesh. A tired mackerel stays tired after frying.

2. 2

   Make the adobo

   In a non-reactive bowl, mix the sherry vinegar, cold water, crushed garlic, pimentón, oregano, cumin, bay leaf, and salt. Stir until the salt dissolves and the marinade turns brick red. This adobo should smell sharp, smoky, and garlicky, not sweet.

   Use glass, ceramic, or stainless steel for the marinade. Vinegar sitting in aluminium gives the fish a metallic taste, and nobody needs that lesson twice.
3. 3

   Marinate briefly

   Add the mackerel and turn the pieces so every side is coated. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, turning once halfway through. Do not leave it all day. The vinegar should season and firm the fish, not cook it into something dry and chalky.

4. 4

   Drain and dry

   Lift the fish from the adobo, discard the bay leaf and garlic, and set the pieces on kitchen paper. Pat them dry. This is the step people hurry, and it shows. Dry fish takes a clean coat of flour; wet fish turns gluey and drops its crust in the oil.

5. 5

   Flour the pieces

   Spread the harina de freír or plain flour on a plate. Coat the mackerel pieces lightly, pressing only enough for the flour to cling, then shake off the excess. You want a thin sandy coat, not a blanket.

6. 6

   Fry hot

   Heat the oil in a deep frying pan to 180C. Fry the fish in batches for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until the coating is crisp and pale golden with little red flecks of pimentón showing through. Do not crowd the pan, or the oil cools and the fish drinks it.

7. 7

   Serve at once

   Lift the fried mackerel onto a rack or paper for a minute, then serve with lemon wedges if you like. Eat it hot or warm, with the outside crisp and the inside still juicy. Tal como se hace allí: simple, sharp, and made for sharing.

Chef Tips

• •Buy the freshest mackerel you can. Oily fish spoils faster than white fish, and adobo is not perfume for bad fish. The skin should shine, the flesh should spring back, and the smell should be clean sea, not strong fish.
• •If you use sardines instead of mackerel, marinate them 45 to 60 minutes only. They are smaller and the vinegar reaches the flesh faster. Jurel, horse mackerel, can take the full 2 hours.
• •Harina de freír gives the most Cádiz-like crust, fine and sandy. If you can't find it, plain flour works. Rice flour makes it crisper but less traditional, so use it only if wheat is a problem.
• •Serve with a cold manzanilla or fino from the Cádiz and Jerez country. The dry, salty wine knows exactly what to do with fried fish.

Advance Preparation

• •The adobo can be mixed up to 1 day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator.
• •The fish can marinate for 2 hours before frying. Do not leave mackerel in the vinegar overnight, or the texture suffers.
• •Fry as close to serving as you can. Leftovers are still good at room temperature the same day, but the crust softens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 215g)