Pescado Zarandeado
Nayarit's pride — a whole butterflied fish brushed with a chile-mayo baste of Salsa Huichol, soy, and mustard, then grilled slowly over coals until lacquered and smoky. Flaked hot off the skin into tortillas with cucumber and avocado, it tastes like the beach at Mexcaltitán.
- Time
- 45 min
- Heat
- Yield
- 8 tacos
- Region
- Nayarit
Ingredients
Zarandeado baste
The fish
To build
Method
Light a charcoal fire and let it burn down to medium coals — ask your fishmonger to butterfly the fish through the back so it opens flat like a book.
Whisk the mayonnaise, melted butter, Salsa Huichol, soy, mustard, garlic, and lime into a smooth orange baste. Season the flesh side of the fish with coarse salt and brush on a first coat.
Set the fish skin-side down in an oiled grill basket — the zaranda — and cook over medium coals, brushing on more baste every few minutes, until the flesh is nearly opaque.
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Flip the basket and char the flesh side briefly, just until the baste caramelizes at the edges.
Slide the fish off the skin in big flakes, catching any juices from the basket.
Warm the tortillas over the coals and fill with fish, cucumber, red onion, avocado, and a hard squeeze of lime.
Build the plate
