Chicharron de Pescado Sinaloense

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy-bottomed deep pot or 12-inch cast iron skillet for frying
• •Frying thermometer
• •Kitchen spider or slotted spoon
• •Wire rack set over a sheet pan
• •Blender for the mayo-chipotle

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut and dry the fish

   Pat the fish cubes dry with paper towels. Wet fish does not crisp. It steams in the oil and you end up with soggy chicharron, which is not chicharron at all. Spread the cubes on a plate lined with paper towels while you build the marinade.

   Choose a fish with body. Corvina and robalo are what the marisquerias in Mazatlan use. Huachinango works. Tilapia falls apart in the oil and tastes like nothing. No me vengas con atajos.
2. 2

   Marinate the fish

   In a wide bowl, whisk together the mustard, lime juice, Worcestershire, Maggi, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, and ground chile de arbol. The mustard is the anchor. It clings to the fish, helps the flour stick later, and gives the chicharron the tang that defines a Sinaloa version. Add the fish and turn each cube to coat. Let it sit for 15 minutes at room temperature, no longer. The lime is already working on the protein.

3. 3

   Make the mayo-chipotle

   While the fish marinates, blend the mayonnaise, chipotles in adobo, the spoonful of adobo, and the garlic clove until smooth. Taste it. It should be smoky, hot enough to make you notice, and rich. If it tastes flat, add another half spoon of adobo and a pinch of salt. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve.

4. 4

   Build the dredge

   In another wide bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, oregano, and a generous pinch of salt. The cornmeal is what gives the crust its texture, that particular bite under your teeth that flour alone cannot give you. This is the trick the cooks at the boardwalk stalls in Mazatlan use, though they will not tell you unless you ask twice.

5. 5

   Heat the oil

   Pour the vegetable oil into a heavy-bottomed pot or a deep cast iron skillet. You want the oil at least two inches deep. Heat over medium-high until it reaches 360F. If you do not have a thermometer, drop a pinch of flour in. It should sizzle aggressively and rise to the surface immediately. Cold oil makes greasy chicharron. Hot oil seals the crust before the fish overcooks. The temperature is the recipe.

6. 6

   Dredge and fry

   Working in batches, lift the fish out of the marinade with a fork and let the excess drip off. Drop the cubes into the flour and turn until each one is fully coated. Shake off the loose flour. Lower them into the hot oil one piece at a time so they do not clump. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until the crust is deep gold and the cubes float and crackle when you tap them with the spider. Do not crowd the pot. Crowded oil cools, and cool oil makes soggy fish.

   Bring the oil temperature back up between batches. Watch the thermometer. Drop in the next round only when you are back at 360F. Patience here is the difference between chicharron and fritura triste.
7. 7

   Drain and salt

   Lift the fried fish out with a spider and transfer to a wire rack set over a sheet pan. Do not drain on paper towels. Paper towels trap steam and the bottoms turn soft. While the chicharron is still hot, hit each piece with a small pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime. The salt sticks to the hot oil and the lime brightens the whole thing. Asi se hace y punto.

8. 8

   Serve immediately

   Pile the chicharron on a platter while it is still hot and crackling. Set out the mayo-chipotle, lime wedges, cucumber, radish, saltines, and Valentina or Huichol around it. This is bar food. It is meant to be eaten standing up, with a cold beer in the other hand, the moment it leaves the oil. Cold chicharron is dead chicharron.

Chef Tips

• •The fish has to be firm and very fresh. Corvina, robalo, or huachinango are correct. Tilapia, basa, and swai are not. They fall apart in the oil and they taste like nothing. If your fish counter cannot get you a firm white Pacific fish, wait until it can.
• •Yellow American-style mustard is what Sinaloa uses. Not Dijon, not whole grain, not honey mustard. The plain yellow stuff. It is part of the regional flavor profile and substituting it changes the dish.
• •Mayo-chipotle keeps in the refrigerator for a week. Make a double batch. You will use it on tortas, on fries, on the next round of chicharron when you cannot stop making it.
• •If you want to push it further, fry a handful of small whole chiles de arbol in the hot oil for 30 seconds at the very end and scatter them over the platter. That is how they do it at La Puntilla in Mazatlan.

Advance Preparation

• •The mayo-chipotle can be made up to one week ahead and refrigerated. The flavor deepens after the first day.
• •The dredge mix (flour, cornmeal, oregano, salt) can be whisked together and stored in a sealed jar at room temperature for a month.
• •The fish itself does not wait. Marinate and fry it the same hour. Chicharron does not reheat. It loses its crackle within an hour and there is no recovering from it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 190g)