Nayarit Grilled Fish Tacos (Pescado Zarandeado)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large fish grilling basket or zaranda-style grill basket
• •Charcoal grill
• •Cast iron comal
• •Molcajete
• •High-powered blender
• •Long metal spatula or fish turner

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the fish

   Ask the fishmonger to butterfly the fish from the back so it opens like a book, with the belly still holding together. At home, pat it very dry inside and out. Score the flesh lightly in a crosshatch, not through the skin. Season with the salt and let it sit while you make the adobo. A wet fish sticks. A dry fish grills.

2. 2

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the guajillo, ancho, and chile de arbol separately, pressing each one briefly against the hot surface until the skin darkens slightly and smells deep, about 20 to 30 seconds per side. Do not blacken them. Burned chile makes bitter adobo, and no amount of lime will save it.

   The chile de arbol burns fastest. It gives the adobo a clean bite, not a punishment. Not all Mexican food is trying to hurt you.
3. 3

   Soften and roast

   Place the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with hot water for 15 minutes. On the same comal, roast the unpeeled garlic cloves until the skins spot black and the centers soften, about 8 minutes. Peel the garlic. Hot water softens the chile flesh. Boiling water beats it up and brings bitterness.

4. 4

   Blend the adobo

   Drain the chiles and put them in a blender with the peeled roasted garlic, achiote paste, lime juice, orange juice, soy sauce, salsa inglesa, Maggi, mustard, mayonnaise, butter, Mexican oregano, and black pepper. Blend until completely smooth, scraping the jar once or twice. The adobo should be thick enough to coat a spoon and red-orange from the achiote and chiles.

5. 5

   Coat the fish

   Rub the adobo over the flesh side of the fish, pushing it into the score marks. Brush a thin layer over the skin too. Let the fish rest 20 minutes at room temperature, no longer. Lime and salt season the flesh, but if you leave it too long, the surface starts to cure and tighten before it hits the grill.

6. 6

   Make salsa huevona

   While the fish rests, put the tomato, tomatillos, serranos, dried chile de arbol, and garlic on the hot comal. Turn them until the skins blister and the tomatillos slump, 8 to 10 minutes. Pound the garlic and salt in a molcajete first, then add the chiles, tomato, and tomatillos. Leave it rough. Salsa huevona is called lazy because it does not ask for perfection. It still asks you to use the molcajete.

7. 7

   Prepare the grill

   Build a medium-hot charcoal fire with a few pieces of fruit wood if you cannot get mangrove. In Nayarit, mangrove wood is traditional, but outside the coast you cook with what you can source responsibly. Oil the grill grate well. If you have a fish basket, oil that too. You want steady heat, not flames licking the adobo until it turns black.

8. 8

   Grill skin side

   Place the fish skin side down in the oiled basket or directly on the grill. Cook 8 to 10 minutes with the grill covered, until the skin releases and the edges of the tail begin to crisp. Do not poke it every minute. The fish will tell you when it is ready to move because it stops clinging to the metal.

9. 9

   Turn and finish

   Turn the fish carefully and cook flesh side down for 5 to 7 minutes, just long enough for the adobo to darken in patches and the thickest part of the fish to flake. Turn it back skin side down for the final 2 minutes if the flesh needs more time. The fish is done at 135F to 140F in the thickest part, or when the meat lifts cleanly from the backbone.

10. 10

    Build the tacos

    Warm the corn tortillas on a comal until they puff in spots and show light char. Flake the grilled fish into large pieces, keeping some crisp skin with the flesh. Set the fish, tortillas, salsa huevona, diced white onion, cilantro, and lime halves on the table. Each taco gets fish first, salsa next, then onion and cilantro if you want them. Flour tortillas belong to the north. This is Nayarit, so use corn.

Chef Tips

• •Use a firm whole fish: red snapper, sea bass, snook, or pompano. Fillets work in a hurry, but they do not give you the same skin, bones, collar meat, or table presence. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •If a market sells banana leaves, lay one under the fish after grilling and bring it to the table on a clay platter. That is not the cooking method here, just a good way to carry the fish and catch the juices.
• •Ask for fresh, flexible dried chiles. Guajillo should be glossy and brick red, not dusty and brittle. Si no conoces el mercado, no conoces la cocina.
• •The mayonnaise is not there to make the fish taste like mayonnaise. It helps the adobo cling and brown over the coals. Beach palapa cooks know this. No me vengas con atajos.
• •Salsa Huichol is from Nayarit and belongs on the table if you have it, but do not replace the salsa huevona with bottled sauce. One is a condiment. The other is food.

Advance Preparation

• •The adobo can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Bring it to room temperature before rubbing it on the fish so the butter softens and spreads evenly.
• •The salsa huevona is best the day it is made. If you make it ahead, hold it at room temperature for up to 2 hours or refrigerate up to 1 day, then taste for salt and lime before serving.
• •The fish should be seasoned and coated no more than 30 minutes before grilling. Longer is not better here. The lime tightens the flesh.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 310g)