By Kathleen Horner
The culinary hometown favorite of Nayarit is Pescado Zarandeado. The recipe was born in Riviera Nayarit- more specifically, the Port of San Blas. Order a whole butterflied red snapper Huachinango- Zarandeado-style in Punta de Mita and your server will nod knowingly and complement you on your selection. Ask for the recipe, especially a local family recipe, and things get a little weird.
Originally, Zarandeado fish was seasoned with a chile-lime salsa and grilled over a zaranda, a pit made of mangrove wood from which the dish gets its name. While whole butterflied red snapper is favored, "dog-eye" snapper and shell fish are also popular with this preparation.
The recipe has regional variations and still more tweaks, guarded with pride by local fishing families. Adaptations to the recipe have taken place over time. Like Mexico's famous 30-plus ingredient mole sauce, "more" ingredients has come to mean "better" in some interpretations.
The basic idea is a butterflied fish in a grilling basket or metal fish cage, seasoned with lemon or lime, salt and peppe. Cooked skin-side up briefly over a wood stove, then flipped over, smeared with a chili-based sauce, and grilled until done. The dish is served with limes, red onion slices, and warm tortillas. Anyone will tell you that part.
It's the recipe for the secret sauce that isn't shared as freely.
At the popular Azukar nail salon in Coral del Risco, I happened to meet Rosa, a proud descendant of local fishermen. With her friend, Soy, they explained the recipe for Zarandeado from Rosa's family. She blends mayonnaise with chipotle in adobo, adjusting for heat as many as six garlic cloves, a little English Worcestershire sauce, and Maggi Jugo Sauce -smoky with the flavor of grilled onions or steak. "I'm getting really hungry!" Soy exclaimed. Other variations add yellow mustard, which drew a disapproving frown from Rosa.
Ask the gracious Gustavo at Mina Restaurant in town, and he'll explain what he insists is the authentic preparation for Zarandeado's secret sauce. There, achiote paste provides a distinctive red color and spice, olive oil is used instead of mayonnaise, and re-hydrated dried chilies like guajillo -moderately hot and deep red- or árbol -small and potent- substitute for chipotle. I asked him twice exactly which chilies he uses to balance the heat, but he skillfully demurred. Every bite of Mina's Huachinango -red snapper- Zarandeado is smoky from the grill, tender, deeply flavorfuland not to be missed.
And here's the secret: a very fine Zarandeado sauce recipe, embracing many of these ideas, appears in A taste of Punta Mita book.
Huachinango Zarandeado - Adapted from Four Seasons ResortBahia Restaurant
4 portions
1 whole red snapper (1.8 kg or 4 lbs) cleaned, de-boned, and butterflied
3 tablespoons olive oil
For the Zarandeado Sauce
2 dried ancho chilies
2 dried guajillo chilies
115 grams (1/2 cup) achiote paste
4 cloves garlic
115 grams (1/2 cup) white onion
1 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Devein and de-seed the chilies. In a dry pan, toast them until fragrant. Remove to a bowl, cover with hot water, and let stand for 20 minutes. Strain the chilies and blend at high speed with all remaining sauce ingredients.
Season butterflied fish with salt and pepper and rub with olive oil. Place in a grill basket and, skin side up, briefly cook over a charcoal or wood grill. Remove from heat and open the basket, brush over the skin, close the basket and flip over, spread remaining sauce thickly over the flesh side of the fish. Finish cooking over the grill skin side down.
Serve with avocado slices, lime wedges, four or corn tortillas, and cilantro.
Now you have the secret! Try it out and enjoy.
